http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-troy-niklas-jersey , rumors, analysis"With the 2019 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror and the dust beginning to settle, one position that the Patriots did not address was the tight end position. With a Rob Gronkowski-sized hole at the top of the depth chart after the future Hall of Famer announced his retirement, New England has a lot of production to replace at the position. Adding man Austin Seferian-Jenkins on a one-year deal for the veteran minimum was a nice signing that should bring good value to the team if he can stay healthy. The former University of Washington product had a strong year in 2017 with the Jets, catching 50 balls for 367 yards and three touchdowns, but had a down year this past season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing in just five games due to a core muscle injury.The options after Seferian-Jenkins are...not great. New England is leaving itself open to a considerable amount of risk if Seferian-Jenkins, a player who has a considerable injury history, gets hurt again. To not draft a young tight end or sign another pass-catching tight end to add to the depth at the position is puzzling. After Seferian-Jenkins, the tight end depth chart consists of Matt LaCosse (signed to a one-year free agency deal), Jacob Hollister Ja'Whaun Bentley Jersey , Stephen Anderson, and Ryan Izzo. Texas tight end Andrew Beck has also been rumored to have signed an UDFA deal with New England so let’s add him to the list too.Getty ImagesLaCosse is a fringe player who had 24 receptions for 250 yards and one touchdown last year with the Denver Broncos in what was considered to be the best season of his young career. Perhaps he continues that momentum this season and develops into more of a threat in the passing game. But that is wishful thinking right now: he should worry about just making the roster right now. Hollister has shown flashes at times, but has struggled mightily to stay healthy thus far, only appearing in eight games last season due to a hamstring injury. He caught just four passes for 52 yards total. Anderson was the tight end that was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad to replace Hollister, and is an unknown at this point. Considered to be a “move” tight end like Hollister, Anderson didn’t get activated to the 46-man game day roster until the divisional round matchup in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Chargers. He will certainly have a chance to impress the coaching staff in training camp.Izzo, a rookie last year, was placed on Injured Reserve at the end of training camp, but turned some heads prior to that with his blocking ability. There is some hope that he could replace the blocking of Dwayne Allen, at a much lower price tag. Even if Seferian-Jenkins stays healthy all season long, there is not much there in the way of offensive production with this group overall. And yet Womens Phillip Dorsett Jersey , it does not look like reinforcements are coming anytime soon, after the team passed on the chance to take a tight end in a draft that was considered to have a strong tight end class this year.So where do the Patriots go from here? Do they make a move for an available veteran tight end on another team, such as Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings? Or do they go into the 2019 season with this current motley crew and hope that a certain somebody decides to come out of retirement mid-season? That’s unclear right now, but the current state of the tight end depth chart for the Patriots suggests there is still one or two more moves to be made here to feel confident about this group heading into the regular season. Related: What re-signing Jamie Collins means for the Patriots"The New England Patriots brought a familiar face back into the fold on Wednesday when they re-signed linebacker Jamie Collins. The 29-year-old, of course, started his career in New England when the club made him the 52nd overall selection in the 2013 draft. Collins quickly became a defensive mainstay alongside fellow linebacker Dont’a Hightower, and was seen as one of the building blocks around which to form the unit long-term.Things did not go that way, obviously. Midway through the 2016 season, the Patriots traded Collins — then in the final year of his rookie contract — to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional 2017 third-round draft selection. New England went on to win the Super Bowl with Hightower, Kyle Van Noy and Shea McClellin as the top linebacker trio, while Collins signed a four-year Youth Dont’a Hightower Jersey , $50 million deal in Cleveland after the season.The Browns paid Collins for his potential as one of the league’s most athletic and versatile defenders. However, he failed to live up to his ceiling in a new environment that further accentuated the shortcomings that already were on display in New England: Collins remained inconsistent when it came to reading plays correctly and making appropriate decisions, and was therefore unable to properly fill the role the team had in mind for him.Cleveland envisioned its high-priced addition primarily as a strong side linebacker, as opposed to the Patriots using him more on the weak side of the formation. While the club still tried to take advantage of his versatility by moving him around the formation, Collins was simply unable to adapt and by extension do his job. He remained undisciplined and oftentimes failed to carry out his assignments, whether it came to filling gaps in the running game or dropping into the Browns’ zone coverage areas.Now, that all is the Patriots’ problem — again. However, bringing Collins back on board is still a gamble worth taking from the reigning world champions’ perspective for simple economic reasons: the one-time Pro Bowl selection will likely be a comparatively cheap addition considering that he remained on the open market for more than two months after the Browns cut him in early March. Collins’ ceiling and experience, on the other hand, are well worth the investment.More Jamie Collins storiesPhoto by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesPatriots re-sign linebacker Jamie CollinsWhat re-signing Jamie Collins means for the PatriotsDont’a Hightower seems pretty happy that the Patriots re-signed Jamie CollinsWhen the Patriots traded Collins back in 2016, ‘freelancing’ was a term often used to describe his play and the reasoning behind New England moving on from its star linebacker. However Dont’a Hightower Jersey Stitched , this freelancing has more to do with the aforementioned issues Collins had: from carrying out his assignments, to reacting properly to the play development. In October 2016, the team had seen enough from a player it probably would have lost in free agency anyway after the season.Collins’ issues did not go away in Cleveland — quite the opposite given how the team used him — but in the same sense his strengths also still exist. For the Patriots, it is now about harnessing them in order to turn him into the playmaker he was between his 2013 rookie season and his 2015 Pro Bowl campaign. How they will try to do that remains to be seen at this point in time, but the team’s overall depth at linebacker might help.After all, New England is currently pretty deep at the position. Hightower and Van Noy are the one-two punch, and are coming off an outstanding performance in the Super Bowl. Behind them are Elandon Roberts, who produced his finest season to date in 2018, and Ja’Whaun Bentley. The rookie showed plenty of promise last year before his season was cut short three games in due to a biceps injury. Fully recovered, Bentley should be seen as a roster lock to receive considerable playing time again.This mix of veteran depth and developmental upside puts Collins in an interesting spot: as opposed to his first tenure with the Patriots, he no longer needs to be ‘the man’ alongside defensive on-field signal caller Hightower. Instead Youth Donald Trump Jerseys , he is one of many options in a rather deep group (one that also includes 2018 sixth-round pick Christian Sam, former practice squad linebacker Calvin Munson, and undrafted rookie Terez Hall).In turn, this might allow the team to use Collins in a more specific role tailored to his strengths and athletic skill set. How could such a role look like? Considering his abilities when it comes to rushing the passer and operating in space, the Patriots could opt to employ Collins as more of a passing-down specialist as opposed to a three-down linebacker: playing on the weak side of the formation again and off the line of scrimmage, while also attacking downhill as a pass rusher.Using Collins in such a simplified way might take some pressure off him and return him to the player he was before 2016: a versatile playmaker. While the next few weeks and months will tell how Collins’ second stint in New England will go, bringing him in on what is expected to be a comparatively cheap, prove-it-type deal is certainly no mistake. A team can never have enough depth, after all, and Collins could be just that for the 2019 Patriots — and maybe even more.