01-17-2023, 01:41 PM
Hopefully I'm a month too early for in-depth offseason discussion. However, I just realized that if the season ended today, the only tight end we'd have on the roster is Devin Asiasi, and his deal expires next season. I think everyone wants Hayden Hurst back and he certainly seems to be happy here, but what if we can't get a deal done with him? There are lots of people with strong feelings about Drew Sample. Do we bring him back? Surely Wilcox will be cheap if the team wants to retain him, but he's not the full time answer.
Possible FA
Hurst - He's the obvious and popular choice. Can we afford him?
Robert Tonyan - Does GB blow everything up if Rogers walks?
Dalton Shultz - Dallas isn't letting go of him, especially if he keeps producing in the playoffs
Evan Engram - more of an extra WR, not really what the Bengals want/need
Austin Hooper - Maybe a good option. Formerly super productive, but has had a fall from grace.
The rest of the possible FA are older guys, journeymen, underachievers, etc. Tyler Kroft is set to be a FA again, and I never did figure out why we let him walk after he did an admirable job filling in during his last season here.
Draft Prospects
1st round analysis by Dane Brugler of the Atlantic
Luke Musgrave, Oregon State - At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds with 4.5 speed, he is an impressive athlete for the position and has strength and body fluidity as both a blocker and receiver. Adding a weapon like this to the Bengals offense would create fireworks.
Darnell Washington, Georgia - Darnell Washington is big and has better upside as both a pass catcher and blocker. His unique skill set will mean he’s valued differently by every offense, but it would be fun to see how he could blossom.
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame - Michael Mayer is a physical blocker and will be one of the best contested-catch tight ends in the NFL the moment he is drafted.
Day 2
Dalton Kincaid, Utah - He comes with some obvious concerns regarding size and how he’ll fare as a blocker, but there are very few concerns about his receiving ability. If I had to describe his game in one word, it’s “reliable.” Kincaid will run crisp routes and haul in anything within reach. He’s shown the most consistent hands in the class, with only two career drops on 109 catchable targets at Utah.
Sam LaPorta, Iowa - LaPorta is one of the best tight ends in the class with the ball in his hands. The Hawkeyes obviously knew this, as they fed him 10 screens on the year — a bit of a rarity for a tight end. He broke 14 tackles on 53 catches for 592 yards with a low 7.3-yard average depth of target. Don’t let that fool you into thinking he can’t be a vertical threat, though. LaPorta has enough speed to stride past the linebacker level and create big plays in the passing game.
Day 3
Cade Stover, Ohio St. - The man doesn’t shy away from contact. He broke 10 tackles on only 35 catches this season — an insanely high rate for a tight end. His ability to turn a simple stick or flat route into a first down will be coveted at the NFL level, as will his run-blocking prowess, where he’s been well-versed inline and on the move at Ohio State.
Tucker Kraft, South Dakota St. - Kraft faced high expectations heading into 2022 after he racked up 770 yards on 65 catches last season, but he suffered an ankle injury on his first touch of the season and managed only 122 receiving snaps on the year. That means evaluators are going to have to lean heavily on his 2021 tape, which shows him going to town on lesser competition. He’s a plus athlete for a well-built tight end, and that showed after the catch, as he broke 27 tackles on 86 catches over the past two years.
Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota - You want a run-blocker in this class? Spann-Ford is your man. He’s nearly an offensive tackle, and with how well he moves at his size, it may be in his best financial interest to consider a move to the position. That’s because he’s never going to be a dynamic threat with the ball in his hands to warrant a big-money deal. But what he can do is erase smaller edge defenders in the run game. His 82.8 run-blocking grade ranked third in the FBS this season and his 13 big-time blocks led the nation.
Davis Allen, Clemson - Allen is the kind of tight end who turns 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls. He attacks targets in the air like his life depends on him coming down with it. It’s why he’s gone an absurd 16-of-19 in contested situations over the past two seasons. Allen has also dropped only three of his 87 career catchable passes. Why he’s so low on this list despite all the above is his athletic profile? Outside of routes where he can get into defenders’ bodies to separate, Allen is not the kind of athlete an NFL offense can rely on to separate in one-on-one situations. He can start around the league, but it’s hard to see him being a true difference-maker.
Will Mallory, Miami - Mallory boasts impressive straight-line speed at tight end, helping him average a healthy 13.5 yards per reception on 115 career catches. He can be a weapon on seams, drags and overs, as the leggy tight end’s top speed is difficult for most linebackers to match. The worry is that Mallory is a tight end in name only. You can’t put him on an NFL field and ask him to block inline without him getting his teeth kicked in at the moment.
Possible FA
Hurst - He's the obvious and popular choice. Can we afford him?
Robert Tonyan - Does GB blow everything up if Rogers walks?
Dalton Shultz - Dallas isn't letting go of him, especially if he keeps producing in the playoffs
Evan Engram - more of an extra WR, not really what the Bengals want/need
Austin Hooper - Maybe a good option. Formerly super productive, but has had a fall from grace.
The rest of the possible FA are older guys, journeymen, underachievers, etc. Tyler Kroft is set to be a FA again, and I never did figure out why we let him walk after he did an admirable job filling in during his last season here.
Draft Prospects
1st round analysis by Dane Brugler of the Atlantic
Luke Musgrave, Oregon State - At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds with 4.5 speed, he is an impressive athlete for the position and has strength and body fluidity as both a blocker and receiver. Adding a weapon like this to the Bengals offense would create fireworks.
Darnell Washington, Georgia - Darnell Washington is big and has better upside as both a pass catcher and blocker. His unique skill set will mean he’s valued differently by every offense, but it would be fun to see how he could blossom.
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame - Michael Mayer is a physical blocker and will be one of the best contested-catch tight ends in the NFL the moment he is drafted.
Day 2
Dalton Kincaid, Utah - He comes with some obvious concerns regarding size and how he’ll fare as a blocker, but there are very few concerns about his receiving ability. If I had to describe his game in one word, it’s “reliable.” Kincaid will run crisp routes and haul in anything within reach. He’s shown the most consistent hands in the class, with only two career drops on 109 catchable targets at Utah.
Sam LaPorta, Iowa - LaPorta is one of the best tight ends in the class with the ball in his hands. The Hawkeyes obviously knew this, as they fed him 10 screens on the year — a bit of a rarity for a tight end. He broke 14 tackles on 53 catches for 592 yards with a low 7.3-yard average depth of target. Don’t let that fool you into thinking he can’t be a vertical threat, though. LaPorta has enough speed to stride past the linebacker level and create big plays in the passing game.
Day 3
Cade Stover, Ohio St. - The man doesn’t shy away from contact. He broke 10 tackles on only 35 catches this season — an insanely high rate for a tight end. His ability to turn a simple stick or flat route into a first down will be coveted at the NFL level, as will his run-blocking prowess, where he’s been well-versed inline and on the move at Ohio State.
Tucker Kraft, South Dakota St. - Kraft faced high expectations heading into 2022 after he racked up 770 yards on 65 catches last season, but he suffered an ankle injury on his first touch of the season and managed only 122 receiving snaps on the year. That means evaluators are going to have to lean heavily on his 2021 tape, which shows him going to town on lesser competition. He’s a plus athlete for a well-built tight end, and that showed after the catch, as he broke 27 tackles on 86 catches over the past two years.
Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota - You want a run-blocker in this class? Spann-Ford is your man. He’s nearly an offensive tackle, and with how well he moves at his size, it may be in his best financial interest to consider a move to the position. That’s because he’s never going to be a dynamic threat with the ball in his hands to warrant a big-money deal. But what he can do is erase smaller edge defenders in the run game. His 82.8 run-blocking grade ranked third in the FBS this season and his 13 big-time blocks led the nation.
Davis Allen, Clemson - Allen is the kind of tight end who turns 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls. He attacks targets in the air like his life depends on him coming down with it. It’s why he’s gone an absurd 16-of-19 in contested situations over the past two seasons. Allen has also dropped only three of his 87 career catchable passes. Why he’s so low on this list despite all the above is his athletic profile? Outside of routes where he can get into defenders’ bodies to separate, Allen is not the kind of athlete an NFL offense can rely on to separate in one-on-one situations. He can start around the league, but it’s hard to see him being a true difference-maker.
Will Mallory, Miami - Mallory boasts impressive straight-line speed at tight end, helping him average a healthy 13.5 yards per reception on 115 career catches. He can be a weapon on seams, drags and overs, as the leggy tight end’s top speed is difficult for most linebackers to match. The worry is that Mallory is a tight end in name only. You can’t put him on an NFL field and ask him to block inline without him getting his teeth kicked in at the moment.
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