I do hope so, but the tremendous liability inline makes him completely one dimensional, his route running is suspect, the movement isn’t sharp, so I believe the cover isn’t that difficult, the core strength isn’t there so being physical off the line isnt there..The run after the catch isn’t there because the coordination and agility in close quarters isn’t there..Also Digital, how many of those 22 catches were in garbage time..?
I don’t know if him being able to run free and jump and catch is all that appealing when I look at the overall picture of his game relative to what I could find with a third rounder, even a fourth..
I do not know how many of Gesicki's 22 catches or Goedert's 33 catches were in garbage time, and that's a good point. If you're interested in looking it up I would also be interested to see those numbers for each player.
We agree that when he arrived he was a tremendous liability inline, but it is worth noting that his blocking did improve tremendously, and while not great, is no longer a tremendous liability for a move TE. Few move TE's are good blockers, which is why most teams signal run/pass by the inclusion of a move TE or a blocking TE. If Gesicki becomes decent at blocking, he presents a real ability to disguise what we're doing. I doubt his blocking will ever come close to Rob Gronkowski's prowess, but I'm sure he can achieve a level that is better than most move TE's. We have had inline TE's who could catch a little, like Fasano and Sims, and hybrid TE's who did a little of both like Clay and Gray, but we have to go back to someone like Bruce Hardy to find someone who really did both. Depending upon how you view guys like Ferrell Edmunds, we've had some move guys who could block a little, but no real true two-way TE's. Making Mike Gesicki a true two-way TE was Gase's goal, and while Gesicki isn't there yet, the most foundational part is developing that work ethic and instilling the importance of being able to block that really can only be done as a rookie.
Almost every rookie TE's route running is suspect, that is to be expected. As for sharp movement, he's a 6'6, 250 pound guy with a long frame ,,, that's not going to be the body type that is explosive out of cuts to create separation. But, he ran a 4.5 forty, so he's got seam-threat speed and at 6'6 with a 41" vertical, long arms and big hands … he is the ideal seam threat. Too fast for most LB's and too tall for the DB's and fast LB's, plus he has longer arms and a more massive frame to come down with those contested catches. If you want sharp, throw the ball to Jakeem Grant or Albert Wilson … those are the guys who are sharp, but they're almost a foot shorter, with shorter arms and can't jump as high as Gesicki. Different types of mismatches. The quickness mismatches are sharp and explosive, such as Grant or Wilson. The size mismatch reaches places the defender can't reach. Having elite speed just makes the mismatch even more pronounced.
In the end, we all want the next Gronkowski--a guy who is dominant as a run blocker, effective as a pass protector, too big to be covered by DB's, too fast for LB's, strong as an ox and tremendously sure-handed. Gesicki isn't fully developed yet, and I doubt he ever becomes blocker that Gronkowski is … but he presents a bundle of skills that are stratospheric, slightly better than the athletic numbers posted by Jimmy Graham, and a work ethic to realize that potential. I'm happy with that and excited for where it leads. If we make a snap judgement on a position that takes a while to develop, that would be unwise, IMHO. Like I said with Xavien Howard, I believe in the guy. Let's give him time to develop and not rush to judgement just yet. The stats show he did better than most Dolphins rookie TE's tend to do, so why not give him a chance?
