New England Patriots: Devin Asiasi could be a steal
By Max Bozicas
The New England Patriots took tight end prospect Devin Asiasi with the 91st pick in the NFL draft. Asiasi has the potential to be a solid player.
Tight end might have been the biggest weakness that the New England Patriots needed to address this offseason, and they have done so via the NFL draft.
Despite this being a fairly weak tight end class, that did not stop the Patriots from taking two of them. They selected Devin Asiasi out of UCLA with pick 91 and Dalton Keene out of Virginia Tech with pick 101.
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While it is not surprising that they invested in the tight end position, Asiasi and Keene probably weren’t on the radar for most Patriots fans.
Many envisioned a scenario where the Patriots would draft Thaddeus Moss, son of Randy Moss. However, Bill Belichick knows as well as anyone that you can’t draft a prospect solely based off of their last name.
We’ll give Asiasi the spotlight here, as he has the potential to be quite a steal and with some development could be the tight end of the future for the Patriots.
Asiasi has both the build and athleticism to be really productive at the NFL level. At 6’3″ and 257 lbs, Asiasi certainly looks the part of an NFL tight end and he moves like one too.
He has been labeled a proficient route runner and at the combine he ran a 4.73 40-yard dash, showing that he has good speed and should be able to outrun most linebackers.
There are things Asiasi can improve on, such as his physicality. His ability to catch the ball in tight spaces with defenders in the area has been brought into question, but with experience and coaching that is a problem that can be fixed. He is also not quite as good at blocking as his new teammate Keene.
Even with Asiasi’s flaws he should see a good deal of playing time in his rookie year. Unless the Patriots draft a quarterback between rounds four to seven, we can assume Asiasi was drafted to help the progression of Jarrett Stidham.
It will be exciting to see an influx of youth offensively for the Patriots next season, and Asiasi is an intriguing addition in that regard. If all goes well, he has the chance to be a complimentary part of the offense early in his career.
Next. Kyle Dugger will be a Bill Belichick prize. dark
Having been picked late in the third round, Asiasi is a low risk pick with a chance to bring a high reward. He won’t be the next Rob Gronkowski because it’s not likely anyone could ever live up to that, but with the proper coaching he should become a very good NFL player and well worth the draft pick.