I would suspect that most Patriots fans tend to be fans of Aaron Hernandez. He's just a good football player. Very good receiver, good open-field runner, and is pretty exciting to watch. The thought of him and Gronk together for the next six seasons is, generally speaking, an encouraging one.
But how good is Hernandez, really? Here are his stats the first three seasons:
2010: 14 g, 64 tar, 45 rec, 70.3%, 563 yds, 12.5 ypc, 8.8 ypt, 6 td
2011: 14 g, 113 tar, 79 rec, 69.9%, 910 yds, 11.5 ypc, 8.1 ypt, 7 td
2012: 10 g, 84 tar, 51 rec, 60.7%, 483 yds, 9.5 ypc, 5.8 ypt, 5 td
TOT: 38 g, 261 tar, 175 rec, 67.0%, 1956 yds, 11.2 ypc, 7.5 ypt, 18 td
Per Game: 6.9 tar, 4.6 rec, 51.5 yds, 0.48 td
So, combining what we observe with what the numbers tell us, just exactly how good is Aaron Hernandez?
We know he's a bit of a Swiss Army knife - can play out wide, from the slot, on the line, or in the backfield. He abuses linebackers and is pretty big for corners (though there are plenty of WRs that are bigger than he is). For a TE he's pretty small and not a very good blocker. He is also not terribly durable. 38 games in 3 regular seasons means he misses, on average, slightly more than 3 games per year. And he often plays very banged up.
He is signed to a reasonable contract through 2018. I wonder what he would fetch in terms of a trade. If the Pats are looking to upgrade their team, what kind of return would they get for Hernandez? I'm not advocating trading him; I'm just wondering.
What is the feeling around here about Hernandez? Love him? Is he an absolute key to this team? Is he overrated? Should they consider moving him to improve elsewhere?
But how good is Hernandez, really? Here are his stats the first three seasons:
2010: 14 g, 64 tar, 45 rec, 70.3%, 563 yds, 12.5 ypc, 8.8 ypt, 6 td
2011: 14 g, 113 tar, 79 rec, 69.9%, 910 yds, 11.5 ypc, 8.1 ypt, 7 td
2012: 10 g, 84 tar, 51 rec, 60.7%, 483 yds, 9.5 ypc, 5.8 ypt, 5 td
TOT: 38 g, 261 tar, 175 rec, 67.0%, 1956 yds, 11.2 ypc, 7.5 ypt, 18 td
Per Game: 6.9 tar, 4.6 rec, 51.5 yds, 0.48 td
So, combining what we observe with what the numbers tell us, just exactly how good is Aaron Hernandez?
We know he's a bit of a Swiss Army knife - can play out wide, from the slot, on the line, or in the backfield. He abuses linebackers and is pretty big for corners (though there are plenty of WRs that are bigger than he is). For a TE he's pretty small and not a very good blocker. He is also not terribly durable. 38 games in 3 regular seasons means he misses, on average, slightly more than 3 games per year. And he often plays very banged up.
He is signed to a reasonable contract through 2018. I wonder what he would fetch in terms of a trade. If the Pats are looking to upgrade their team, what kind of return would they get for Hernandez? I'm not advocating trading him; I'm just wondering.
What is the feeling around here about Hernandez? Love him? Is he an absolute key to this team? Is he overrated? Should they consider moving him to improve elsewhere?