A Patriots Fan's Wish List for Day 2: LSU Tight End Mason Taylor
Scott Coleman. Shutterstock Images.Current roster: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell
Positional overview: Tight end is a position that, while not the hugest of priorities at the moment, is nevertheless something that needs to be addressed. Henry has been a very good, though not spectacular addition since he came here with the 2021 free agency class. His resigning last offseason was a pleasant surprise. And he's been a steady, consistent contributor, and veteran presence. Despite having had to adjust to four different young starting quarterbacks, and seeing a coordinator change every season he's been here. Though his original Patriots OC is back, that's a lot of instability. Austin Hooper is also back. Which is nice. But still, this franchise has been kicking the tight end can down the road now ever since the busts that were Devin Asiasi (3rd round, 91st overall) and Dalton Keene (3.101) six farking drafts ago. The time to find and develop the next great one is now.
To address that need, I nominate:
Mason Taylor, LSU. 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, 4.65 40-time
No one is suggesting Taylor is among the best tight ends in his draft class. The only certain 1st rounders are Tyler Warren of Georgia and Michigan's Colston Loveland. Neither of whom are worthy of that No. 4 pick, or will be around when the Patriots are back on the board at 38. And with so many other potholes in the roster to throw asphalt into, they don't have the luxury of spending all that draft capital on a position where they already have two accomplished, trustworthy veterans.
What they can and should do, is use a high-middle round pick on the future TE1. And that's Taylor.
Unlike Warren, Taylor is not considered a 5-tool tight end who can run a skinny post on one down and then drive an outside linebacker out of the running lane on the next. He's more a product of the way the position has been trending over the last couple of generations. A "move" tight end, generally detached from the formation who can run the seam, curls and flats from the slot or outside, with great hands who'll win the 50/50 balls and keep the chains moving. To put it in the simplest, laziest, most cliched terms: Taylor is in the Travis Kelce mold, not the Rob Gronkowski. But those guys are dominating the league now. And it's been a long time since the Pats have had one. They drafted one the same year they got Gronk, but for the life of me I forget whatever happened to him.
Taylor works because he is, by all accounts, a work in progress. His sugar is raw and unrefined. Which is all well and good. Just what the personnel doctor ordered for this team, in fact. He doesn't even turn 21 until May 8th, which makes him six days older than Gronkowski was when the Pats drafted him. And while it's lost to history now, Gronk didn't become Gronk in that first year, with 42 catches and 546 yards. But he still had 10 touchdowns as a red zone matchup nightmare. If Taylor as a rookie can have half that production, it would be more than the entire TE room had in 2019 or 2020.
But to repeat, this pick would be about 2026 and beyond. His 40-time at LSU's Pro Day would've been just 0.02 off the best time at his position had he run at Indy. So would his reps on the bench:
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Despite the fact he's too young to have ever seen a land line in his house, Taylor has gobs and gobs of experience, with 38 games played, almost 1,500 passing snaps, and 1,300 yards over three seasons. And with all the receiving skills in his toolbox to develop into a true big play threat with the proper coaching and development:
He's gone up and down the consensus mock draft boards, but according to Mock Draft Database, he projects as the 45th overall pick, and the third TE behind Warren and Loveland. (Note: Work on the elevator pitch for a RomCom called Warren in Loveland.) Though according to Pro Football Focus, he's projected to New England more than any other team, at 15% of all mocks.
As far as player comps, I've seen him compared to Dallas Goedert, as well as Tucker Kraft. If he were to approach either of those guys, it would be a huge win for a franchise that's been patching up this once proud position for way, way too long now. Make this happen and Drake Maye will have the red zone target to develop that every growing young QB needs. Make it so.