2021 Draft Board: Tight Ends

Go check out my 2021 Quarterback Draft Board article if you want to get more background information on how this all works. I’m just going to jump right into the top five and the board.

TOP FIVE

1) Kyle Pitts (Florida)

Analysis: Started his career at Receiver because Florida already had upperclassmen at Tight End over him. So, he had an opportunity to learn to run routes like a Receiver. Then he moved back over Tight End when those other fellas left and he learned to block like a Tight End and work the middle of the field. He’s the most deadly Tight End I’ve ever seen play the game. When his measurements came out (nearly an 84” wingspan) and his testing numbers were posted (4.44 forty) I wasn’t surprised to see it, but it definitely helped secure the fact that in my mind he is the best prospect in this draft not named Trevor Lawrence.

2) Kenny Yeboah (Ole Miss)

Analysis: Yeboah started his career at Temple where he had plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his blocking abilities. Then he took his talents to Oxford and starred in Lane Kiffin’s offense (524 yards and 6 touchdowns in 7 games and at 19.4 yards/reception). I wish he would have ran at his pro day, but based on his film he could make his presence felt in both the run and pass game, provided he works on a few things that can be improved with practice and good coaching.

3) Pat Freiermuth (Penn State)

Analysis: Freiermuth at two or three, that was the question. I elected to put him at three strictly because this is a position where injuries tend to play a pretty big role, and he ended his final season early due to injury (underwent shoulder surgery). That’s not to say he can’t or won’t have a productive career, he certainly has the talent to make it happen, but starting the injuries in college can hurt you long term as a pro.

4) Zach Davidson (Central Missouri)

Analysis: Last year we had Adam Trautman, this year we have Davidson. Another big, athletic Tight End from a small school with great hands and even better production. Davidson (6’7”) put up 40 receptions for 894 yards (that’s 22.4 per reception) and 15 touchdowns in 2019, his final collegiate season. Then the big man went and ran a 4.6 forty, 4.19 short shuttle and 6.95 3-cone (all insanely good for his size). The pedigree isn’t on the same level as the three above him, but it would be difficult to pass on him in the third round, maybe even in the second if you are hurting enough at the position.

5) Briley Moore-McKinney (Kansas State)

Analysis: I didn’t know a whole lot about Moore going into all this, but after he became the fifth and last Tight End to not be removed from my board, I figured I should check out what I could. Based on his stats and his athletic testing results, though his Vert (37.5”) and Broad (122”) were both very nice, I landed on a solid backup career with the ability to step in for two Tight End passing plays when needed. He’s not going to blow anyone away, or take the league by storm, but he should at least be serviceable.

No Sleeper

SURPRISING LEFT OFF

Maybe guys like Hunter Long, Brevin Jordan and Noah Gray, but all three were removed from my draft board completely. I applied this process to the 2018 and 2019 classes last year after creating it and using it on the 2020 class. If you take this year into account as well, 2020 had the highest number of Tight Ends still left on my draft board with just eight. Since this is one of the hardest positions to break into in the NFL, I’m not surprised to see such a large number of players removed from my draft board in each of the four seasons I’ve done this for.

DRAFT BOARD

My Draft Board

REMOVED FROM DRAFT BOARD

For each position there are players who either had a red flag in their college production or athletic testing (or both) that led to them being removed from my draft board. These are referred to as negative factors and can lead to one of two labels: Depleted or Empty. In order for a player to receive a Depleted label, they had to have a negative factor that significantly decreased the chances of success in players who had that same factor from 2009-2018. In order for a player to receive an Empty label, they had to have a negative factor that led to zero successful players who had that same factor from 2009-2018. There were 12 Tight Ends removed from my board.

Dylan Soehner (Iowa State) - Depleted

Hunter Long (Boston College) - Depleted

Luke Farrell (Ohio State) - Depleted

Matt Bushman (BYU) - Depleted

Nick Eubanks (Michigan) - Depleted

Noah Gray (Duke) - Depleted

Tommy Tremble (Notre Dame) - Depleted

Tre McKitty (Georgia) - Depleted

Brevin Jordan (Miami) - Empty

John Bates (Boise State) - Empty

Pro Wells (TCU) - Empty

Tony Poljan (Virginia) - Empty