Browns working on Jordan Cameron’s extension “without success” so far
April 29, 2014Dan Gilbert: “Commissioner Silver made the right moves”
April 29, 2014The tight end is a position that can give a team a huge mismatch. It has become a place for big, athletic players to cause chaos for linebackers with their speed and corners with their size. The tight ends in the NFL are asked to catch the ball more rather than be in-line blockers. The 2014 NFL Draft is not very deep at this position. There are three tight ends that should make an impact next year with Eric Ebron leading the group. After the first three, there are players that are either raw or one trick players that do not have the overall skills of others.
1) Eric Ebron, North Carolina
Eric Ebron is the prototypical new style tight end of the NFL. He is a super athletic tight end that is more of a receiver than blocker. He will cause mismatches for any defense because of his size and speed combo. The 6’4”, 250 lbs. Tar Heels product ran a 4.60 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He has the speed and size that puts him above the rest of the tight ends and makes him a difference maker. Todd McShay says, “Ebron is a big play waiting to happen, and is on a different level in terms of his athleticism and explosiveness off the line and after the catch compared to the other tight ends in this draft.” He will be a player that can take the ball and make big plays happen. His biggest flaw is that he does not block well. Ebron will probably not be asked to block that much because the team drafted him for his receiving skills, not blocking skills.
2) Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington
Austin Seferian-Jenkins is a huge tight end with athleticism to go along with it. The Husky alum is a 6’5”, 262 lbs. tight end that is a big body player that will be a touchdown machine in the NFL. Seferian-Jenkins will be an all around tight end in the pros. He can use size to help block and can be a very beneficial player every down. The endzone threat is his biggest skill that will make him a dangerous player. He has great hands, athletic ability, and basketball skills that enable him to go up and steal a ball out of the air from defenders. He is a former basketball player in high school that will use his basketball skills to box out defenders from getting the ball. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network says that he will be “an immediate impact player in the red zone.” Seferian-Jenkins is not a fast tight end, which hurts him in trying to separate from defenders. He also had an off field incident that will need to be looked at before a team looks at drafting him.
3) Jace Amaro, Texas Tech
Jace Amaro is a highly productive tight end in college with the ability to continue that in the NFL. He is another athletic tight end that is in the form of the newer tight end that are mostly receivers rather than in-line blockers. He has great size at 6’5”, 265 lbs. with really good hands to extend and get the ball. Gil Brandt of NFL Network says, “Amaro will be a tough matchup in the NFL.” He had an outstanding year at Texas Tech with 106 receptions, 1352 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns. His receiving yards were eleventh in Division I-A college football among all players. Amaro will be a great possession receiver for the team he goes to in the draft. He must improve his blocking if he wants to be more versatile for teams. He was not asked to block in the pass happy Red Raiders attack, so he must get more experience at blocking. He also has character issues including on-field behavior when he was ejected from his bowl game for punching an opponent.
4) Troy Niklas, Notre Dame
Troy Niklas is one of the biggest tight ends in the draft at 6’6”, 270 lbs. The Irish alum is a redzone threat that can go up and get passes in the air at their highest point. He is a raw athletic player that transitioned from linebacker during his college career at Notre Dame. During the 2013 season, Niklas was the big play target for the team with an average of 15.6 yards per reception. He will be a player that will need to keep evolving as a tight end and learn how to improve his skills. He is a very able blocker that was asked to block quite a bit in the Irish offense. Niklas will need to improve his blocking technique because he sometimes is too high on defenders and tends to get off balance. Also he must get better at route running. He does not run crisp routes and so he hurts himself in trying to separate from defenders because of the average routes. I see him as a case like Jordan Cameron, where he will need a few years to hone his skills before bursting out and be highly productive. Mel Kiper says, “Has the size to be an effective blocker, not merely a tight end who splits out and doesn’t block much, but he needs work as a pass-catcher.”
5) C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa
C.J. Fiedorowicz is a true old school tight end that will block and get short yard catches for a team. The former Hawkeye is a player that will not wow people with his athleticism, but he can be a guy to get a big catch because of his sure hands. He also uses his size to block defenders away from the ball. Fiedorowicz is a very effective blocker that was able to take on defensive ends in the run game and help his team protect the quarterback. He is a good route runner but is not fast in his cuts, so he will not be able to separate very well. Fiedorowicz can be short yardage asset because he can help block and go out for short route to catch the ball. He is not going to be big play target because he is not a fast player nor elusive. He is probably a second tight end on a team, who will be not be thrown to much in the game besides in short yardage and redzone situations.
10 Comments
Good list and I agree pending medical reports.
*ASJ – foot injury that kept him out of the combine. could be a huge deal, could be nothing. but, we don’t know (teams should)
*Niklas – groin surgery this offseason – ouch. shouldn’t impact him that much, but worth noting.
TE is one area on this team that’s not a priority UNLESS Cameron decides to follow Alex Mack’s behavior.
NE seemed to do just fine with 2 great receiving TEs. Ebron + Cameron would scare DC’s throughout the NFL (and then they still have Gordon to contend with as well).
Well that was NE nothing about the Browns reminds me of NE.
Pack 20 pounds on Little. Instant TE.
does that really help if he still drops the ball?
I’m hedging my bet on his ability to catch a ball equal to that of an average TE. At least better than Alex Smith.
why settle for average when you can have:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AgdfCEYL2j0/Uj3OO-sH9wI/AAAAAAAAA8E/tanyBBEnnso/s1600/eb56.gif
It’s going to take a higher pick than I’m willing to spend to get him.
all I want at this point is the draft to take place I am so tired of this,this is not about the article specificaly just we by now are usually discussing if we picked well or screwed up this extra two weeks is insane, why does it have to be held in New York,or if it has to be in New York the same venue it’s the draft for christs sake. NYC has lots of venues so do other places at this point I am so tired not sure I care about the draft at all.