![]() The Patriots are now down to Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith as their primary tight ends with Jaylen Wydermeyer and Matt Sokol waiting in the wings on the practice squad. The Bengals have claimed TE Devin Asiasi, who was present at Gillette Stadium ready to join the NE practice squad. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, he was actually at Gillette Stadium for practice before hearing the news. Asiasi was probably coming back on the practice squad, but he got claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals. But it never came to fruition.īoth Keene and Asiasi didn’t even make the 53-man roster this year. Sure, no one expected it to have the impact that Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez had back in 2010, but there was hope that the team would get at least one legitimate offensive contributor out of the pair. 1 is, that’s worthy praise.The Patriots stepped to the plate and seemingly knocked it out of the park at the 2020 NFL draft with Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, who is healthy and finally starting to come on this year.īut that doesn’t erase the fact that they really stunk it up in the third round with the double dip at tight end on Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. Though it may take some time for Mankins to achieve pro football’s highest honor, he’s the second best guard in the history of the Patriots. His chances of getting inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame are almost certain. Seven Pro Bowls in 11 years and six All-Pro teams should make Mankins a worthy candidate for Canton enshrinement one day. In two years in Tampa Bay, Mankins did garner a seventh career Pro Bowl appearance in 2015 before retiring at the end of the season. Mankins briefly filled the void of Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph having been cut the Buccaneers. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 for tight end Tim Wright and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Though an incredibly productive player, Mankins wouldn’t get to ride out his entire NFL career in Foxborough. Mankins was Second-Team All-Pro five times and was First-Team All-Pro in 2010 with New England. Overall, he made six trips to the Pro Bowl in nine seasons with the Patriots. While the Patriots did a ton of winning during that nine-year stretch, a Super Bowl victory would evade Mankins, as he went 0-2 against the Giants in the big game. The Patriots ended up winning the AFC East eight times during Mankins’ tenure with New England. He ended up starting 130 games with the Patriots at left guard over nine seasons with the team. New England might have come up short against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on their quest for perfection, but New England had a sure thing on the offensive line in Mankins. He would become a staple as one of the best interior offensive linemen for the next decade. Mankins made his first career trip to the Pro Bowl, as well as grabbing his first Second-Team All-Pro nod. Though solid in his first few years in the league, he and the rest of the Patriots offense really shined during that brilliant, almost perfect 2007 NFL season. He was an immediate starter as a rookie in 2005, playing in and starting all 16 games that campaign. ![]() ![]() Mankins was one of those players Belichick could just plug in and play at left guard. Even after winning Super Bowl XXXIX over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots were able to find a great player with their late first-round pick. Mankins was the last pick of the first round in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Patriots out of Fresno State. Though left tackle Matt Light was exceptional, Mankins was the only perennial All-Pro up front during the second-wave of Patriots glory. Now why is that? Well, because he was easily the best offensive lineman to play for the Patriots during the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. ![]() However, he stands a great chance at earning Pro Football of Fame enshrinement. We are only a few years removed from left guard Logan Mankins hanging up the spikes. ![]()
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