Yeah, they were drafting for athletic ability to create the prototype BB TE, a big target passcatcher who could block as well as he could catch. Graham realized that all the blocking was limiting his potential to cash in as a pass catcher. So he went somewhere he could cash in only to find the QB there wasn't targeting him and next thing he knew a BB clone was in charge and he's again expected to be primarily a blocker...
Watson had a ton of athleticism, as witnessed when he chased down Champ Bailey after Brady threw that pick because Ben missed his block... Watson is reportedly a very bright guy. Unfortunately he isn't football smart. He struggled out of the gate with reads and routes, and in the process tied himself up in knots to the point he couldn't be counted on to catch the damn ball while doing all that thinking. He's just not instinctive. That's why he flashes and fades. He might yet carve a better role out in a less cerebral, simpler system, but he isn't a great fit here.
Mike Martz said something last week that struck a cord with me because I think it's how BB has come to see it. A TE has to block first and foremost, otherwise you might just as well add another WR... That is what guys like Clark and Gonzo are, big and durable, slower footed, but surer handed slot WR. They succeed on offenses that pass block sufficiently based on quick reads and releases. Our OL is attempting to pass block for Brady to Moss and that takes too much time to develop for them to stand alone so the TE primarily serve as extra pass blockers. And our OL isn't big enough to run block sufficiently so the TE serves as run extra blockers. When blocking takes up 70% of your snaps it becomes your primary use. It's hard to build rapore in a timing offense with a guy who is only in the pattern on 30% of the snaps. It's hard to look at that guy after he screws up a route or fails to adjust or drops a pass when you have a guy like Welker out there who is running routes 95% of the time where he's supposed to be 99% of the time and finds the way to get open close to 100% of the time and catches 70% of the passes he's targeted on on average (sometimes he simply catches them all...).
Brady needs more/better intermediate receiving options...but he also needs better blocking including runblocking so he can balance the offense and counter the blitz. Adding a pass catching TE isn't going to achieve that because Welker was running those routes and it didn't achieve that...Upgrading the OL and WR positions might. Reconfiguring the offense might also work in the alternative...whereas adding another deep thread probably won't because Brady won't be any more able to routinely hit two of them deep than he now is with one... All that's going to net you is more cumulative QB hits.
