The New England Patriots may have lost Rob Gronkowski to retirement this offseason, but they also welcomed back an old friend, as they signed tight end Ben Watson for a second go-around in Foxborough.
Watson spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots, and while he certainly wasn't Gronk-like, he was still solid, with his best year coming in 2006 when he hauled in 49 receptions for 643 yards and three touchdowns.
The best seasons of Watson's career actually came with other teams, particularly in 2015 with the New Orleans Saints when he caught 74 passes for 825 yards and six scores.
But is Watson, now 38 years old, still a reliable target that Tom Brady—and Fantasy Football owners—can count on?
Well, let's look at what Watson did this past season in what was his second stint with the Saints.
The Norfolk, Va. native snared 35 balls for 400 yards and a couple of touchdowns in a New Orleans offense that, while explosive, did not make much use of its tight ends.
Now, was that because Sean Payton did not want to use his tight ends, or was it because he didn't feel his tight ends were very good?
It might be more of the latter, as the Saints did go out and sign Jared Cook this offseason, and once upon a time, Jimmy Graham once starred for New Orleans. Heck, Watson himself was a big part of the Saints' offense back in 2015.
Just how much, then, can we expect from Watson back in New England?
Probably not much.
After all, he is almost 40 years old, and even though he is two seasons removed from catching 61 passes for 522 yards and four scores with the Baltimore Ravens in 2017, two years makes a big difference at his age.
To be fair to Watson, it's not like the Pats have a whole lot of options in their receiving corps. Julian Edelman seems like the only sure thing, as N'Keal Harry is a rookie, Demaryius Thomas is coming off of a torn Achilles, and Dontrelle Inman caught just 28 balls for the Indianapolis Colts this past season.
So, there is a chance that Watson ends up getting a fair amount of targets, but does he still have enough left to make the most of them?
What made Watson such an intriguing prospect early on in his career was his athleticism, as he was able to gain separation better than most other tight ends in the league.
But now, 15 years into his career, Watson no longer has the speed or agility that he once possessed, which certainly limits his effectiveness.
Then, we have a pretty big factor that we haven't mentioned yet: Watson will be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 campaign as a result of a positive PED test, so that right there basically takes him out of consideration from being your top tight end.
With Watson, you are basically hoping that he can come back and take advantage of the fact that the Patriots don't have many reliable receivers and represent a dependable target for Brady, but the more realistic scenario is that Harry impresses in his rookie year and one of Thomas or Inman (or perhaps even Phillip Dorsett) steps up.
Realistically, Watson may end up catching around 35-40 passes for between 400-450 yards. There are definitely better tight end options out there, even for your No. 2 tight end.
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