2020 Tight Ends

Cole Kmet-TE-Notre Dame-6’6”-262-1st Round-92

Couldn’t take my eyes off of him in the game against Georgia early in the year. I’ve been looking for the next Gronk for the last 10 years and this guy is the closest yet. Really grew into his role in 2019 racking up 43 catches for over 500 yards and 6 TD’s. Terrific frame for an inline tight end and he can move too. Big strider who clocked a 4.7 flat in the 40. That’s good enough to make it in the NFL but will likely push him to day 2. He’s 6’6” and has a 37 inch vert, this guy is going to be a redzone threat without a doubt. I know his blocking isn’t exceptional, but George Kittle is the only good athlete I remember being an outstanding blocker at this stage. Patriots at 23, please select this kid and make the offense functional again.

Adam Trautman-TE-Dayton-6’5”-255-2nd Round-85

Initially I thought he was going to be some size/speed non-football player because who the hell has ever heard of Dayton for college football. But then I watched him run routes and this guy understands leverage. Not sure why he wound up at Dayton, but he’s an NFL player. Doesn’t have top end speed with a 4.8 in the 40, that and the level of competition definitely pushes him to day 2. That being said he reminds me of Jason Witten with his quicks (6.78 in 3 cone!!), leverage, and push off. Definitely not the same blocker right now. Lining up all over the field you could see how he dictated coverages and was clearly keyed on by the defense. People have him slated 3rd round or later but I think he’ll be gone by 50.

Albert Okwuegbunam-TE-Missouri-6’5”-258-2nd Round-77

Great specimen for a tight end. Reminds me of a knock off O.J. Howard or less troubled and competitive Austin Sefarian-Jenkins. The bottom line with Albert, is he has all the talent and none of the hustle. I see him dogging in on at least 60% of the plays. Yet he’s still able to play inline or split wide and be effective. He’s built to play in the red area having scored 6 touchdowns each of the last two years. Long arms at over 34” along with his size should spell a solid blocker, I just haven’t seen it. At the end of the day, I’m not a fan of him because I don’t see hustle in his game and think he’s gotten this far on minimal effort. I’m one of those guys that thinks that doesn’t translate most of the time. But at the end of the day, here’s an ideal sized and talented tight end that ran a 4.49 40 and someone is going to believe he is Jared Cook but better and will draft him in the mid to early 2nd round.

Harrison Bryant-TE-Florida Atlantic-6’5”-243-3rd Round-55

What position does Evan Engram play? Answer: not tight end. Same for this kid. I know this is not what you likely care about most, but how does a guy that’s 6’5” have 30.5” arms? To put that in perspective, Stefon Diggs has over 31 inch arms. I would like to digress, but that effectively means Bryant will never be able to block anyone on the edge without cutting them. You see that in how he’s used, almost always detached from the formation, off the line, or in motion. I can totally see the value in an athletic tight end who is more of a receiver. But Harrison does not have dominant traits in quicks, speed (4.71), route running, or run after catch. He’s just not an impressive player and I think he’ll never be more than Jacob Hollister.