FOXBORO, Mass. — Trader Bill Belichick continued his wheeling and dealing ways Saturday morning, acquiring a veteran tight end from the Kansas City Chiefs for a swap of late-round draft picks.
The Patriots sent their 183rd overall pick (fifth round) in the 2017 NFL Draft to the Chiefs for tight end James O’Shaughnessy and the 216th overall pick (sixth round).
O’Shaughnessy, 25, caught just two passes for -1 yard last season. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end has eight career catches for 86 yards in two seasons with the Chiefs. His primary role was on special teams, where he had 287 snaps and eight tackles.
He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Illinois State. He caught 29 passes for 544 yards with nine touchdowns as a senior with the Redbirds. He hauled in 67 passes for 1,170 yards with 14 touchdowns in his college career.
O’Shaughnessy ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2015 with a 1.61-second 10-yard split, 16 bench reps of 225 pounds, a 35-inch vertical leap, 9-foot, 8-inch broad jump, 4.38-second short shuttle and 7.20-second three-cone drill.
The Patriots now have Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Matt Lengel, Michael Williams, Rob Housler and O’Shaughnessy at tight end. O’Shaughnessy becomes the favorite to earn the third tight end spot on the Patriots’ depth chart.
The Patriots have three draft picks remaining in the 2017 NFL Draft. They pick 131st in the fourth round, 216th in the sixth round and 239th in the seventh round.
Thumbnail photo via Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports Images
