Nevertheless, Keene does have a lot of competitive football on his résumé stemming from his time in college. The defense, meanwhile, had a rough first half, struggling to defend both the pass and the run. The rookie has proven himself a matchup-specific chess piece in college despite his limited production, and it seems likely that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will use him in a similar capacity. Weight: 251 lbs Dalton Keene is so much more than your traditional tight end, that is why I’ve slapped him with the “superback” tag. Contract status: Under contract through 2023 (2024 UFA). His impact was certainly felt in a big way. New England used its tight ends only sparingly in the kicking game last year: the four players under contract at one point — LaCosse, Izzo, Benjamin Watson and Eric Tomlinson — played only a combined 13 special teams snaps. New England jumped back up to No. What Bill Belichick told the Patriots in the locker room after a blowout win over Raiders, Cam Newton gives himself a tough but spot-on grade from Week 3, Julian Edelman expertly trolls Bill Belichick while celebrating Patriots' win, Cam Newton peels back curtain on meetings with Bill Belichick, Cam Newton appears frustrated with questions about whether he fits with Bill Belichick, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Keene caught 59 of them for a total of 748 receiving yards as well as eight touchdowns. While not as polished as fellow third-round pick Devin Asiasi, or as experienced as Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo, his versatility is intriguing: Keene could be used as a rotational move tight end … Related: Patriots roster breakdown: FB Jakob Johnson.
Keene is a versatile 6-foot-4, 253-pound tight end out of Virginia Tech. Damien Harris among four Patriots now eligible to be activated off injured reserve. What is his projected role? His receiving numbers can best be described as mediocre, and the same can be said for his role as a part-time ball carrier: Keene attempted 11 rushes over the course of his college career — all of which coming during his senior campaign — for a combined 33 yards. Sony Michel had nine carries for 117 yards, while Rex Burkhead had 49 yards rushing on the day as well. While there is a chance that he starts the season near the bottom of the depth chart behind more experienced options LaCosse and/or Izzo, as well as the well-rounded Asiasi, Keene might very well get regular looks during his rookie year due to his versatile skillset. New England jumped back up to No. Patriots 2020 roster breakdown: Dalton Keene gives New England tremendous versatility at tight end, 5 winners and 2 losers from the Patriots’ 36-20 win over the Raiders. What did his 2019 season look like? That said, the Patriots have never shied away from using the position in the game’s third phase as well. After selecting Devin Asiasi with the 91st pick, Bill Belichick and co. didn’t think that was enough. That said, Keene did show off his versatility by moving all over the formation on a regular basis and even serving as the team’s starting running back at one point: in mid-October against North Carolina, he received seven hand-offs that he took for a combined 25 yards. New England Patriots links 9/28/20 - Wreck & Roll: Run game wrecks Raiders 36-20, Patriots vs Raiders snap counts: Michael Onwenu not the only rookie to see a bigger role in Week 3. Keene started preparations for his 2019 junior season on the sidelines after undergoing a procedure on his knee during the offseason. He is a very solid blocker in the ACC. Accordingly, his experience at the pro level is effectively non-existent: while he did participate in the team’s virtual offseason sessions and rookie developmental program over the last seven weeks, he has yet to step onto the practice field together with his teammates due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It seemed as though every Patriots runner was able to break off at least one big run over the course of the afternoon. The Patriots running backs carried the offense, with Cam Newton struggling to find his receivers downfield.