Patriots sign UDFA TE Hollister as potential sleeper

The New England Patriots signed TE Jacob Hollister, an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming.
Hollister can be an asset in the deep passing game: he ranked first among 47 qualified FBS tight ends with seven receptions on balls traveling at least 20 yards in the air, first with three touchdowns on deep passes, and seventh with 189 receiving yards on deep passes in 2016.
The Wyoming star was 15th among draft-eligible tight ends in yards run per route at 1.57 and he was seventh among the group with an 82.4 pass-blocking grade. He does have some work ahead of him though as a run-blocker; his 68.7 run-blocking grade ranked 31st among the group.
Hollister showed he was capable of lining up all over the field — he lined up as an inline tight end 709 times, as a wide receiver 136 times (with 124 of those coming in the slot), and in the backfield 53 times.
Hollister was PFF’s No. 8 tight end on the draft board, and with guys ranked behind him like Jeremy Sprinkle going in the fifth round and Michael Roberts going in the fourth round, this could prove to be a huge steal and addition to New England’s aerial attack in 2017.