Image courtesy of Penn State Athletics 

Trade down. Trade the pick for a proven player. Stick and pick a lineman on either side of the ball. Take Travis Hunter if he happens to fall.

Everyone has an opinion on what the Patriots should do with the fourth overall pick when the draft opens up in Green Bay late in April. Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf (and Ryan Cowden to an extent) have the future of the franchise in their hands and this is obviously a massive decision.

The one idea no one else – except for Tom Curran who was talking about this on Boston Sports Tonight on Wednesday – is discussing is the prospect of taking Penn State tight end Tyler Warren at No. 4.

Seriously.

With Drake Maye entering his second year and in desperate need of someone he can routinely throw to on 3rd-&-5 or 3rd-&-6, taking the young, play-making tight end to add to an aging Hunter Henry and (maybe?) a returning Austin Hooper could be a smart move.

Warren put up 1,839 career yards in five years as a Nittany Lion. Last year was by far his best, with 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. Of course, he really burst onto the scene in the CFP against Boise State. When you consider how valuable he could be in the red zone and in the run game as a blocker, it’s at least worth discussing. Do I think this is the route they go? No, I don’t, but this is the fun part of draft time.

Warren also seems like a Mike Vrabel guy, aside from the whole Penn State thing. With the consensus thought being that Vrabel and Josh McDaniels will bring the full back back into the offense, adding that element of toughness with a guy who can do multiple things wouldn’t hurt either. And no, I’m not saying you use the 4th pick on a guy just because he can block, but his style of play might fit this offense better than anyone else currently available.

More importantly, it’s worth noting how integral the tight end has been at times in McDaniels’ offenses while he’s been in Foxborough.

Here’s a look at where the tight end targets ranked on the team and their stats per year while he was the OC:

2006 – Ben Watson, 2nd (91 targets, 49 catches, 643 yards, 3 TD); Daniel Graham, 6th (34 targets, 21 catches, 235 yards, 2 TD)

2007 – Ben Watson, 6th (49 targets, 36 catches, 389 yards, 6 TD); Kyle Brady, 7th (16 targets, 9 catches, 70 yards, 2 TD)

2008 – Ben Watson , 5th (47 targets, 22 catches, 209 yards, 2 TD); David Thomas, 7th (17 targets, 9 catches, 93 yards)

2012 – Aaron Hernandez, 3rd (83 targets, 51 catches, 483 yards, 5 TD); Rob Gronkowski, 4th (79 targets, 55 catches, 790 yards, 11 TD); Michael Hoomanawanui, 11th (7 targets, 5 catches, 109 yards)

2013 – Rob Gronkowski, 6th (66 targets, 39 catches, 592 yards, 4 TD); Michael Hoomanawanui, 8th (19 targets, 12 catches, 136 yards)

2014 – Rob Gronkowski, 2nd (131 targets, 82 catches, 1,124 yards, 12 TD); Michael Hoomanawanui, 11th (6 targets, 3 catches, 44 yards)

2015 – Rob Gronkowski, 1st (120 targets, 72 catches, 1,176 yards, 11 TD); Scott Chandler, 7th (42 targets, 23 catches, 259 yards, 4 TD)

2016 – Martellus Bennett, 3rd (73 targets, 55 catches, 701 yards, 7 TD); Rob Gronkowski, 6th (only played in eight games…38 targets, 25 catches, 540 yards, 3 TD)

2017 – Rob Gronkowski, 2nd (105 targets, 69 catches, 1,084 yards, 8 TD); Dwayne Allen, 8th (22 targets, 10 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD); Martellus Bennett, 12th (only played two games…6 targets, 6 catches, 53 yards)

2018 – Rob Gronkowski, 3rd (72 targets, 47 catches, 682 yards, 3 TD); Jacob Hollister, 11th (5 targets, 4 catches, 52 yards); Dwayne Allen, 12th (4 targets, 3 catches, 27 yards)

2019 – Ben Watson, 8th (24 targets, 17 catches, 173 yards); Matt LaCosse, 11th (19 targets, 13 catches, 131 yards, 1 TD); Ryan Izzo, 13th (9 targets, 6 catches, 114 yards, 1 TD)

2020 – Ryan Izzo, 7th (20 targets, 13 catches, 199 yards); Jakob Johnson, 9th (9 targets, 8 catches, 35 yards); Dalton Keene, 13th (5 targets, 3 catches, 16 yards)

2021 – Hunter Henry, 2nd (75 targets, 50 catches, 603 yards, 9 TD); Jonnu Smith, 6th (45 targets, 28 catches, 294 yards, 1 TD)

The fact Ben Watson was still as much of a factor as he was in 2007 is notable given how good that offense was. When you look at 2012-2018, obviously having the greatest tight end of all time helps, but I still think even if you had someone else, the position is still a key piece of the puzzle for the offense’s success each of those years. Just look at the production Martellus Bennett had in 2016. Brady certainly helps all of this too, but the point is that Josh McDaniels – when he has serviceable ones – will absolutely utilize them.

Adding Warren is a risk if they do in fact shock everyone and do it, but adding a reliable, tough playmaker for Maye could end up being the best decision depending on how things play out in front of them on draft night.