Apologies for the following cross-sports analogy: The New England Patriots couldn’t have won the NFL’s free agency derby without hitting a few home runs.
ESPN’s Matt Bowen on Wednesday named the Patriots’ signings of tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith as the best overall move of NFL free agency. Bowen believes the Henry’s and Smith’s arrivals will inject New England’s offense offense with quality and variety it lacked last season.
” … With Henry and Smith now in the mix, look for the Patriots to create stress for opposing defenses out of two-TE sets. I see Henry as a seam stretcher and middle-of-the-field target in the New England offense, with coordinator Josh McDaniels utilizing Smith’s dynamic traits as a tough matchup in the game plan.”
Henry and Smith both expressed their excitement over the prospect of playing together in New England this week in their introductory press conferences. They’ll be key components of a new-look offense quarterback Cam Newton is expected to lead to better results than last season.
Smith and Henry are just two of the myriad of Patriots transactions, which have prompted some NFL observers to name them the most-improved team since free agency opened last week.
The Patriots will require months of practice to fit all the pieces into a cohesive team, but names like Henry and Smith, the top tight ends available in free agency, certainly excite Patriots fans and more than a few NFL analysts.
