O.J. Howard trade rumors: 5 Teams that should deal with Buccaneers

3. New England Patriots

Even though Tom Brady is gone, that doesn’t mean the New England Patriots offense will look completely different next season. Josh McDaniels remains as offensive coordinator and will design an offense to suit the inexperience of either Jarrett Stidham or an incoming rookie passer. To help with that inexperience, he’ll need a pass-catching tight end that can be a mismatch over the middle of the field and a safety blanket for the young quarterback.

While the Patriots did not feature the tight end position a great deal last season, that was mainly due to the fact that they did not have a competent tight end on the roster. Matt LaCosse and Benjamin Watson both disappointed in 2019, with both of them barely managing one reception per game. Both players had trouble getting open and out-running defenders, which resulted in the Patriots abandoning the position altogether.

However, Howard would give New England the opportunity to fill their need at that position. Howard is a dominant player in terms of yards per reception, as he has averaged 15.5 YPR throughout his career and ranked fourth in that category among tight ends last season. He’s also adept at making difficult receptions, as he has a 66.7 percent contested catch rate.

The Patriots have made very few additions to their offensive arsenal in free agency, which makes sense given this draft class is loaded at wide receiver and running back; however, the tight end draft pool is considerably shallow. I believe Bill Belichick would jump at the opportunity to use one of his 12 draft choices to secure a veteran weapon who is on a cheap rookie contract.