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2017 Rookie TE Edition (1 Viewer)

BigTex

Don't mess with Texas
There has been a lot of talk about the Running Backs but the TE talent is just as Deep. Probably the best we've ever seen!

1. OJ Howard

2. David Njoku 

3. Evan Engram

4. Bucky Hodges

5. Michael Roberts

6. Jake Butt

7. Cole Hikutini

8.  Mark Andrews

9. Adam Sheheen

What's not to like about 2017? This is a very talented group. I can see a few of these guys going earlier in Dynasty Drafts than usual.

Tex

 
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There has been a lot of talk about the Running Backs but the TE talent is just as Deep. Probably the best we've ever seen!

1. Evan Engram

2. OJ Howard

3. Mark Andrews

4. Jake Butt

5. Bucky Hodges

What's not to like about 2017? This is a very talented group. I can see a few of these guys going earlier in Dynasty Drafts than usual.

Tex
Deep and talented class.  Let's hope it can rank alongside the 2010 Class, which included Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Pitta, Aaron Hernandez  :bag: and Gresham.  That is a tall order.

 
Jeremy Sprinkle is another one I like. He was Hunter Henry's backup but showed up plenty of times last year. I'm interested to see what he does now that he's full time starter. 

He had 27 / 389 / 6 as a junior behind Henry. 

 
Jeremy Sprinkle is another one I like. He was Hunter Henry's backup but showed up plenty of times last year. I'm interested to see what he does now that he's full time starter. 

He had 27 / 389 / 6 as a junior behind Henry. 
Friend of mine who is a season ticket holder of Hogs and as knowledgeable a fan as you will see has been telling me for months that Sprinkle is going to be a star and has more potential than Henry.  And he likes Henry a lot for what it's worth so that's a not knock on him, so I tend to think you are on to something here.

 
Deep and talented class.  Let's hope it can rank alongside the 2010 Class, which included Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Pitta, Aaron Hernandez  :bag: and Gresham.  That is a tall order.
On paper or in terms of how they will rank entering the draft I think this will be considered the best TE draft class ever but in terms of actual production I'd never predict a draft class would beat that 2010 class.  I'd say the same thing about the RB class this year versus the 2008 RB class.

But to the OP's point I tend to agree on how strong this class looks at TE and here are some rankings/mocks to backup that up.

Matt Miller did a top 50 ranking which had 5 TE's. Howard (13), Butt(24), Legget(30, Engram(34) and Hodges(47).

Dane Brugler did a first round mock and had 3 TE's in round one, Howard, Butt and Hodges.

And I can't recall who it was because it's been months since I read it was someone whose opinion I trust who did a top 50 right after the 2016 draft and it had 5 or 6 TE's in the group, close to same number as RB.

 
This class will be like no other. I do recall some talk about Sprinkle. I will try to find the article, it spoke at how much better Sprinkle was over Henry as recall he's an "upgrade" and Henry will not be missed.

Tex

 
The kid from Clemson should be on this list.  Probably #3.
Both Jordan and Jeremy are good but I'm not sure if they are in the top 5. That's how deep this TE class is, it's very deep and i agree that both these guys are good but at this point in time I dont see either in the top 5......................top 10 at best.

I will create a top 10 soon

Tex

 
Deep and talented class.  Let's hope it can rank alongside the 2010 Class, which included Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Pitta, Aaron Hernandez  :bag: and Gresham.  That is a tall order.
Kind of stretching for Gresham here- he never really produced other than as a blocker. Pitta and Hernandez had a decent season or two but of course both have had issues staying on the field. So to be the best te class you have to have 2 guys that beast like gronk/graham and some role players like hoomanannannannnanui and Jim dray. That's still a really tall order.

 
I love the athleticism of Hodges (he's basically a Logan Thomas that actually made the switch from QB to TE), but he didn't quite seem to make the leap projected last year in his second year at TE.  A lot of upside if he can translate that to the field.

 
Kind of stretching for Gresham here- he never really produced other than as a blocker. Pitta and Hernandez had a decent season or two but of course both have had issues staying on the field. So to be the best te class you have to have 2 guys that beast like gronk/graham and some role players like hoomanannannannnanui and Jim dray. That's still a really tall order.
Fair points.  I mention Gresham because he was the lone first round pick and the most highly regarded of the TE class that year.  On paper, no doubt the 2017 class looks superior to what the 2010 class looked like going into that draft.  Gronk was a 2nd rounder, and Graham lasted until the 3rd, and in many fantasy drafts, Gronk and Graham were taken behind both Gresham and Hernandez.

Tight End has proven to be a difficult position to evaluate, and generally take awhile to develop.  While Tony Gonzalez and Greg Olsen were successful first rounders, others greats like Antonio Gates (undrafted), Ben Coates (5th Round), Shannon Sharpe (7th Round), Jason Witten (3rd Round) were not as highly regarded, whereas the likes of Ricky Dudley, Jerramy Stevens and Dustin Keller failed to live up to their first round status.

 
Coming out of college where would you put ASJ and Ebron on this list? Excluding pro production or lack thereof.

 
Verdict is still out on them IMO. Kellen Winslow is the last guy I can remember that was inside the top 10 (Ebron at 10). He didn't really live up to expectations due to stupidity. Te is hard to predict because usage can vary greatly due to blocking resposibilities or scheme. An offensive line injury every year can cause a guy to fall off te map like Pettigrew, promising numbers that never panned out due to a weak line, coaching changes, and eventually injuries. 

I haven't looked at 2017 prospects yet, any cracking the top 10?

edit: I misunderstood your question georg- those 2 can be ranked from college scouting for comparison, but I have no idea.

 
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If you throw Ebron and ASJ back in the mix and only use their college production as measures, how would they stack up to this upcoming class? Clearly, Ebron should not have been taken top 10 but that doesn't mean he isn't a talented TE. Are these 2017 prospects on that level? A step above? A notch below? I have watched zero film on these guys and I'm just curious to hear early opinion before I dive in.

edit: Based on highlights alone, they both looked explosive. Engram had some nice catches. I would want to dig deeper and see how blocking looks. Also, a nice bump in production wouldn't hurt. But so far, it looks promising. The top two can really move.

 
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Tier 1

Engram

Hodges

Buckey

Ebron

Teir 2

Insert Player X here

(This is in terms of the area that they might be drafted)

 
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Tier 1

Engram

Hodges

Buckey

Ebron

Teir 2

Insert Player X here

(This is in terms of the area that they might be drafted)
What do you like so much about Engram? I got him last month in my start 2TE devy league, but don't know a whole ton about him other than some compare him to J Reed. 

 
Tier 1

Engram

Hodges

Buckey

Ebron

Teir 2

Insert Player X here

(This is in terms of the area that they might be drafted)
This is interesting tex.  Forget ebron being a top ten pick for a minute, and let's say he went say 24. Do you think those 3 te get drafted in the top 24, or even 32? If so that's a crazy te class. I'm not trying to say you're wrong or anything, but this thread has me intrigued.

 
What do you like so much about Engram? I got him last month in my start 2TE devy league, but don't know a whole ton about him other than some compare him to J Reed. 
He has great hands often catching very poorly thrown balls. He's used similar to how NE used Hernandez he's all over the place. LBs cant keep up with him and he's too tall for DBs.

Tex

 
This is interesting tex.  Forget ebron being a top ten pick for a minute, and let's say he went say 24. Do you think those 3 te get drafted in the top 24, or even 32? If so that's a crazy te class. I'm not trying to say you're wrong or anything, but this thread has me intrigued.
I believe all 3 will go in the 1st for sure if they play close to their potential.

Tex

 
Deep and talented class.  Let's hope it can rank alongside the 2010 Class, which included Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Pitta, Aaron Hernandez  :bag: and Gresham.  That is a tall order.
You forgot Tony Moeaki who was picked in the 3rd round.

Tex

 
I don't question OJ Howard's talent but I don't want to over value him based on that one Championship game.

Here me out.......

He had 5 catches for 2 TDs and over 200 yds.

This was largely due to the fact that Alabama never, ever feature their TEs.......EVER!!!! So Clemons had no reason to cover him. Once Nick realized that the Clemson D was leaving Howard open he took advantage of it. Clemson was still slow to recognize what was taking place (coaches fault). Howard caught ever ball that was thrown to him, he caught 5 of 5 simply because he was wide open with no defender around at least 5 yds of him. On maybe one of his catches someone may have been close.

The word is now out on Howard, let's see how good he really is when the defense is actually covering him. He's the one TE that I will be watching more than the others.

Tex

 
I don't question OJ Howard's talent but I don't want to over value him based on that one Championship game.

Here me out.......

He had 5 catches for 2 TDs and over 200 yds.

This was largely due to the fact that Alabama never, ever feature their TEs.......EVER!!!! So Clemons had no reason to cover him. Once Nick realized that the Clemson D was leaving Howard open he took advantage of it. Clemson was still slow to recognize what was taking place (coaches fault). Howard caught ever ball that was thrown to him, he caught 5 of 5 simply because he was wide open with no defender around at least 5 yds of him. On maybe one of his catches someone may have been close.

The word is now out on Howard, let's see how good he really is when the defense is actually covering him. He's the one TE that I will be watching more than the others.

Tex
You hit it spot on with Howard. I saw how highly he was being touted but only really heard about him after that big game against Clemson. He has to produce on a more consistent basis for me to even consider drafting him with a high pick. Hunter Henry had a solid statline his final year in college and I would expect to see something close to those numbers. However, if Alabama doesn't feature the TE, how will we ever know how good this kid really is? Unless of course the Lions take him at 10. 

 
Cole Hikutini has made it to #2. I've watched 3 games this year and he's going to move up everyone's board soon. Not really known but that's going to change!

Tex

 
Former St. Louis Rams HC Mike Martz is high on the NFL potential of Nebraska TE Cethan Carter.
Carter happened to land on Martz's team at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. The Greatest Show on Turf mastermind liked what he saw. Said Martz of the 6-foot-4, 229-pounder, "He’s got length. He’s got juice to get upfield. He’s got speed — not just real speed, he can change direction." He added that Carter was "exceptional" during the practice week. This past season, the former Cornhusker logged a 19-190-1 receiving line over the course of nine games played (an elbow injury suffered in October kept him out over several contests). He will try to keep up the good vibes at the NFL Scouting Combine next week.

 
 
Source: Land of 10 
Feb 23 - 6:21 PM

 
A lot of movement with the TE class. It's even deeper than we originally thought.

Thanks Faust!

Tex

 
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This is best I've seen and I rated Jimmy and Gronk as superstar potential coming out. Settled with Graham because of Brees & because of Gronks perpetual back problems in college. They have arisen again.

Definitely the deepest. No one will top Gronk's per game numbers but they are an anomaly anyway. These guys are good though.
Have you ranked the rookie TEs yet?

 
If you throw Ebron and ASJ back in the mix and only use their college production as measures, how would they stack up to this upcoming class? Clearly, Ebron should not have been taken top 10 but that doesn't mean he isn't a talented TE. Are these 2017 prospects on that level? A step above? A notch below? I have watched zero film on these guys and I'm just curious to hear early opinion before I dive in.

edit: Based on highlights alone, they both looked explosive. Engram had some nice catches. I would want to dig deeper and see how blocking looks. Also, a nice bump in production wouldn't hurt. But so far, it looks promising. The top two can really move.
I haven't seen any mocks with any of this year's TEs coming anywhere close to the top 10 in the draft, so unless the combine changes things drastically I would have to think that Ebron was more highly touted as a prospect than any of them.

I think it's the depth of this class more than any real true standout prospect.

 
I don't question OJ Howard's talent but I don't want to over value him based on that one Championship game.

Here me out.......

He had 5 catches for 2 TDs and over 200 yds.

This was largely due to the fact that Alabama never, ever feature their TEs.......EVER!!!! So Clemons had no reason to cover him. Once Nick realized that the Clemson D was leaving Howard open he took advantage of it. Clemson was still slow to recognize what was taking place (coaches fault). Howard caught ever ball that was thrown to him, he caught 5 of 5 simply because he was wide open with no defender around at least 5 yds of him. On maybe one of his catches someone may have been close.

The word is now out on Howard, let's see how good he really is when the defense is actually covering him. He's the one TE that I will be watching more than the others.

Tex
Wasn't one of them on a busted coverage (fake WR screen if I recall), just like in the prior year's championship game?

Howard is an interesting case because there seems to be the perception that he was productive in college.  He really wasn't, his numbers are very meh, but he had two big championship games both largely on the back of a big play via a busted coverage where no one was even near him.

 
Looking at college receiving production for 12 TEs who have gotten a lot of attention, I have them ranked (from most productive to least productive):

1. Evan Engram    Mississippi
2. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
3. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
4. David Njoku    Miami FL
5. Cole Hikutini    Louisville
6. O.J. Howard    Alabama
7. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
8. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
9. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
10. Josiah Price    Michigan State
11. Darrell Daniels    Washington
12. Jake Butt    Michigan

Looking at size/athleticism (going by nfldraftscout estimates, and using weighins from events like the Senior Bowl where possible), I have those 12 guys ranked:

1. Darrell Daniels    Washington
2. David Njoku    Miami FL
3. O.J. Howard    Alabama
4. Evan Engram    Mississippi
5. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
6. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
7. Jake Butt    Michigan
8. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
9. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
10. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
11. Josiah Price    Michigan State
12. Cole Hikutini    Louisville

Which leads to this overall ranking for those 12 guys:

1. Evan Engram    Mississippi
2. David Njoku    Miami FL
3. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
4. O.J. Howard    Alabama
5. Darrell Daniels    Washington
6. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
7. Cole Hikutini    Louisville
8. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
9. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
10. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
11. Jake Butt    Michigan
12. Josiah Price    Michigan State

with the top 6 rating as relatively strong prospects.

nfldraftscout currently has slow 40 time predictions for Adam Shaheen (4.87) and Michael Roberts (4.93); they'll need to do better to crack the top part of the list.

 
Wasn't one of them on a busted coverage (fake WR screen if I recall), just like in the prior year's championship game?

Howard is an interesting case because there seems to be the perception that he was productive in college.  He really wasn't, his numbers are very meh, but he had two big championship games both largely on the back of a big play via a busted coverage where no one was even near him.
Yeah, production is his biggest question mark going into the draft but many dismiss his production do to Nick's lack of will to do so even though it was Nick that talked him into returning another year at Alabama promising to feature him! Lol, we know how that turned out though with a true rookie QB everyone may have suffered including Ridley and Stewart.

Tex

 
Looking at college receiving production for 12 TEs who have gotten a lot of attention, I have them ranked (from most productive to least productive):

1. Evan Engram    Mississippi
2. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
3. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
4. David Njoku    Miami FL
5. Cole Hikutini    Louisville
6. O.J. Howard    Alabama
7. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
8. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
9. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
10. Josiah Price    Michigan State
11. Darrell Daniels    Washington
12. Jake Butt    Michigan

Looking at size/athleticism (going by nfldraftscout estimates, and using weighins from events like the Senior Bowl where possible), I have those 12 guys ranked:

1. Darrell Daniels    Washington
2. David Njoku    Miami FL
3. O.J. Howard    Alabama
4. Evan Engram    Mississippi
5. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
6. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
7. Jake Butt    Michigan
8. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
9. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
10. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
11. Josiah Price    Michigan State
12. Cole Hikutini    Louisville

Which leads to this overall ranking for those 12 guys:

1. Evan Engram    Mississippi
2. David Njoku    Miami FL
3. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
4. O.J. Howard    Alabama
5. Darrell Daniels    Washington
6. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
7. Cole Hikutini    Louisville
8. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
9. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
10. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
11. Jake Butt    Michigan
12. Josiah Price    Michigan State

with the top 6 rating as relatively strong prospects.

nfldraftscout currently has slow 40 time predictions for Adam Shaheen (4.87) and Michael Roberts (4.93); they'll need to do better to crack the top part of the list.
Outstanding!

I would not take Everett over Hikutini though. I'm not sold on Everett as of yet IIRC he has 8.5 inch hands. I know that alone should dismiss him but I'm just not sold yet and I'm a big Cole fan he's just in the wrong draft lol!

Tex

 
Wasn't one of them on a busted coverage (fake WR screen if I recall), just like in the prior year's championship game?

Howard is an interesting case because there seems to be the perception that he was productive in college.  He really wasn't, his numbers are very meh, but he had two big championship games both largely on the back of a big play via a busted coverage where no one was even near him.
I think the perception is that he wasn't productive in college but it's because Saban didn't utilize Howard properly.  Regardless, I'm not as high on him as most. I'll probably avoid him in drafts. 

 
Looking at college receiving production for 12 TEs who have gotten a lot of attention, I have them ranked (from most productive to least productive):

1. Evan Engram    Mississippi
2. Jordan Leggett    Clemson
3. Gerald Everett    South Alabama
4. David Njoku    Miami FL
5. Cole Hikutini    Louisville
6. O.J. Howard    Alabama
7. Bucky Hodges    Virginia Tech
8. Jeremy Sprinkle    Arkansas
9. Blake Jarwin    Oklahoma State
10. Josiah Price    Michigan State
11. Darrell Daniels    Washington
12. Jake Butt    Michigan
Shocked to see Butt so low.  What criteria did you use here?

 
I think George Kittle could be a big sleeper in the draft.  He's the best blocking TE and can still catch.  He dropped off the radar after a lackluster passing offense from Iowa last year.

 

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