Patriots’ 2 Draft Options To Replace Rob Gronkowski

Will New England ever be able to replace Rob Gronkowski? Many said there will never be another Gronk, and we know it’s true. But, we also know that the team has a couple of draft options to replace their star tight end.

On Day 1 of the NFL draft on April 25, the Patriots may welcome T.J. Hockenson or Noah Fant. In other words, the players may join the defending Super Bowl champions and play under head coach Bill Belichick. That’s great at so many levels. Plus, they will get to catch passes from Tom Brady. Every aspiring player hopes to join the NFL dynasty.

Nobody expected Gronk to become this good. But, Bill Belichick and his star quarterback know how to help offensive players become stars.

New England is now thin at tight end position. Hockenson and Fant were college football players in Iowa, and Kirk Ferentz coached them. He is former assistant and really close friend of Bill Belichick. The Pats have the 32^nd pick, and they may get one of the Iowa tight ends. They rely on Matt LaCosse, Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo at the moment. these four have 71 catches for 801 yards and three touchdowns.

Last season, Hockenson caught 49 passes for 760 yards and six touchdown and won the Mackey Award. Belichick sure likes that. He ran a 4.7 in the 40-yard dash at the Combine, and marked 15 third-down catches in 2018. He also had the highest yards per catch (23.3) on third down when compared to other players with more than 15 receptions.

Fant is a nice draft option, too

Fant was able to catch 39 passes for 519 yards and seven touchdowns this past season. He ranks third in Big Ten history for tight ends. Sports Info Solutions confirmed that he was targeted 21 times in the red zone and catched 15 psses and scored 12 times. These numbers work really well for the Patriots offense.

“Anything can happen in the draft,” Fant said. “You could be picked at eight or nine, or you could be picked at 43. Teams can trade up, trade down [and] things will change again.’’

According to Hockenson, the draft projections are flattering. However, he said, “But at the same time, no one knows. No one knows what’s going to happen on that day. I don’t think the teams even know what’s going to happen until that day. You could fall very easily.’’

“At the end of the day, me and T.J. are two different players, two different skill sets,” Fant said. “It depends on what the team wants, what the team is drafting for. A lot of people are split decision of who they like better.”