Patriots TE Dalton Keene Dynasty Rookie Analysis
- Draft Position: 3.101 | School: Virginia Tech
- Height: 6’4” | Weight: 253 pounds
- 40-yard dash: 4.71 seconds
- 2020 Age: 21 | Class: Junior
- Recruitment Stars: 3
Twenty-one year old tight ends are rare — although they've become less rare in recent years — and Day 2 is a decent place to dig for tight end value.
Ahead of Keene on the Patriots' depth chart are Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo — fellow third-round selection Devin Asiasi is also in the mix. LaCosse is an undrafted 28-year-old veteran with 403 yards in his career, and Izzo is a second-year seventh-round who had nine targets last year.
Asiasi is billed as more of the receiving tight end, as Keene was just 21-240-5 receiving on 26 targets last year, but I think Keene has some underrated pass-catching potential. He can line up inline and in the slot, and for his career he averaged and impressive 9.7 yards after the catch per reception (per SIS).
He has an 81st-percentile 117.6 SPARQ-x score (per PP). In the RV Combine Explorer, Austin Hooper is the closest physical comp, and in the RV Prospect Box Score, Mark Andrews pops up as one of his five closest comps based on physical profile, college production and draft position.
Like all tight ends, he will need time to develop, but he has potential.
NFL Prospect Comp: Ian Thomas but younger
More Dynasty Analysis For Freedman’s Top Rookies
- Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- Rams RB Cam Akers
- Colts RB Jonathan Taylor
- Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy
- Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb
Matthew Freedman is the Editor-in-Chief of FantasyLabs, part of The Action Network.
