Patriots draft profile: Jared Wiley has starter upside at tight end

The TCU product projects as a mid-round selection in this year’s draft.

On paper, the New England Patriots’ current tight end group is not necessarily among the best in the game. It is, however, in relatively solid shape compared to most other positions on the offensive side of the ball.

As a consequence, the team might shy away from making any big additions to its tight end corps in the NFL Draft. That does not mean there is no room for investment, though. Quite the opposite: the group would benefit from adding some developmental talent given that Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and La’Michael Pettway are all experienced options.

One of the most attractive players available falling into that “developmental” category is projected mid-round pick Jared Wiley.

Hard facts

Name: Jared Wiley

Position: Tight end

School: TCU

Opening day age: 23 (11/2/2000)

Measurements: 6’6 1/8”, 249 lbs, 79 1/4” wingspan, 33 1/4” arm length, 9 1/2” hand size, 4.62s 40-yard dash, 4.52s short shuttle, 7.19 3-cone drill, 37” vertical jump, 9’10” broad jump, 9.30 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Career statistics: 59 games (28 starts) | 1,893 offensive snaps, 304 special teams snaps | 120 targets, 90 catches (75.0%), 1,013 receiving yards, 15 TDs | 5 quarterback pressures surrendered (1 hit, 4 hurries)

Accolades: First-team All-Big 12 (2023), Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2022), Academic All-Big 12 (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

Playing quarterback, tight end, punter and kicker at Temple High School in his Texas hometown, Wiley was graded as a three-star recruit. He received several offers to play tight end rather than other positions, including from the University of Texas. He spent the first three seasons of his college career as a Longhorn, but after catching only 19 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns in 32 games decided to enter the transfer portal.

He ended up at TCU, where his role did increase compared to his Texas days. In two seasons with the Horned Frogs, Wiley appeared in 27 games with 16 starts and was on the receiving end of a combined 71 passes that he took for 765 yards and 12 scores. He was voted to the All-Big 12 team both his years in Fort Worth, receiving the first-team distinction for his 2023 senior campaign.

After his final season, the graduate was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.

Draft profile

Expected round: 4-5 | Consensus big board: No. 131 | Patriots meeting: Top-30 visit

Strengths: Wiley offers exceptional size at the tight end position. Not only does he stand at at over 6-foot-6 and 249 pounds, he also has a massive catch radius that allows him to haul in throws outside his frame and to outreach defenders at the catch point. In general, he is good at using his body to position himself favorably relative to his opponents. He combines those skills with some sure hands and natural ball skills, dropping just one of his 120 career targets between his stints at Texas and TCU.

Wiley also is a fairly explosive athlete for a player his size, and posses some deceptive straight-line speed and potential to generate yards after the catch. He also is surprisingly quick working back toward the ball, and showed he can create space by playing to his leverage. In addition, he should have potential to add some more weight to his frame to help make himself more competitive as a blocker.

Weaknesses: Wiley’s blocking is nothing to write home about. His height is part of the problem: he stays too upright at times or will lunge forward, sacrificing his pad level and leverage while leaving himself exposed to being countered and losing balance. He also has neither the longest arms nor the biggest hands to help keep defenders at bay and engaged, and, as noted above, has room to add more weight to his 249-pound frame. He also could benefit from more of a mean streak as a blocker.

As a receiver, Wiley is not the most agile player or a threat to make big plays with the ball in his hands. His missed tackle rates (3 in 2023) and yards after catch (6.4 per catch in 2023) are not what they could be for a player with his imposing stature and athletic profile. His route running also remains a work in progress, and he needs to learn to keep his tempo and energy up when going through breaks.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? The Patriots have Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper as their top two options on the tight end depth chart, meaning that Wiley would start his career as a rotational third option. As such, he would likely first focus on a passing game role before gradually adding more blocking responsibilities. He does have the makings of a Y-tight end capable of playing inline but also moving into the slot or out wide if need be.

What is his growth potential? For Wiley, it’s all about continuing to refine his game from a technical perspective. If he can do so, especially in the blocking department, he does have starter upside at the tight end position and might be in a position to surpass Hunter Henry on the depth chart by 2026 at the latest.

Does he have positional versatility? Even when disregarding his high school history, Wiley offers some decent positional flexibility. He aligned primarily inline at TCU, but also has experience playing from the slot and on the perimeter, and even in the backfield as a fullback. He also was a two-unit special teams player in college, seeing action on the kickoff return and field goal/extra point protection squads.

Why the Patriots? New England’s long-term outlook at tight end is unclear even with Hunter Henry re-signed to a three-year deal earlier this offseason. Wiley would add some developmental talent to the group, while simultaneously bolstering the current depth by challenging La’Michael Pettway for the TE3 spot on the roster.

Why not the Patriots? Wiley has the makings of an all-around player at the tight end position, but his blocking technique is not where it needs to be yet. Likewise, he lacks technical refinement and as such is a project that might as well end up flaming out — a return on investment proposition potentially not to the team’s liking.

One-sentence verdict: When it comes to developmental tight ends to pair with the experienced players currently on the roster, New England could do a lot worse than Jared Wiley on Day 3.

What do you think about Jared Wiley as a potential Patriots target? Will he live up to his potential? Or are his technical and blocking issues a red flag? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.