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Can the Patriots solve their red-zone woes? A healthy Hunter Henry should provide a lift
"He was very productive on the field, gave us good leadership, he’s great.”
FOXBOROUGH — Many factors played into New England’s lackluster execution on the offensive side of the ball last season, a dysfunctional coaching staff being the most prominent.
But on the field, an inability to cap off sustained drives with a touchdown was a recurring issue for Mac Jones and New England’s offensive personnel.
In total, the Patriots only scored a touchdown on 42.2 percent of their red-zone opportunities in 2022. That ranked 32nd out of the 32 teams in the NFL, and a serious step-down from the 2021 season.
Under a Josh McDaniels-led offense, a rookie Jones helped New England convert touchdowns on 61.9 percent of their red-zone bids, good for 11th in the league.
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Having a steadying presence like Bill O’Brien taking the reins of the offense should help New England right the ship in some regards.
But as far as personnel goes, a healthy and motivated Hunter Henry stands to offer a significant lift to a sputtering Patriots red-zone grouping.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s training-camp practice at Gillette Stadium, Bill Belichick acknowledged that the 28-year-old tight end was “one of the best” offseason participants on the roster.
It was a welcome change of pace for Henry, who spent most of the 2022 offseason rehabbing from shoulder surgery.
“He’s here every day, consistency, he made a lot of improvement,” Belichick said of Henry’s offseason work. “Of course, last year, he was coming off of a surgery, but this year, he had a really good, productive offseason from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Last year, it was more rehab. He was very productive on the field, gave us good leadership, he’s great.”
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Even though Henry played all 17 games last season, his extensive rehab work over that summer sapped away some of his valuable offseason reps. The results showed out on the field.
One of Jones’ most dependable red-zone threats in 2021 (nine touchdowns), Henry struggled to put a dent in opposing defenses from within the 20-yard line.
In total, Henry only snagged two touchdowns over his 17 games in 2022 while only averaging 29.9 receiving yards per game, the lowest of his seven-year career.
“I learned a lot from last year, and I think that we had to improve,” Henry said of the challenges of 2022. “It left a taste in my mouth that I didn’t like, and I wanted to have something to prove. It started with being in the building, being with the guys.”
It’s tough to glean much from the first few days of training camp when live contact is not permitted. But through OTAs, minicamp and these first few practices, it’s clear that O’Brien is planning on heavily featuring both Henry and fellow tight end Mike Gesicki in New England’s revamped offense.
O’Brien has plenty of history catering offenses around pass-catching tight ends and implementing 12 personnel (two tight ends) in order to give his quarterbacks a varied arsenal of weapons to turn to.
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Henry has already been Jones’ most trusted target in the early days of camp, reeling in four catches through two sessions.
Now with an injury-free offseason under his belt, Henry is looking forward to forging more chemistry with Jones this summer, and further building a rapport with O’Brien.
Given the disheartening returns put forth in 2022, Henry and the Patriots’ red-zone offense can only go up from here.
“It’s been great. Excited to be in the meeting room with him, breaking things down,” Henry said of working with O’Brien. “The energy he brings on the field. He’s very consistent so far. So I’m excited to just continue to build that trust as a unit. … He has a lot of experience in this.
“And especially in the tight-end position, it’s helped. He’s been around a lot of very successful tight ends and I think for me, personally, just the way he sees things, the way he communicates things at the tight-end position, has helped a lot. I think it’ll help me improve my game.”
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