The New England Patriots clearly understood how dire of a need addressing the tight end position was. After selecting Devin Asiasi with the 91st pick, Bill Belichick and co. didn’t think that was enough. They moved back up into the third round to take another.
New England jumped back up to No. 101 to select Virginia Tech tight end Dalton Keene. The Patriots continued their theme of drafting multiple tight ends in the same draft. They did this in 2010 with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Neither of the 2020 picks were taken as high as Gronkowski, but they can still make an impact in New England during their rookie seasons.
Here’s what fans should know about their newest tight end.
Keene wasn’t super productive at Virginia tech.
In his three years, the Hokie brought in 59 receptions for 748 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t going to wow anybody. However, where Keene did excel was in the trenches. He is a very solid blocker in the ACC. That ability may be able to translate to the NFL.
Keene played multiple positions in college.
Not only was Keene able to play tight end, but he was also able to play a little H-back. This will be extremely useful to New England, as they have used tight ends in that role countless times. Think of a possible Dallas Clark type of role for him in the future. The more he can do, the more likely he is to step on the field and earn reps right away.
Keene is an incredible athlete for a tight end.
Keene had a strong showing at the combine. He ran an unofficial 4.71-second 40-yard dash. He went out to put 21 reps on the bench press, display a 34-inch vertical, a 125-inch broad jump, and a 7.07-second three-cone drill.
One measurement, the Relative Athletic Score, had the tight end graded as a 9.34 out of 10. The only tight end in the class that was higher than Keene was Arkansas’ Chase Harrell. This level of athleticism would put him closer to the Hernandez role in the offense.
Keene has football in his blood.
This draft is full of family connections in the sport. For Keene, it’s no different. The tight end’s father, Wesley Keene, played on the defensive line at Murray State. Interestingly enough, his father’s linebacker coach was Dalton’s defensive coordinator at Virginia tech.
On top of that, Dalton’s brother, Trey, played both football and baseball for Northern Colorado. So, the athlete was clearly inside of Keene from birth.
