Patriots have 5 intriguing options in the 2024 Draft to replace Hunter Henry

Hunter Henry caught six touchdowns on the very disappointing Patriots' 2023 offense, two more than anyone else. Only six players caught scoring passes in 2023; without Henry’s number, there were just ten touchdown catches! Henry’s contract runs out in March, and while the Patriots would love to keep him, there’s a salary cap to be navigated. At 29 years old, Henry may be looking for a new challenge. 

What about the 2024 draft class, then? Well, everyone wants Brock Bowers. And he might even be a top-10 pick. But if you can spend that sort of draft capital on a tight end, your team must already be in a pretty good place. Bowers is the best athlete in the class, but he’s a bit small for the Patriots.  

Pass-catching tight ends are the new shifty slot receivers. They are very in vogue at the moment. But it’s tough to build a successful offense around a pass-catching tight end. After all, the Patriots had Mike Gesicki last season. And he had his second consecutive disappointing season after Mike McDaniel virtually refused to use him in Miami. 

What the Patriots need is a more complete package. A run blocker who can catch passes over the middle or on short routes. Kind of like Pharoah Brown, but young. They don’t even have to be the finished product when they arrive. They just need to have the raw materials that the coaches can build a reliable tight end with.

New Patriots’ offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt comes from Cleveland, where he’s been working with David Njoku since 2020. Incidentally, Bowers is the same size as Njoku, but they are not the same. Bowers is more comparable with Dalton Kincaid, who was chosen with the 25th pick last season (but there is no Sam LaPorta). 

Baylor Cupp – Texas Tech 

He’s massive and can run fast, Treylon Burks fast (that’s fast for a tight end by the way). Cupp was the number 1 ranked tight end coming out of high school. He went to Texas A&M for two years, but injuries prevented him from playing a single game. He transferred to Texas Tech, where he played 24 games in the following two seasons. 

But that’s not all that important. The important part is that he’s 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 245 lbs., so he’s slightly taller than Henry but 13 lbs. lighter. Playing-wise, he’s very Henry-esque. Henry ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash back in the day. Cupp has run it in 4.55! And Cupp can block really well. He would be a perfect replacement, maybe even an upgrade from Henry’s three years of solid play.  

Jared Wiley –TCU 

Wiley is even bigger than Cupp, but he moves like a receiver. Although he ran a rather lackluster 4.80-second 40-yard dash, you have to expect he’ll go quicker before the draft. Wiley is 6 feet 7 inches tall and 255 lbs., so his catch radius is huge. That explains why he was used almost exclusively as a pass catcher at TCU. So, he’ll need to work on his run blocking. 

Wiley is projected to be taken in the 6th round, so he would be a very low-risk pick if the Patriots did select him. It all depends on if they think they can improve his blocking skills. 

Brevyn Spann-Ford – Minnesota 

Spann-Ford could be the best pick in this draft! He’s projected as a fifth-round pick. But his size (he’s 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs in at 270 lbs.) combined with his relative athleticism (he ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash) make him a real diamond in the rough. 

He has improved his blocking skills during his college career, indicating that he’s easy to coach. He’s obviously a powerful run blocker; moving defenders out of the way is easy when you’re built like an office block. But he averaged 11.2 yards per reception throughout his college career. He caught 95 passes in 56 games. 

Isaac Rex – BYU 

Rex is also a pass-catching tight end, first and foremost. And that’s not surprising, given he ran a 4.7 40-yard time. But he is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 247 lbs., so he’s just 10 lbs. lighter than Henry. 

He played as a linebacker and tight end in high school, so he is well-versed when it comes to knowing where the spaces are in zone coverage. But he could use a little more strength to fight his way through contact. It’s easy to build muscle, though; understanding defenses can be trickier. 

Theo Johnson – Penn State 

This was going to be Arik Gilbert, but he’s recently been arrested twice in 2 weeks, so it seems unlikely he’ll be selected in the draft. But if there’s one tight end in this draft class who could become the next Njoku, it’s Theo Johnson. 

Johnson is ranked as the 214th-best player in the class by CBS. That makes him the 8th tight end on their list. But it will be pretty surprising if seven tight ends are taken before he is. Johnson is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 260 lbs. But he has run a 4.54-second 40-yard dash. That’s the same time as Ronnie Bell. And Bell played all 17 games for the 49ers this season, as a receiver.

He’s projected to be a fifth-round selection, but he's generating a lot of chatter at the senior bowl and looks like the sort of athlete who will excel at the combine. Don’t be surprised if he goes on the second day of the draft. 

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