TE Talk

[Daniel]

12 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Don't they have an awful OL, I assume they address that first not a TE. 

They had an awful OL.  In the offseason they've managed to upgrade it to just bad.  Where they are truly awful is at WR.

I think Mayer could be a possibility if there's a trade down and he's the best player on their board, but I think that's what it would take.  He'd be a great fit, and I could see the logic that a TE who can block and catch is a partial answer to both issues, especially if they expect Andre Dillard to be the LT.  That makes them set at tackle for starters, though neither will be great, and interior OLs usually don't go high in the first.

It'd still be a surprise if they addressed TE before WR, where they've just got to be the worst in the league, but it could definitely happen.

[PackFan13]

10 hours ago, THE DUKE said:

There's the magic words that I think get lost too much during draft time. Mayer is by far the most skilled TE in this draft. He may not be an elite athlete, but he is a good athlete. His skills are refined and NFL ready, and imo not even tapped out yet. I don't think he has no extra future potential.

Mayer is good but can't separate in college. In the NFL it'll be that much harder. He's so awkward running, lumbering and very top heavy. He's the opposite of smoothe 

 

 

9 hours ago, BetterCallSaul said:

This class overall sucks. He’s the top pass catcher in this class in my opinion. He isn’t Kyle Pitts, but if you’re comparing him to a generational prospect, that’s a problem. He is pretty much a lock to be good, likely to be a pro bowl talent, with a chance to be elite. He reminds me of a prime Jason Witten, who was a top 5 TE for most of his career. He absolute has that kind of ceiling, with a very high floor as well due to his hands and blocking reliability. 

If you think he's the best pass catcher of the class you are mistaken. Kincaid is much better route runner. He's a better Ertz

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by PackFan13

[PackFan13]

5 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I think people are comparing Kincaid to Kelce too much, and are getting over excited. I must admit, he does look like him running and finding space. it’s not the worse comp…

however I think if you draft Kincaid expecting to get the new Kelce, you’ll be disappointed. He’s not an in-line blocker, and he simply won’t be the receiver Travis is. Worth a second round pick if you need more receiving options. Lions, Packers, Pats, Jets for example.

He's bigger than Kelce coming out. Kelce is at worst the second best TE ever. Of course Kincaid isn't likely to be that. He's a better Zach Ertz. 

[RedGold]

It is difficult to predict how TE’s will transition to the pros.   If you look at Travis Kelce’s pre draft,   You wouldn’t even compare Kelce to Kelce.. almost the polar opposite actually. 

[MOSteelers56]

20 minutes ago, RedGold said:

It is difficult to predict how TE’s will transition to the pros.   If you look at Travis Kelce’s pre draft,   You wouldn’t even compare Kelce to Kelce.. almost the polar opposite actually. 

For sure. It's one of the hardest positions to project. 

[Scoundrel]

2 hours ago, PackFan13 said:

He's bigger than Kelce coming out. Kelce is at worst the second best TE ever. Of course Kincaid isn't likely to be that. He's a better Zach Ertz. 

This a joke? Kelce was over an inch taller and 11 pounds heavier at the combine…

[PackFan13]

52 minutes ago, Scoundrel said:

This a joke? Kelce was over an inch taller and 11 pounds heavier at the combine…

I was quoting Sims in his eval. They are nearly identical in size. Utah lists him bigger. So sorry

[Scoundrel]

7 minutes ago, PackFan13 said:

I was quoting Sims in his eval. They are nearly identical in size. Utah lists him bigger. So sorry

A guy listed bigger by his college team than he actually is…

[Hunter2_1]

These ‘experts’ should just refuse to write about TEs now. It’s rare that ‘expert’s are so wrong so often in any profession. Can you imagine if mortgage brokers or travel advice writers were as wrong as often as draft niks are about tight ends?

Kyle Pitts was projected to be a first round stud, close to a perfect score as possible - and they comp’d him to Waller. A guy who was drafted in the 6 round, who actually turned into a pretty great TE.

OJ Howard was apparently going to be Julius Thomas II. Friermuth was the latest “baby Gronk” at the time. Gronk was ungraded and listed as “likely needs time in a developmental league”, Kelce’s comparison was Gronk 😂😂, and was drafted in round 3. 
 

its that hard to know anything about TEs, that they shouldn’t even bother 

[PackFan13]

2 hours ago, Scoundrel said:

A guy listed bigger by his college team than he actually is…

Like I said I was going off what Simms said in his eval. You're making this a much bigger deal than it should be. They are very similar in size. So sorry. 

[Hunter2_1]

12 hours ago, PackFan13 said:

Like I said I was going off what Simms said in his eval. You're making this a much bigger deal than it should be. They are very similar in size. So sorry. 

Well you responded to me, so it’s ok bro 👍 

NFL.com had Gronkowski as Kelce’s comparison coming out. That to me just proves they don’t have a clue about Tight Ends at all. 

[Chiefer]

5 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Well you responded to me, so it’s ok bro 👍 

NFL.com had Gronkowski as Kelce’s comparison coming out. That to me just proves they don’t have a clue about Tight Ends at all. 

He was very Gronk like in college, and even to start his career was laying people out in blocking and after the catch. He only really had a year of production at TE so it was hard to really project what he would turn into.
 

I think after his micro-fracture surgery he figured out that avoiding hits and not going overboard all the time was the key to a long successful career. You can be one of best to ever do it and not be an absolute animal on the field 24/7 like Gronk was lol. Helps that he’s one of the smoothest athletes of all time and was a former QB. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Chiefer

[MWil23]

TE remains the hardest position to learn and project into NFL success for so many reasons. The learning curve for rookies is steep and unforgiving, with all of the routes, timing, pass and run blocking responsibilities, as well as learning how to sit in the middle of the field in zones, whereas often in the college game they're setup to be more seam threats or RAC ability on crossing routes...not to mention occasionally lining up in the slot or outside for personnel mismatch opportunities that aren't often utilized in college.

[Hunter2_1]

3 hours ago, Chiefer said:

He was very Gronk like in college, and even to start his career was laying people out in blocking and after the catch. He only really had a year of production at TE so it was hard to really project what he would turn into.
 

I think after his micro-fracture surgery he figured out that avoiding hits and not going overboard all the time was the key to a long successful career. You can be one of best to ever do it and not be an absolute animal on the field 24/7 like Gronk was lol. Helps that he’s one of the smoothest athletes of all time and was a former QB. 

Very smooth athlete, looks like he’s surfing when he’s running. Gronk was none of those things. I don’t and didn’t see any Gronk in Kelce at all, apart from being extremely good. 
 

this is the same publication that had Gronk ungraded and said he should probably go to a developmental league. Next thing they’re saying he’s Kelce’s comp. So…I stand by what I say - they’re clueless about TEs

Edited April 11, 2023 by Hunter2_1

[Hunter2_1]

3 hours ago, MWil23 said:

TE remains the hardest position to learn and project into NFL success for so many reasons. The learning curve for rookies is steep and unforgiving, with all of the routes, timing, pass and run blocking responsibilities, as well as learning how to sit in the middle of the field in zones, whereas often in the college game they're setup to be more seam threats or RAC ability on crossing routes...not to mention occasionally lining up in the slot or outside for personnel mismatch opportunities that aren't often utilized in college.

Would you not say Pitts had a fairly complex assignment in college? He was often in slot, or our wide on different routes. Not sure about the blocking schemes he had to learn. 
 

I agree with your reasons why TE is hard to learn.