I watched him a lot. I also rank my prospects prior to the draft, so this isn't a case of my rubber stamping Belichick's picks.
He's not only an effort guy, but he's one of the most athletically gifted TE's in the draft class. Of all the TE's he's one of the few that actually partook in every combine drill and also excelled at them. He caught a high percentage of his targets and was a good blocker in college.
Virginia Tech barely passed the ball, their QB was 2nd on the team in rushing attempts. If a receiving option doesn't garner targets because the team passes the 11th fewest times in the ACC... that's hardly the receiver's fault. Only three team in the ACC attempted fewer passes then the Hokies, he can only catch the ones thrown his way.
I said the same thing about Foster Moreau last season, that his lack of targets in college wouldn't prevent him from being a receiving option. He led the Raiders in receiving TD's until he blew out his knee and still ended up 2nd on the team in receiving TD's. Moreau was also their best blocking TE and caught 84% of his targets.
Like I said, poor assessment...