Patriots 7-round Mock Draft: Prioritizing the offense will bring massive improvements
Patriots 7th rounder. Jared Wiley. Jared Wiley. . Tight end. . . 7. player. 466
Although tight end should probably be higher on the draft board, since Mike Gesicki and Hunter Henry will be free agents in March, other positions felt more crucial to the offense's success to take a tight end any higher.
Not to mention, there is a significant drop-off with this year's draft class from the top-ranked player in Brock Bowers, who is expected to be a top-10 pick, and PFF's second-ranked tight end, who is projected as a third or fourth-rounder.
Jared Wiley out of TCU isn't near the top of the class, but he's got the size (at 6'7", 260 lbs.) and abilities to get into the end zone (scoring 8 touchdowns last year), which is one of the biggest weaknesses the rostered tight ends last year had outside of Henry.
The best case scenario would be to snag a top player at the position in free agency or even via trade, maybe even re-sign Henry, or maybe go after Dalton Schultz. That way, similar to McCarthy, Wiley could learn from the veteran and hone his skills before being thrown into a game and expected to be great right away.
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