New England Patriots will run offense through expensive tight ends

After spending $90 million on a pair of tight ends, the New England Patriots are trying to bring back their old style of offense.

Back to the golden days for the New England Patriots. At least in theory.

In the opening hours of NFL free agency, the Patriots agreed to terms on a pair of high-cost tight ends in Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, formerly of the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively. Each carries an average annual value of $12.5 million, tying them for the third-highest figure at the position behind George Kittle and Travis Kelce.

Clearly, head coach Bill Belichick believes he can build the offense around a pair of athletic, multiple tight ends to make things work. He did it a decade ago with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, a pair of drafted stars who became the lynchpin of a Super Bowl appearance in 2011.

For his part, Henry believes the magic can be recreated and is happy to become part of the lineage. Per NFL.com:

“Obviously, the Patriots’ long history of tight ends, I watched it from afar and admired it. I feel like they kinda put the tight end on the map again. And so many tight ends in their history have been so great. Just the rich history of it, and how they use the tight ends. … It’s really, really exciting. So I’m pumped to be able to get into the system, learn it, and just see how I can adapt my game to it, and everything that goes with it, with Jonnu, everything. I’m really fired up about it and very excited.”

Of course, Smith and Henry are a long way from the production of Gronkowski and Hernandez. Gronkowski has an argument as the greatest tight end to ever play, having scored 86 touchdowns while racking up five Pro Bowls and four First-Team All-Pro campaigns. Hernandez, while nowhere near Gronk, was a tremendous talent before his heinous crimes.

For the Patriots, Smith and Henry don’t need to be the aforementioned duo, but they must account for a large chunk of the team’s passing game while being willing run blockers. In nine combined seasons, neither Smith nor Henry has ever totaled 700 receiving yards. With the checks increasing, the stats need to as well.

New England is betting big on Henry and Smith. We’ll soon see if the bet goes boom or bust.