Tribe 101 with Prof. Rosen: Hitters
March 27, 2015Can Johnny Manziel Come Back from the Celebrity Injured List?
March 27, 2015The 2015 NFL Draft is just about a month away with the first round starting on April 30th. I have examined my top five players for each of the defensive positions along with the offensive line. Now we turn to the ever-evolving position of tight end. For reference, here were my top five tight ends in last year’s NFL draft. Tight ends have become very valuable in the NFL with the elite players giving their teams a huge mismatch.
Tight end should be a point of interest for Browns fans, given the need of a starting tight end for the Browns. This year’s draft has two top tight ends with a lot of interesting prospects behind those two. Potential could be the overall description of the talent in this class. So let’s take a look at my top five tight ends in the 2015 NFL Draft.
1. Maxx Williams, Minnesota
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Minnesota’s Maxx Williams has the prototypical frame of an NFL-caliber tight end. As a redshirt sophomore last season, he played in 12 games, catching 36 passes for 569 yards and eight touchdowns. He has the potential to be a very good tight end at the next level.
Williams has a great combination of size, athleticism, and ball skills. He is a 6-foot-4, 249-pound player, who ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 117-inch broad jump and leaped a 34.5-inch vertical jump. He can run past defenders in the seam to get open. He has great ball skills to go up high to grab a pass at its highest point. He has big hands and long arms to catch passes very well. After the catch, he uses his athleticism and speed to make big plays (as you can see below). As a blocker, he shows solid blocking form and willingness to compete in the trenches. He can line up outside and on the end of the line because of his blocking ability. CBSSports.com’s Dan Brugler says, “Williams has the frame, athleticism and ballskills at the position to start quickly in the NFL and carve out a Witten-like career as a pro.”
Williams is raw in his technique and route running. He could add some more weight and strength to his frame so that he can fair better in the bigger NFL trenches. He could also sink his hips more and better utilize his length in blocking. He does not run crisp routes, occasionally rounding off routes, allowing defenders to stay close with him. He also runs a little high which hurts his ability to change directions quickly in routes. But, his athleticism and ball skills are something most players do not have, which could make him a very good tight end in the NFL.
2. Clive Walford, Miami (FL)
Clive Walford of Miami (FL) is another athletic tight end who can create mismatches in the middle of the field. In his senior season last year, he played 12 games catching 44 passes for 676 yards and seven touchdowns. He will most likely be the second tight end off the board in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Walford is an athletic tight end, running 4.79 seconds in the 40-yard dash, jumping 120 inches in the broad jump and leaping 35 inches in the vertical jump at the NFL Combine. He has the ability makes plays after the catch using this athleticism (as you can see in the video below). His ability to make people miss makes him very dangerous with the ball. He has long arms along with good hands to give the quarterback a large catching radius to throw to. His explosiveness allows him to expand his catch radius to high point a pass. Walford turns his head quickly to find the ball and he has good hands and toughness to make catches in traffic. He is a good blocker with the ability to help out in the running game and pass protection. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said that Walford is “the most explosive tight end in this year’s draft.”
Walford is not the strongest tight end. He will need to add more strength in his lower half in order to translate as a good blocker in the NFL. He does not have the strength to move bigger defenders. He can also lose focus and drop catchable balls. Walford can also work on his route running to become even more dangerous in the passing game. But, his potential to be a receiving threat and a blocker makes him a three-down tight end in the NFL.
3. Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State
Jeff Heuerman has the potential to be a really good three-down tight end in the NFL. In his senior season last year, he played in 14 games with 17 receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns. His production was hurt quite a bit because of nagging injuries to his foot.
Heuerman has very good size at 6-foot-5, 254-pounds along with good athleticism. Though his receiving numbers were down this season, he really showed off impressive blocking ability. He uses his long arms to keep players away from his body along with a wide base to stay balanced against the rush. Heuerman is very strong with the ability to add more weight and strength to his frame. This season was tough to see his athletic ability in the passing game, but he can be a mismatch. He has straight-line speed to beat linebackers in the seam and get open. Heuerman has big hands and good jumping ability to catch a ball at its highest point. He has shown the ability to use his athleticism to make big plays in the passing game (as you can see below). NFL Network’s Charles Davis says, “Heuerman’s a much better athlete than people think, too. I expect him to be an excellent pro.”
Heuerman was not a productive passing threat due to his injuries and the Ohio State system. His injury history will be a question teams will need to take a hard look at. He needs to work on his route running ability and getting cleaner on routes. He can struggle with focus drops on occasion. His biggest question will be if he can be a bigger passing threat than he was in college. I believe Heuerman can be a good pass catcher, along with being a very good blocker.
4. Ben Koyack, Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s Ben Koyack is another three-down tight end because of his blocking ability. As a senior last season, he played 13 games catching 30 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He is another tight end with a prototypical frame for the position.
Koyack is a technically sound blocker in both running and passing situations. He gets into good blocking position using leverage to block his man. He also has good hand placement along with good agility to keep in front of defenders. He has good size at 6-foot-5, 255-pounds. He has excellent hands to match tough catches in traffic and keep hold of it after big hits. To go along with his hands, he has very good body control. He can adjust his body to make tough catches and use his jumping ability to increase his catching radius (as you can see in the video below). He has solid athleticism to get open in the seam against linebackers. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says Koyack has “strong understanding and execution as a run blocker with the physical traits to be a tough matchup in the passing game.”
Koyack did not have a big role as a receiving threat in college, so he is still a little raw in this area. He needs to work on his route running to help get separation from defenders. He will need to add weight and strength to continue his success as a blocker, as well as being stronger in his routes to avoid getting re-routed. He has also not shown much ability after the catch to make big plays. But, Koyack has the potential to be a three-down tight end in the NFL with a little coaching.
5. Blake Bell, Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s Blake Bell is a former quarterback who transferred to a tight end. As a senior last season, he played 12 games catching 16 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns. He is very raw as a tight end, but he has the potential to be a starting NFL caliber tight end.
Bell has great size at 6-foot-6, 252-pounds along with good speed, running a 4.80-second 40-yard dash. He can become a mismatch for defenses because of his athleticism and size combination. He has good hands with long arms to reach for passes. With the ball in hands, he runs with toughness and speed to gain yards. As a quarterback, he would be placed in the game to run the ball and many times he used his strength and toughness to roll over defenders. He is a strong player so he has the ability to block in the running game. He is also a smart player, who uses his quarterback IQ to find open areas in the defense (as you can see below). Lance Zierlein of NFL.com says, “Bell was looked over by the scouting community during the regular season, but he has flashed sure hands and shown improvement as a blocker and could have an NFL future if a team is willing to be patient with him.”
Bell is a very raw tight end with only one year of experience at the position after starting his college career as a quarterback. He is not a great blocker specifically because of his raw technique. He has the tendency to fall off blocks and take bad angles to try to slow down a rusher. He is not an experienced route runner, so he will need to learn some of the unfamiliar routes of the route tree. He has the athleticism to get high in the air, but he has not shown it on film. He needs to learn to use his athleticism to go up and get a ball at its highest point. Nevertheless, I believe he has a huge upside because of his size, toughness, intelligence and speed.
5 Comments
Late rounders…
A.J. Derby – Arkansas
Nick Boyle – Delaware
Casey Pierce – Kent St.
Honestly, I don’t think there are many draftable TEs in this class at all. I think a NFL team might make a better bet going the Antonio Gates route and trying to find a really good PF who isn’t going to get drafted high enough (or at all) in the NBA draft this year and make them a deal.
I’m actually ok with Dray and Barnidge.
I am if we find a halfback (Harvin/Bush type) that can run the seam route.
Take Maxx Williams in the 2nd round if there.