2010 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft: The New England Patriots Select...

The twenty-second pick in the inaugural edition of the Cincy Jungle Mock Draft is brought to us by member James Schmid the great, selecting for the New England Patriots.  His explanation for the pick is after the jump.  Thank you for your participation James Schmid the great.

With the twenty-second pick in the 2010 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the New England Patriots select...

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma

The New England Patriots have one tight end under contract on their roster and that's an aging Alge Crumpler who signed a two year deal at 4.8 million dollars with a million dollar signing bonus. Crumpler has retained help from outside resources to keep his weight from approaching 300 pounds.  With age and weight problems Crumpler can't be counted on as an every down player, therefore the Patriots must draft a tight end after letting Benjamin Watson and Chris Baker leave via free agency.

Enter Jermaine Gresham, a first round talent who could fall because of a knee injury . At 6'6" and 261 pounds, Gresham is a big target in the red zone.  Despite his size, he has soft hands and will rarely drop a pass. He commands the middle of the field, effectively shielding the safety on a post route and extending his arms above the coverage and making the difficult catches. Not only his physical abilities, he has shown true progression in his football IQ as well as his ability to catch the ball and be absolutely dominant in the red zone. He is an adequate blocker who will need to progress into the next level.

Coach Belichick spent two first round selections on tight ends in the last decade. ( Daniel Graham, Ben Watson ). The bottom line is that New England needs to obtain another weapon for Tom Brady to go along side Randy Moss, because it looks as though Wes Welker might not be available until November of 2010.

Jermaine Gresham Highlights:

(via ProDraftParty)