Late Round Tight End Bargains in the NFL Draft

April 25, 2015

Sure, the likes of Shannon Sharpe, Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow and, of course, “Iron Mike” Ditka legitimized the tight end position in the NFL, but Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham have recently brought unparalleled fame to the tight end position. Perhaps it’s the spectacular plays or its Gronkowski spiking everything in sight, but tight ends are become super stars.

In fact, “move” tight ends have become big commodities on the free agent market. Just check out the blockbuster trade between Seattle and New Orleans consisting of the aforementioned Jimmy Graham for Max Unger AND a first round draft pick, and the blockbuster Julius Thomas deal in Jacksonville worth $46 million in five years.

But in what round were all these amazing tights ends drafted? The amazing spike monster, Rob Gronkowski? Second round of the 2010 draft. The incredibly athletic scoring machine, Jimmy Graham? Third round of the 2010 draft. Peyton Manning’s huge red zone target turned multi-millionaire, Julius Thomas? Fourth round of the 2011 draft.

Like almost no other position, late round tight end values can really impact a team’s future. So who do I think might be those values in the 2015 draft? Glad you asked.

Ben Koyack – Notre Dame

Projected Draft Round – Fourth

Ben Koyack – USA Today Photo

I don’t want to go as far as call Notre Dame “Tight End U”, but tight ends from Notre Dame have had a modicum of success in the NFL. Most recently, we’ve seen Kyle Rudolph in Minnesota and Tyler Eifert in Cincinnati have success on their respective teams (though, due to injury, not quite reaching potential). And going back further, Anthony Fasano and John Carlson have had solid roles at various stops across the NFL. None have lived fully up to expectations, but usually not due to a lack of necessary skills. The system at Notre Dame, almost regardless of coach, has done a fair job of maximizing the tight end position. And next in line is Ben Koyack.

ND Photo

Unlike his predecessors, Koyack was underutilized in the passing game at Notre Dame. He only totaled 30 receptions for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2014, his most productive season. But if you look a little deeper than the totals, you’ll note that Koyack averaged 10.6 yards per reception in 2014, and although only had 10 receptions in 2013, averaged 17.1 yards per reception. Honestly, at 6′ 5″ and 255 pounds, Koyack is tough to bring down, maximizing yards after catch, and also makes him a big red zone target. Five total touchdowns in just 40 receptions in his last two seasons demonstrate that he was utilized frequently in situations near the red zone.

Koyack wasn’t at the Combine, but his Pro Day numbers were encouraging. He ran an averaged 4.79 second 40-yard dash, which would have been good for 4th best among tight ends at the Combine. The remainder of his numbers in broad jump (116 inches) and 20-yard shuttle (4.52 seconds) were well in line with Combine tight ends.

Perhaps Koyack’s most important skillset, though, is as a blocking tight end. With experience run blocking at fullback as well as significant use in line blocking, Koyack has significant versatility as a blocker as well as a potential offensive threat.

With the dearth of elite tight end options in the 2015 NFL Draft, Koyack can be a real find in his projected fourth round, or even higher for those teams in need of a solid tight end prospect.

Blake Bell – Oklahoma

Projected Draft Round – Fifth

Blake Bell – AP Photo

Blake Bell is a little bit of a mystery. He actually was Oklahoma’s starting quarterback in 2013, starting 8 games until Trevor Knight took over and led Oklahoma to an impressive bowl victory over Alabama. Instead of playing second fiddle to Knight, Bell moved to tight end in 2014.

The experiment went fairly well, even though he only had 16 receptions for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns. But the stats don’t tell the whole story. Bell is a big 6′ 6″ and 252 pounds and has been solid blocking along the line as well as running through safeties. He also demonstrated good athleticism in college and the ability to run clean routes. His athleticism is backed by his 4.8 second 40-yard dash, good for 5th overall among tight ends in the Combine, and 4.32 second 20-yard shuttle, good for 2nd overall among tight ends.

There’s a lot of unknown here, but there’s bunches of upside as well. He’s well worth a fifth round pick from teams looking for depth, with potential for being an every down starter as an inline or move tight end.

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It’s not an exceptional draft for tight ends, but prospects are available. Who knows, some team late in the draft may get lucky and end up with one of these: