Patriots free agent targets: Hunter Henry too perfect a dream to come true

Will the New England Patriots finally solve their tight end issues this offseason?

The real question is will they use some of that cap space to pay one of the top free agents on the market in the name of one Hunter Henry?

Unless the Los Angeles Chargers either pay the man or slap the franchise tag on him for the second consecutive season, it would appear he will test free agency and no other coach has marveled about the young tight end than Bill Belichick.

But is that enough to lore a pass-catching tight end who has made it known that he wants to go to a situation where there is a good quarterback in place.  The Patriots, at this point in the offseason, is not in that place.

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That doesn’t necessarily rule them out if they should bring back Cam Newton.  Henry could be to Newton what Greg Olsen was to Newton during his best years down in Carolina.

So, other than Belichick, what would be the draw for a player like Henry?

Given that he still has his best football ahead of him, he could have the opportunity to be the next great tight end in New England much to the likes of Ben Coates and Rob Gronkowski.

Big shoes to fill, but those shoes are empty right now and he may catch Belichick just at the right time where that check book will be open.  But will the Patriots coach take a shot at paying a player who has some injury history?

He certainly seems to like him just that much and he does solve a couple of the teams needs.

Hunter Henry would solve Patriots tight end problems

Appearing on Good Morning Football Thursday, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager highlighted how perfect of a fit Hunter Henry is for the New England Patriots.

Coming off a season in which he caught 60 passes for 613 yards and 4 TDs, Henry would be an immediate upgrade over Ryan Izzo and the two third-round picks from a year ago, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene both in his pass-catching ability and blocking.

"“Why would Hunter Henry and the New England Patriots be the perfect fit? [The] Patriots, No. 1, they need offense, they need weapons, they need weapons, and they need more weapons,” Schrager said, as transcribed by WEEI.  “One of the worst offenses, skill position-wise that we’ve seen in a long time with what the Patriots brought onto the field last year.  They have some young players; they have some budding talent.  But gosh, do they need to start over.  They do.  And they have the salary cap space to do it.  I believe Hunter Henry makes a lot of sense for New England, but he is a performer.  He’s a guy who can catch the ball.  He can block.  And he’s just entering the prime of his career.  I think at the very least, you have a player that can be a reliable pass-catcher, something I don’t think the Patriots had when Julian Edelman went down last season.”"

In further pointing out that the Patriots have had a huge void at the position since Rob Gronkowski left, Schrager definitely supported his “perfect fit” argument.

However, Patriots fans know how Belichick spends his money and as much as Henry makes sense, there will be some other team out there out-bidding for his services.

Unless Watson, or Russell Wilson or even Jimmy Garoppolo is walking through that door, the quarterback situation may steer Henry in another direction instead of possibly taking less to play for the great Bill Belichick.