Bill Belichick sought advice from another prominent football coach before moving on his team’s third-round selection in this year’s draft.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported this week that the New England Patriots coach called UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, his trusted friend, before trading up to draft Bruins tight end Devin Asiasi at No. 91 overall. Howe adds that Kelly provided Belichick with a “last-minute assurance” about Asiasi.
“His athletic ability for his size, someone that big shouldn’t be that smooth an athlete,” Kelly was quoted as saying about Asiasi. “His versatility is what a lot of teams in the NFL coveted, and obviously Bill saw that himself. The one thing I knew in coaching that league is there aren’t a lot of guys out there, no matter what year it is, who are as big and athletic. The combination of Devin’s size and athletic ability, I knew it was going to make him unique, not just in this class but any class.”
Asiasi, listed at 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, played two seasons for Kelly at UCLA after transferring from Michigan. 2019 was his breakout year, as Asiasi logged 641 receiving yards and four touchdowns (both second on the team).
As for Belichick and Kelly, they are known to be close, so close in fact that Kelly almost ended up in New England after he was fired by San Francisco.
