The Patriots offseason plan is starting to declare itself after their latest tight end addition on Friday morning.
Gesicki is a move tight end who spends most of his time detached from the formation, either out of the slot or out wide as a mismatch playmaker. Although he’s an explosive straight-line athlete and an excellent contested catch target, Gesicki is a jumbo slot receiver operating on a vertical route tree.
Before discussing Gesicki’s on-field fit in Bill O’Brien’s offense, the big-picture plan is starting to make sense. The Pats are using free agency to fill out their depth and replace while hopefully upgrading recent departures (Meyers & Smith out — JuJu & Gesicki in), setting themselves up to go shopping for luxury items the rest of the way.
The Patriots headed into the 2022 draft needing a starting left guard after trading away Shaq Mason and failing to retain steady Ted Karras. Their roster did not have a viable option, meaning the hole was glaring. The vacancy forced the Patriots, a team needing top-end talent at premium positions, to take guard Cole Strange at the end of the first round.
Whether Strange was a reach or not is a moot point now, but the Patriots forced themselves into taking an interior offensive lineman that early out of necessity – if the season had started on a Sunday in May, New England did not have a starting left guard on the roster. Rather than the needle-moving selection they needed in the AFC arms race, they took a guard.
For the rest of this offseason, the Patriots can turn their attention to searching for the cherries on top rather than having their backs against the wall at a non-premium position. That doesn’t mean they can be done adding in the veteran market. It just becomes a hunt for a bonafide number-one receiver, a shutdown corner, or a franchise left tackle. Those players don’t grow on trees, but with the 14th overall pick in April, it’s the best player available instead of a forced hand.
Returning to the Gesicki…
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