2023 Tight End (Underclassman)

[djphinfan]

Just got around to Kraft, and he's that dude!

yes sir.

 

[ckparrothead]

I think the Dolphins would be in on Darnell Washington, Sam LaPorta, or Tucker Kraft at pick #51 if any were available.

I think they'd be onto Brenton Strange, Brayden Willis, or Cameron Latu at pick #84 if any of those three were availble.

And they've spent so much time with all of these TEs that I'd be pretty surprise if one of those 6 doesn't end up a Miami Dolphin on Day 2.

 

[jimthefin]

I think the Dolphins would be in on Darnell Washington, Sam LaPorta, or Tucker Kraft at pick #51 if any were available.

I think they'd be onto Brenton Strange, Brayden Willis, or Cameron Latu at pick #84 if any of those three were availble.

And they've spent so much time with all of these TEs that I'd be pretty surprise if one of those 6 doesn't end up a Miami Dolphin on Day 2.

I think both LaPorta and Kraft will make it to Miami's pick, Washington almost certainly not.

I would like to come out of this Draft with an interior OL player who could supplant Eichenberg, a TE who can impact sooner than later, and a plug and play RB.

A slight trade down from either fo their Day 3 positions should garner them a Day 3 pick they can use on a back, so the trick will be gauging which spot to address first, based on what is more likely to be available in R3.

I have been trading down a few spots and then taking LaPorta or Kraft in R2 and then taking Wypler in R3 but I am not confident Wypler will make it to 84.

So I would probably target an OL(possibly an OT like Bergeron as well)like Avila/Tippman/Schmitz/Wypler first, and then look for the TE after that. The problem is you are likely missing both Kraft and LaPorta in that scenario but I view improving the OL as the much more important job so that is what I would do.

I would love to get one of those OL and one of the two TE's plus a back like Chase Brown or Keating Mitchell in R4 or 5.

IF I could walk away from the Draft with Wypler/LaPorta/Brown I would be thrilled.

 

[Super Duper Clayton]

I would definitely be stoked with LaPorta, Kraft or Strange but whew that seems like a lot of draft capital to pay. Was hoping to get Strange on Day 3

 

[jimthefin]

I would definitely be stoked with LaPorta, Kraft or Strange but whew that seems like a lot of draft capital to pay. Was hoping to get Strange on Day 3

I would not take Strange on day 2.

He is a Day 3 guy all the way.

His 3 cone and shuttle were TERRIBLE at The Combine, i can't see him going in R3.

 

[ckparrothead]

Shuttle and cone drill times are to be taken with a grain of salt, and for good reason.

While a forty is pretty straight forward (literally), shuttle and cone drills are highly choreographed. This means that technique and execution end up big sources of variance even for an individual prospect, let alone the whole population. I've seen the same player that ran 7.49 cone drills in Indianapolis go back to his pro day and run sub-7. That sort of variance is incredibly wide and leads you to question just how much significance we can allow ourselves to put on them as athletic measurements.

Over the last couple of decades I've learned that a good shuttle/cone can be taken as a positive for a prospect (because a player cannot out-execute his own potential), but that a bad one is as likely to be entirely due to technical or execution errors by the player as it is a true measure showing deficient agility.

The 10 yard split is also rife with technical/execution issues not just on the player but also the people starting the timer. Lasers can stop the timer with precision, but humans are deciding when to start the timer, and some players accidentally rock forward a bit or do some sort of pre-movement that starts the clock before they actually explode forward.

People debate 10 yard splits very finely, e.g. judging a 1.67 as awful but a 1.57 as good. And yet 0.08 seconds of that variance can easily be an overzealous start to the electronic timer or a small error in execution by the runner.

 

[LargoFin]

I would not take Strange on day 2.

He is a Day 3 guy all the way.

His 3 cone and shuttle were TERRIBLE at The Combine, i can't see him going in R3.

I agree. Day 3. However, if you don't like the athleticism you should scratch him. Why even spend a pick on a player you think is terrible?

 

[Rick Cartman]

I thought Darnell Washington would need to transition to OT in the NFL, but it's quite apparent i was wrong with that.
It still may be the more lucrative decision for him to switch given his size, athleticism, and blocking capability.
Regardless, i think he would be a slam dunk for the team if they could somehow get him.

 

[jimthefin]

I agree. Day 3. However, if you don't like the athleticism you should scratch him. Why even spend a pick on a player you think is terrible?

He showed poor agility but his straight line speed and explosiveness were good.

I was just pointing out that he was not going to be the type of TE that runs nifty routes and creates space that way but could be a weapon running seam routes and he is the blocker they seem to be targeting.

 

[jimthefin]

I thought Darnell Washington would need to transition to OT in the NFL, but it's quite apparent i was wrong with that.
It still may be the more lucrative decision for him to switch given his size, athleticism, and blocking capability.
Regardless, i think he would be a slam dunk for the team if they could somehow get him.

He would be hard to pass should be fall that far but it is very unlikely.

 

[Carne Asada]

it's funny how the dude just extends his arms, puts his head down and churns. it's sloppy. his technique is not perfect yet. there's still room for improvement. you can see the bottom of his cleats as he thrudges ahead, damnit! yet he puts everyone and anyone on skates for 15 yd skids, lol! yet he's still fast and nimble as hell! i'd feel so devastated if washington were on the board and we picked anybody else unless there's some sort of character concern which i seriously doubt.

 

[ckparrothead]

I'm actually very tempted to have Darnell Washington put on more weight and be a tackle. I think his upside in terms of league worth ($$$) would be higher at that position.

I think you could make a case that there's less risk of him failing to come on as a blocker at tackle than him failing to come on as a pass catcher at tight end/wide receiver.

Remember that in this league the dominant tight ends play about as much wide receiver as they do in-line, and they catch a lot of balls and make an impact that way. Is that what Darnell Washington is destined to do? Hard to say, as he spent his whole career at Georgia embracing his role as an elite level blocker, only began to really explore what he can do in the passing game later in his career and had to play 2nd-fiddle to Brock Bowers. How much does he come into the league being able to impact the passing game? How much can he learn it, particularly being such an exaggerated long-strider as an athlete? These are fair questions.

On the other hand you look at what he's been for his entire career at Georgia, which is a blocker, a 3rd tackle. If you don't consider that simpatico with what he'd be asked to do if he made the transition to tackle at the NFL level, I don't know what to tell you. It's what he was. You could make the argument that he comes out of Georgia having more experience as a tackle than as a pass catcher, and that the shortest distance from A to B with him is actually as a tackle.

When you put that together with the higher impact ($$$) potential as a tackle than as a tight end, I'm surprised the player himself hasn't expressed a preference. But I do know for a fact that several NFL scouts currently are factoring in a potential move to tackle into their evaluation of him.

 

[jimthefin]

I have been saying that for some time now.

It might not be realistic or he might have no interest in doing it, but the $$$$ the top OT's get is a lot more than the TE's.

He was a great run blocker at Georgia but did he stay in and pass protect very often?

That might be a big learning curve for him at the NFL level although he certainly seems to have the tools to handle the footwork.

 

[rickd13]

I'm actually very tempted to have Darnell Washington put on more weight and be a tackle. I think his upside in terms of league worth ($$$) would be higher at that position.

I think you could make a case that there's less risk of him failing to come on as a blocker at tackle than him failing to come on as a pass catcher at tight end/wide receiver.

Remember that in this league the dominant tight ends play about as much wide receiver as they do in-line, and they catch a lot of balls and make an impact that way. Is that what Darnell Washington is destined to do? Hard to say, as he spent his whole career at Georgia embracing his role as an elite level blocker, only began to really explore what he can do in the passing game later in his career and had to play 2nd-fiddle to Brock Bowers. How much does he come into the league being able to impact the passing game? How much can he learn it, particularly being such an exaggerated long-strider as an athlete? These are fair questions.

On the other hand you look at what he's been for his entire career at Georgia, which is a blocker, a 3rd tackle. If you don't consider that simpatico with what he'd be asked to do if he made the transition to tackle at the NFL level, I don't know what to tell you. It's what he was. You could make the argument that he comes out of Georgia having more experience as a tackle than as a pass catcher, and that the shortest distance from A to B with him is actually as a tackle.

When you put that together with the higher impact ($$$) potential as a tackle than as a tight end, I'm surprised the player himself hasn't expressed a preference. But I do know for a fact that several NFL scouts currently are factoring in a potential move to tackle into their evaluation of him.

Like Jason Peters did. All of this is why I wouldn't totally be shocked if Washington is still available at Miami's pick 51.

 

[Super Duper Clayton]

If they somehow turned washington into a beast RT…that would be absolutely astounding

What was his playing weight at UGA? I thought I saw/heard some report that he was in the 280s. I have no idea how difficult it is to add that much functional weight, but even 25 pounds seems like a lot