NFL Draft Position Breakdown – TE Edition

Position Outlook

Position Rank among other positions:

• Top-End Talent – 11th (of 11)
• Depth – 11th
• 1st Round Caliber Players – 0 (11th)
• Overall – 11th

It’s not unusual that there the Tight End position isn’t stacked with talent, but this year’s class took that to the next level. Aside from McBride, there are no prospects worth getting excited over, or even drafting before Day 3, and even he isn’t nearly a 1st-round caliber prospect. Moreover, the depth of this position is uninspiring. This is not the year to draft Tight Ends.

Top 5 Position Ranking

1. Trey McBride CSU – Full Scouting Report
2. Charlie Kolar ISU – Full Scouting Report
3. Isaiah Likely CC – Full Scouting Report
4. Jeremy Ruckert OSU – Full Scouting Report
5. Greg Dulcich UCLA – Full Scouting Report

McBride is the clear-cut TE1. The tier gap is massive after him, and all the rest of this class can be tossed into the same boat – upside dart-throws with limited upside and glaring flaws.
If I were to highlight any of them, Kolar and Likely stood out to me, and have the likeliest chances to succeed of the bunch.

Ranking Notes

Overrated

• Greg Dulcich UCLA – Highly touted as an athlete with great receiving ability and blocking. I saw the opposite. A middling athlete given his size, with poor blocking ability and average receiving ability at best. Plus, he is much too small to be a successful NFL Tight End.
• Jalen Wydermyer TA&M – A receiving Tight End who had many drops, can’t block to save his life and had one of the worst Combine showings in this draft. Not only is there nothing to be excited about, but there also isn’t even anything to bank on.

Underrated

• Charlie Kolar ISU – While he is a bit undersized in the weight department, his height looms tall at 6’6″, and he is a great receiving talent. He isn’t a great blocker, so an argument can be made to play him as a Wide Receiver. That may happen, but he presents offenses with a great mismatch ability out of the slot/inline.
• Isaiah Likely CC – Despite a terrible pre-draft process, Likely had good tape. I was very encouraged by the abilities he displayed, and his twitchiness, blocking, and receiving ability all looked enticing. He’s a project, but he presents upside.

Sleepers

• Jelani Woods UVA – Woods is one of the 3 best athletes in this entire draft, and according to RAS scores is the most athletically gifted Tight End ever. His tape was nothing to write home about, but that level of athleticism is worth a great deal.
• Chase Allen ISU – When watching Iowa State tape, Allen consistently showed up. He popped off the screen with his massive size, and he impressed with his good receiving and blocking ability. He is slowly climbing higher up my rankings.

Biggest Risers

• Jelani Woods UVA – As mentioned, he is one of the freakiest athletes in this class. His Combine performance was an explosive display of upside.
• Chigoziem Okonkwo MD – Despite being previously a non-factor in this draft, Chigo ran the fastest 40 of all the Tight Ends. In a weak class, that’s all you need to get drafted.

Biggest Fallers

• Jalen Wydermyer TA&M – Profiling as a receiving talent who struggled with drops, Wydermyer needed to show athleticism at the Combine. He did the exact opposite. In my book, he is undraftable.
• Isaiah Likely CC – Running an abysmal 4.8 40 didn’t help Likely’s stock at all. He also ran the slowest Shuttle at the Combine. Bad athletic testings will knock you down draft boards, especially when they’re as bad as Likely’s.

Superlative Ranks

Best Relative Athleticism

1. Jelani Woods UVA
2. Charlie Kolar ISU
3. Daniel Bellinger SDSU

Best Hands & Ball Skills

1. Charlie Kolar ISU
2. Trey McBride CSU
3. Chase Allen ISU

Best Route Running

1. Charlie Kolar ISU
2. Isaiah Likely CC
3. Trey McBride CSU

Best Blocker

1. Jeremy Ruckert OSU
2. Trey McBride CSU
3. Isaiah Likely CC

Best Football IQ

1. Trey McBride CSU
2. Jeremy Ruckert OSU
3. Jalen Wydermyer TA&M

Final Projection

If any Tight End gets selected in the 1st round, I will be utterly shocked. McBride could sneak his way in, but he doesn’t have the rank for the part. Still, there is something to be said about a player being the only good player in his class. That’ll boost him highly up draft boards.
If any other Tight End gets taken in the 1st 2 rounds, the GM should be fired. Yes, these are all harsh statements, but anyone scouting this Tight End class would agree that there are MANY better players in this draft.

See the Tight Ends’ overall ranking among other players on my Big Board.

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