The New England Patriots entered the 2026 offseason with three glaring needs. One was to add depth to their offensive line. A second was to bolster the edge position. A third was to beef up their thin-as-paper tight end position.
At tight end, they moved quickly in free agency to add blocker Julian Hill. In addition, they drafted Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon with their third-round pick.
Now, Bleacher Report's Alex Kay has offered five free agent signings that are already looking like bargains. One is Washington Commanders' free agent tight end Chig Okonkwo. This occasion raises the thought about whether the decision to sign Hill, essentially a blocking TE, should be questioned, and not due to his injury.
Before Hill's injury, the team seemed to have executed a solid plan at TE. They seemed set after the draft at the position, even after losing Austin Hooper to free agency. Yet, disaster struck with Hill's season-ending injury.
The team now has only one veteran tight end, Hunter Henry. He's backed up at the moment only by Raridon and second-year undrafted free agent C.J. Dippre.
The New England Patriots still need help at tight end
It's now looking like the mentioned Okonkwo may be a major bargain with his $27M contract for three years. Kay thinks he's just that.
"After a disappointing 2025 season, the Washington Commanders needed to replace an injured and aging Zach Ertz. Scoring the skilled but inconsistent Chig Okonkwo on a three-year, $27 million deal was one of the better low-risk, high-reward moves of the offseason...His career-highs of 56 catches, 560 receiving yards and three touchdowns aren't terrible, but there has always been the sense that the tight end is capable of much more.
The Daniels-Okonkwo battery has already started making waves in training camp...As long as Daniels can stay healthy ... Okonkwo is a shoo-in to put up career-best marks in 2026."
The Patriots' tight end offseason plan was fairly sound. They intended to build a big run-blocking scheme by adding blocking tight end Hill and blocking fullback signee Reggie Gilliam.
The decision to sign Hill was based on his blocking skills, including in the running game. It was a throwback decision to an earlier Patriots' run philosophy, but it was flawed.
Four-year veteran, 26-year-old Okonkwo, was clearly a better free agent option than Hill in the passing game. He'd averaged 48 catches per season during his career, including over 50 in each of the past three seasons. Hill has never caught more than 15 passes in his three previous NFL seasons. If Kay's prediction is accurate, the Patriots may have really missed the mark by passing on Okonkwo.
Hill's injury is an unfortunate reality in the NFL. That he almost never even wore a jersey on the field is just unfortunate. Aside from that, the real question lies in whether the Patriots should have signed a young pass-catcher at tight end instead of blocker Hill in the first place. The answer is yes.
A pass-catcher like Okonkwo would have been preferable as the No. 2 tight end behind the 31-year-old Henry. The value-added would have been twofold. Unlike Hill, in two tight-end sets, both Henry and Okonkwo would have been good targets for Drake Maye.
Also, a major investment in blocking-only skill players is questionable in the first place, when you have a star quarterback like Drake Maye.
Balancing passing and running is essential in any NFL offense. Yet, providing top-level pass protection and ensuring that Drake Maye has a full plate of weapons available in his passing game should unquestionably always be Jobs One and Two.
Signing a young veteran pass-catching tight end like Chig Okonkwo would have been the better option. Now, with Hill out, the team still has a major hole to fill at the position. They should move expeditiously to trade for a pass-catcher like Okonkwo. Mike Mayer of Las Vegas is an option.
Absent that, an injury to Henry will leave essentially only rookie backups, and that could be catastrophic.
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