Gresh & Zo: Do The Patriots Need To Draft A Tight End?
BOSTON (CBS) - Albert Breer of the NFL Network just got back from Mobile, Alabama for the college football Senior Bowl practices, and he sat in studio with Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak Thursday afternoon to share his experience and some players to keep an eye on.
Andy Gresh thinks the Patriots should, and will draft a tight end.
All Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski underwent knee surgery on January 9th, but is expected to be ready at the start of the 2014 season.
READ: 10 Takeaways From The Senior Bowl Practices
Breer shed some light on the tight end prospects making noise among NFL talent evaluators.
"The best tight end at the Senior Bowl was there in street clothes and he couldn't play because he's an underclassman: that's Eric Ebron from North Carolina. By all accounts he's an absolute freak and is going to be probably a top 10 to 15 pick. He's considered as good an athlete as any tight end to come out since Vernon Davis."
So while the Patriots won't be drafting in the top 10 or 15, Breer says the depth of this draft is so deep that they can get themselves a polished senior from the Big Ten later on.
"I talked to a couple general managers and had it confirmed by numerous personnel people: this draft class has probably 10-12 players that are better than any player in last year's group. In addition, the top 25 picks are as strong as they've been in a few years."
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"You've got a strong [tight end] group to begin with, so the kid you might want to keep an eye on is C. J . Fiedorowicz from Iowa. It's interesting, because everybody knows the connection between [Iowa head coach] Kirk Ferentz and Bill Belichick. Belichick will be able to get the goods on a player like Fiedorowicz."
Fiedorowicz compares favorably to a player like Gronkowski, but Gresh, Zo and Bert Breer aren't sure if they'll go in that direction. The Patriots might try and find themselves a hybrid-type tight end like an Aaron Hernandez.
Which position is the biggest area of need for this Patriots offense? Is it tight end? Wide receiver? Offensive line? Listen to the full discussion and weigh in below in the comments section:
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