The New England Patriots have been rapidly locking up their draft picks in the wake of the 2020 NFL Draft. They had signed six of their 10 picks coming into the day and now, they have eight signed.
The Patriots announced that they agreed to deals with third-round tight end Devin Asiasi and sixth-round offensive guard Michael Onwenu. They also confirmed the signings of third-round linebacker Anfernee Jennings and seventh-round center Dustin Woodard.
Now, just Kyle Dugger (No. 37 overall) and Dalton Keene (No. 101 overall) remain unsigned.
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Asiasi and Onwenu both have ties to Michigan and current Patriots quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, who was at Michigan as passing game coordinator from 2015-16 and was UCLA's offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2017. Asiasi played at Michigan as a freshman in 2016 before transferring and following Fisch to UCLA. Onwenu spent his entire four-year career at Michigan.
Asiasi broke out in his final year at Chip Kelly's program. He caught 44 passes for 641 yards and four touchdowns and was considered to be a rising prospect leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft. He should get a chance to earn a role at tight end considering the dearth of talent that the Patriots had there last year.
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As for Onwenu, he started 35 games over the course of his final three years at Michigan, and all but one of them came at right guard. He's a massive man (6-3, 344) and is an excellent run blocker who should provide depth and may eventually challenge for a starting guard job in 2021 if the Patriots part ways with Joe Thuney.