Who Should I Start? Brycen Hopkins or Mitchell Wilcox

Sunday, April 21, 10:33 PM

The New England Patriots quietly brought in free-agent tight ends Brycen Hopkins, Sean McKeon and Mitchell Wilcox in for workouts late last week, which could reflect on their desire to add another layer to the tight end depth chart of Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and La'Michael Pettway. Hopkins has only 13 receptions on 19 targets for 196 yards and no touchdowns in his four NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. McKeon ended the 2023 season on Injured Reserve due to an ankle injury and has only six catches on 11 targets for 38 yards and one touchdown in his four NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Wilcox has 29 catches on 35 targets for 211 yards and one touchdowns in his three years with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Monday, April 22, 4:39 PM

The New England Patriots signed free-agent tight end Mitchell Wilcox on Monday, the team announced on X. Originally undrafted out of the 2020 class, Wilcox has spent the last four years with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 48 career games, the South Florida product has hauled in 29 of his 35 targets for 211 yards and one touchdown. The Patriots re-signed Hunter Henry to a three-year, $27 million deal this offseason, so the TE1 role is occupied in Foxborough. Wilcox could have the chance to compete with Austin Hooper for the TE2 job, but Hooper is likely the favorite to back up Henry. That said, Wilcox can be ignored in fantasy football.