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Andrew Beck is the highest-paid New England undrafted free agent

The Patriots clearly think highly of the former Longhorns tight end.

NCAA Football: Texas at Kansas State Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Former Texas Longhorns tight end Andrew Beck didn’t hear his name called during the seven rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft, but he was clearly a priority undrafted free agent target for the New England Patriots — the league’s best-run organization made Beck its highest-paid post-draft acquisition:

As noted, that’s the guaranteed money that Beck will make regardless of whether he makes the New England roster. And there’s a good chance that he does, as SB Nation’s Pats Pulpit noted the lack of depth at tight end following the retirement of Rob Gronkowski:

Without Rob Gronkowski, the tight end group is a thin and unexperienced one in New England’s system: the five men combine for exactly zero in-game appearances for the Patriots. Lacking a true all-around player like Gronkowski, the group is basically split into receivers (Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Stephen Anderson) and blockers (Ryan Izzo, Andrew Beck). Free agency signing Matt LaCosse has probably the best potential to serve as a hybrid in the mold of Gronk.

Beck was mostly known as a blocker at Texas, but he tested well at the Texas Pro Day, showing more athleticism than expected with a 34-inch vertical leap and a 4.19 that was better than wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s time at the NFL Combine.

“Today, the focus for me was coming out and showing teams that I can be beneficial in the passing game and I think I did that,” Beck told Burnt Orange Nation.

Given the lack of two-way threats on the Patriots roster, Beck can increase his odds of making the team if he can prove his versatility in the upcoming competition with the one-dimensional players in the group.