Patriots Gridiron News: Jacob Hollister trade creates more questions at TE

After not drafting a tight end in the 2019 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots traded Jacob Hollister to the Seattle Seahawks raising more concerns over the team’s current tight end depth.

Aside from signing undrafted rookie tight end Andrew Beck, the New England Patriots surprisingly did not add a young prospect to their current tight end depth chart post-Rob Gronkowski retirement through the draft.

With players like Irv Smith Jr., Jace Sternberger and Dawson Knox available, the team decided to go in a different direction each time they had the opportunity to draft one of those prospects.

The team further weakened the tight end depth Monday by trading Jacob Hollister to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2020 seventh-round pick.

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Not that Hollister, a 2017 undrafted free agent out of Wyoming, was the answer to replacing Gronkowski’s offensive production, but he was the tight end with the most experience playing with Tom Brady after the team cut Dwayne Allen and Gronk retired.

In producing just eight catches for 94 yards in 23 games played for the New England Patriots, obtaining a seventh-round pick for Jacob Hollister can be considered another win for Bill Belichick since the young tight end has had an issue staying on the field due to injury.

With that being said, the current tight end situation makes the timing of the deal a head scratcher and raises the following questions:

Is the team preparing to make another deal involving a big-name tight end like Minnesota Vikings veteran Kyle Rudolph?

Are the Rob Gronkowski rumors about a mid-season return actually true?

Is the team actually moving away from the pass-catching tight end and emphasizing the power game?

The answer to that appears to be the last question, especially after the team drafted running back Damien Harris in the third round.  With the way Gronkowski played in the playoffs as a blocker first, pass catcher second, the team may swing that way in 2019 with the additions of Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, Matt LaCosse and 2018 seventh-round pick Ryan Izzo.

Each of those players are blocking tight ends who are capable of producing in the passing game, primarily in short-yardage and RedZone situations.

Now, there is still time to add players between now and the start of the regular season, but the New England Patriots appear content with who they have and perhaps they hope someone like Stephen Anderson flashes or perhaps LaCosse takes another step forward offensively, expanding upon the 24 receptions for 250 yards of production he had with the Denver Broncos in 2018.