Virginia Tech tight end Dalton Keene was taken in the third round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots.
Virginia Tech tight end Dalton Keene was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 101st overall selection. After trading tight end Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay, New England was seeking a versatile tight end for its offense and found one in Keene.
The Patriots traded up to get a shot at Keene and thus made him the highest draft selection of any tight end in school history.
Keene played in 36 career games for Tech, hauling in 59 passes for 748 yards (12.7 avg.) with eight touchdowns.
The versatile Littleton, Colo., native tied for fourth on the team in 2019 with 21 receptions and was second on the squad with five receiving touchdowns. In addition to 240 receiving yards, Keene carried the ball 11 times for 33 yards during his junior campaign. He was selected to the 2019 ACC All-Academic Team.
Keene made numerous memorable plays during his tenure at Tech. The longest play of his collegiate career came on a short pass in a 31-14 win at Duke (9/29/18) that resulted in a 67-yard touchdown play that included several broken tackles and stiff arms.
His one-yard touchdown catch provided the winning margin in a dramatic 22-19 comeback win at North Carolina (10/13/18), as the Hokies’ orchestrated a dramatic 18-play, 98-yard drive to get the win.
Keene played a pivotal role in the 34-31 overtime win over Virginia in 2018. With Tech trailing 31-24 and only 2:29 remaining in regulation, he hauled in a 45-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Willis on third-and-10 from Tech’s own 25 to kick-start the Hokies’ game-tying drive.
–VT Athletics
