The Big Board
| Ranking | Name | College | Height | Weight | Athletic Outlook | Blocking Skills Set | Receiving Skill Set | Biggest Question-mark | Summary | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irv Smith | Alabama | 6'3 | 241 | Good vertical speed and quickness but power is mediocre. | Uses hands well as a run blocker and does a decent job of controlling his blocks in space, but can get a bit high at times and wasn't asked to pass protect. | Didn't run a full route tree but ran what he did well, showed some ability to release, has good hands and even adds some value after the catch. | Can he improve as a blocker to the point where he is a complete tight end? | Probably the most complete receiver in the class and a good enough blocker to get early reps. | Late 2nd Round |
| 2 | TJ Hockenson | Iowa | 6'4 | 250 | Decent speed and good power as a blocker but quickness is mediocre. | Uses hands well as a run blocker, is decent in pass protection but tends to lean into blocks leading to some whiffs and pad level can get quite high at times. | Didn't show much as a route runner and struggled against early contact at times, but hands are good and can make some plays in the air. | Can he develop as a route runner to the point where he is able to be a consistently reliable receiver? | Fairly complete blocker in need of some fine-tuning, but needs significant work making the most of his athleticism as a route runner. | High 3rd Round |
| 3 | Noah Fant | Iowa | 6'4 | 241 | Good vertical speed and quickness and has a decent amount of power as a blocker. | Flashes decent hand usage as a run blocker but needs to be more consistent as well as lowering his pad level, inexperienced in pass protection and needs to be more consistent controlling blocks. | Wasn't asked to run a full route tree but flashed as a route runner, has good hands and has the ability to add value after the catch and in the air. | Can he develop technique to match his athleticism, both as a blocker and a receiver? | Athletic developmental prospect in need of consistency as a blocker and technique as a route runner. | Mid 3rd Round |
| 4 | Jace Sernberger | Texas A&M | 6'4 | 250 | Good vertical speed and quickness but lacks power as a blocker. | Uses hands well as a run blocker but needs to lower his pad level and control his blocks better, is also inexperienced as a pass protector. | Flashes as a route runner, has good hands and has potential after the catch but needs to show ability over a wider route tree. | Can he develop as a blocker or is he just a big receiver? | Potential to be very good receiver but blocking lags a way behind to this point. | High 4th Round |
| 5 | Isaac Nauta | Georgia | 6'4 | 240 | Decent speed but power and quickness are fairly unremarkable. | Uses hands well as a run blocker and controls his blocks well, but wasn't really asked to pass protect. | Doesn't do a huge amount as a route runner, but has decent hands and worked through contact well with some ability after the catch. | Can he develop as a route runner to the point where he is more than just a dump-off option? | Solid run blocker with decent core traits as a receiver but lacks technique. | Mid 4th Round |
| 6 | Drew Sample | Washington | 6'5 | 250 | Decent speed and quickness but lacks power as a blocker. | Uses hands well as a run blocker, control is solid and is decent in pass protection as well but pad level needs to be lower. | Occasional flashes as a route runner but needs to improve in this regard, hands are decent. | Can he handle the increase physicality of blocking in the NFL. | Pretty solid technical blocker but physicality is a concern and needs to improve technically as a route runner. | Mid 4th Round |
| 7 | Tommy Sweeney | Boston College | 6'5 | 253 | Decent deep speed and good power as a blocker but quickness isn't great. | Decent if inconsistent hand usage and control as a run blocker, inexperienced as a pass blocker. | Hands are decent but wasn't asked to do much as a route runner and didn't shine at what he was asked to do. | Can he develop the technique to go with his athleticism? | Promising athlete with flashes of technique as a blocker but in need of significant development. | Mid 5th Round |
| 8 | Dax Raymond | Utah State | 6'5 | 249 | Decent speed and quickness but blocking power is mediocre. | Doesn't use hands well as a run blocker, control needs improvement and is inexperienced as a pass protector. | Flashes of route running ability and hands are good, even adds some value after the catch. | Is he going to be able to block at all at the NFL level? | Promising receiver with decent athletic traits but needs real work as a blocker. | Late 5th Round |
| 9 | Dawson Knox | Ole Miss | 6'4 | 257 | Good speed and decent quickness but power as a blocker is unremarkable. | Good in pass protection but hand usage and body control need work as a run blocker. | Flashes as a route runner but route tree was limited and hands are a concern. | Are his drops a concentration issue or is this going to be a theme going forwards? | Does some nice things but needs development as a run blocker and a route runner and drops could limit him. | High 6th Round |
| 10 | Kaden Smith | Stanford | 6'4 | 252 | Unremarkable speed, quickness and power as a blocker. | Flashes of hand usage and body control is good as a blocker but consistency is an issue, inexperienced in pass protection | Didn't do much as a route runner but hands are good | Can he develop as a route runner to generate some value in the passing game? | Not the best athlete but has smatterings of technique. | Mid 6th Round |
| 11 | Caleb Wilson | UCLA | 6'4 | 235 | Unspectacular speed and power, quickness is a concern. | Hand usage is pretty good and body control isn't awful but balance and agility are limiting at times, inexperienced in pass protection. | Struggles as a route runner but hands are good. | Is his limited agility and quickness going to prevent improvement? | Does some nice things, but long legs create balance and agility issues as a route runner and blocker. | Mid 6th Round |
| 12 | Khale Warring | San Diego State | 6'5 | 250 | Decent speed and quickness but power is unremarkable. | Ok hands as a run blocker but control needs work and is inexperienced as a pass protector. | Occasional flashes as a roue runner and hands are decent but needs to run a far bigger route tree in the NFL. | How much can he develop in the NFL? | Fairly raw as both a blocker and receiver but flashes some value. | Late 6th Round |
| 13 | Zach Gentry | Michigan | 6'7 | 262 | Decent speed but quickness is a concern and power s unremarkable. | Hand usage is decent if inconsistent as a run blocker but control needs to improve and is inexperienced in pass protection. | Hands are good, but route running is very raw. | Is his size going to limit his development in the NFL? | Huge man with match-up potential but technique could suffer as a result. | Early 7th Round |
| 14 | Carson Meier | Oklahoma | 6'5 | 254 | Decent speed and quickness but power is unremarkable. | Control and hand usage are decent but inconsistent and pass protection is unremarkable. | Wasn't asked to do much as a route runner but hands are decent. | Can he develop the technique to make the most out of his athleticism? | Has some athletic value but technique is lacking. | Mid 7th Round |
| 15 | Tyler Petite | USC | 6'4 | 250 | Unremarkable speed and power but quickness is decent. | Hand usage and control as a run blocker are poor and pass protection isn't great. | Decent hands and occasional flashes of route running. | Can he block at all at the NFL level? | Poor blocker with hints of value as a receiver. | Mid 7th Round |
| 16 | Alize Mack | Notre Dame | 6'4 | 247 | Decent speed but quickness and power are lacking. | Hand usage is inconsistent at best, body control is poor and pass protection is unremarkable. | Good hands but doesn't show anything as a route runner. | Can he find a way to develop either his blocking or route running to the point of being a rotation piece? | Does some good things, but an awful lot of questions. | Late 7th Round |
| 17 | Brandon Fritts | North Carolina | 6'4 | 240 | Good power, but speed and quickness are a concern. | Poor hand usage and body control as a run blocker and is inexperienced in pass protection. | Good hands and some ability in the air but route running is poor. | Can he develop the technique as a blocker to make him a specialist in this regard? | Has physical potential as a blocking specialist but technique is lacking. | Late 7th Round |
| 18 | Foster Moreau | LSU | 6'4 | 250 | Unremarkable speed, quickness and power. | Ok in pass protection and hand usage is decent as a run blocker, but body control needs to be better. | Wasn't asked to do much as a route runner and wasn't targeted enough to get a firm idea of his hands. | Is there hidden receiving ability that he wasn't asked to show? | Has some ability as a blocker but receiving ability is a near-complete unknown. | Undrafted |
| 19 | Josh Oliver | San Jose State | 6'5 | 246 | Limited speed and quickness and power is unremarkable. | Decent hands as a run blocker but body control needs to be better and is inexperienced as a pass protector. | Good hands but route running is limited. | Is there enough here to work on as a developmental project? | Not without positives, but there is a lot to work on here. | Undrafted |
| 20 | CJ Conrad | Kentucky | 6'4 | 249 | Unremarkable speed and quickness and power are limited. | Decent body control and some ability in pass protection but hand usage needs work as a run blocker. | Hands are ok but doesn't do anything as a route runner. | Can he develop as a blocker to the point where he can be a specialist. | Has some ability as a blocker but needs significant development. | Undrafted |
| 21 | Matt Sokol | Michigan State | 6'6 | 250 | Decent speed but unremarkable quickness and questionable power. | Poor run blocker in terms of both hand usage and body control and inexperienced in pass protection. | Hands aren't bad but doesn't add anything as a route runner. | Is his blocking able to be fixed? | Has some positives as a receiver but blocking is really poor. | Undrafted |
| 22 | Kendall Blanton | Missouri | 6'6 | 265 | Unremarkable speed, questionable quickness and limited power as a blocker. | Poor body control and hand usage as a run blocker and unremarkable pass protector. | Hands are ok but doesn't do anything as a route runner. | Is there anything here to be worth investing in? | Not terrible at most things but limited positives. | Undrafted |
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Smith, Hockenson and Fant make up my top three tight ends, with most boards around the NFL having them as the top three in various orders. For me, Smith is the most complete of the tight ends, as he is a solid blocker who showed some nice route running traits while at Alabama. Hockenson is probably the best blocker in the class – though he could improve his pad level as a run blocker – and while he shows solid athletic traits, he wasn’t asked to do much as a route runner while at Iowa and will need to show that he is able to separate against tight coverage rather than simply being schemed open.
Fant is almost the polar opposite of Hockenson, and he shows good traits as a receiver but needs to improve technically as a blocker. Both Fant and Hockenson are probably good enough at their various strengths to see early playing time while they work on improving their weak points, but the degree to which Hockenson can be an elite receiver and Fant a good blocker still remains to be seen.
After these three, there are a number of players who might interest teams on the final day of the draft, with Jace Sternberger’s potential as a receiver making him the next-best prospect in my opinion. After him there aren’t many, if any, prospects who I think have the potential to be high-level starters – but the likes of Nauta, Sample and Sweeney do enough nice things to be seen as solid rotation pieces down the line.
The only other tight end that I can get excited about is Dawson Knox, who flashes elite receiver traits but his hands are a concern and his blocking is in need of significant improvement. If a team is looking for a late-round longshot developmental option, he is probably the best bet in that regard.
The only player who is ranked very highly on some boards whom I have much lower is Caleb Wilson, who does do some nice things on tape but also struggled significantly as a route runner at UCLA and whose pad level and balance as a blocker should be a concern. For Wilson, these all appear to be the result of his very long legs, as it makes changing direction difficult and also means his center of gravity is very high. His stock has cooled somewhat since he struggled in the Senior Bowl and as with Orlando Brown last year, he is somebody who might see his stock continue to drop if his numbers at the Combine back up concerns over his agility.
As mentioned earlier, the Panthers are unlikely to draft a tight end in 2019, and it would be hugely shocking to see them be willing to spend a pick on a tight end early enough to secure one of the top three prospects. What should be clear from the big board, however, is that – to me, at least – this might not be the elite tight end class that some are making it out to be, and that when a team takes a tight end early, they might be getting a decent player, but there are no sure-fire elite players in this class and – most crucially – should a tight end go before the Panthers pick at 16, this should be seen as a win for the Panthers.
