The Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett and a sixth round pick from the Chicago Bears tonight in exchange for a fourth round pick. This is a tremendous deal for the Patriots, especially if Bennett comes in focused and in shape. If he does, they stole him from the Bears. 

At 6-6 273, Bennett can play in-line or split out on the line of scrimmage. He’s a sound run blocker who gets into defenders and generates movement. Bennett has plus hand and has a tremendous catch radius. He can catch anything in his vicinity. He’s also a good underneath route runner who can separate versus safeties and linebackers. 

The Patriots have utilized a fair amount of 12 personnel (2TE’s, 2WR’s, 1 RB) throughout Bill Belichick’s tenure in New England. Remember, Bill Parcells was a big two tights guy. That’s where Belichick developed a liking for the personnel grouping when he was with the Giants. 

For all of you yearning for the days of Gronk and Hernandez, move on. The Patriots won’t use Bennett in the same way they did Hernandez. Bennett is more of a traditional tight end. Hernandez was “tweener”, a tight end/wide receiver. Bennett will be used as a blocker and a receiver. He won’t be displaced from formations as much as Hernandez was. In fact, I think the Patriots will use Bennett more like they did Scott Chandler last season. The only difference is, he’ll be a bigger part of the offense. He won’t just enter the game in red zone situations like Chandler did. 

Bennett is on the last year of his current deal and will count $5.1 million against the cap. That’s a lot of money for a second tight end but Bennett does more than your traditional second tight end. That’s what makes this deal so great. The Patriots lose nothing by bringing him in. If it works out, the Patriots offense will be impossible to stop. If it doesn’t, the Patriots will adjust to what ever personnel they have and make it work. That’s the beauty of Bill Bekichick. He always finds a way.