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Another New England Patriots early-round draft pick has been shown the door in Foxborough.
Per Dov Kleiman, tight end Devin Asiasi was released by New England as it cuts its roster down to 53 players on Tuesday.
#Patriots cut former 3rd round pick TE Devin Asiasi.
Belichick used two 3rd round picks on TE in 2020, one of on Asiasi, and one on Dalton Keene.
Both now released. They *combined* for 5 career catches.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 30, 2022
Asiasi had a fair amount of receptions while working with the backups in camp, but with Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith already in place plus the emergence of Lil'Jordan Humphrey, obtaining a roster spot was going to be a challenge for the third-year pro.
Asiasi had an underwhelming career after the Patriots traded up to select him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded just two receptions over his first two seasons, both coming in 2020. After New England signed Henry and Smith in 2021, Asiasi hardly played, only seeing action in one game last season.
The Patriots' decision to release Asiasi comes a little more than a week after they waived Dalton Keene, another tight end they drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Keene spent much of his first two seasons on injured reserve due to a knee injury, recording just three receptions in six games in 2020.
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New England's decision to part ways with the two 2020 third-round tight ends is just the latest example of the Patriots' poor drafting in recent years. Of the 13 picks the Patriots made in the first three rounds of the draft between 2018 and 2020, only three of them (Isaiah Wynn, Damien Harris and Kyle Dugger) appear to be starters for this upcoming season. However, Wynn's reportedly been on the trade block after getting moved to right tackle this offseason as he enters the final season of his rookie deal. Wynn's also played in just 34 of the possible 65 regular-season games in the first four years of career.
The Patriots had 13 first, second, and third-round picks between 2018 and 2020. Right now, it looks like they went 2-for-13. pic.twitter.com/Nc0lv3DzP6
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) August 30, 2022
Six of the 13 players are no longer on the Patriots (Sony Michel, Duke Dawson, N'Keal Harry, Chase Winovich, Asiasi and Keene). 2019 second-round cornerback Joejuan Williams is on season-ending injured reserve after starting just one game in his first three seasons.
A few players selected in the first three rounds of the draft during that three-year stretch have shown some promise lately outside of Harris and Dugger. Offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste arguably had his best training camp and preseason, potentially becoming the starting right tackle if Wynn gets moved. Linebacker Anferenee Jennings also had a standout preseason after missing all of 2021 due to injury, recording six tackles and two sacks. Linebacker Josh Uche hasn't made as much noise in the preseason, but has bright spots over his first two seasons, recording three sacks over two games last season before dealing with injuries.
