NFL Mock Draft 2020: Way-too-early look at projected first round
player. 47. . TE. Missouri. Albert Okwuegbunam. 30
Most expected the Patriots to target Rob Gronkowski’s replacement in the 2019 draft, but Bill Belichick and company must not have liked any of the tight ends in this year’s class enough to pull the trigger with one of their litany of picks.
That could lead them to targeting a tight end in the first round next year, and Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam is likely going to be the No. 1 player at the position. At 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Okwuegbunam is a tough matchup for any defensive back. He can make the contested catches that make him nearly impossible to cover, and if you stick a linebacker on him he’ll run right past them.
He’s also a terror in the redzone, having caught 17 touchdown passes in his two seasons in Columbia. He’s likely to be Kelly Bryant’s favorite target next season.
Life without Gronkowski will be difficult for Tom Brady as he no longer has his safety blanket in the middle of the field. When the Patriots had to have a conversion they would often target Gronk, moving him all across the formation to try to put him in favorable matchups.
Expecting Okwuebunam to be Gronk 2.0 wouldn’t be fair to him, but he would be an excellent fit with what New England likes to do offensively, giving Brady a perfect complimentary weapon for his final season or two in the NFL.