Biabreakable
Footballguy
Bucky Hodges, TE: An Elite Athletic Prospect, Is He A TE Or A WR?
Combine/Pro day
College stats
*2014 Virginia Tech ACC FR TE 13gm 73tgt 45rec 526yds 7TD 7ra 20yds 2.9 0
*2015 Virginia Tech ACC SO TE 12gm 70tgt 40rec 530yds 6TD 5ra 27yds 5.4 1TD
2016 Virginia Tech ACC JR TE 14gm 84tgt 48rec 691yds 7TD 9ra 42yds 4.7 0
Career Virginia Tech 227tgt 133rec 1747yds 20TD 21ra 89yds 4.2 1TD (58.6%) 7.7 YPT
5 gamesPlayer Overview
Count me in the “Bucky Hodges is a WR” camp. Hodges has ridiculous measurables to go along with his speed, athleticism and catching ability. Labeling him a WR is not meant to be a knock, it’s just acknowledging where his skill set fits best at the next level. Hodges almost exclusively lined up on the outside or in the seam during his time at VT. He was mostly covered by corners and ran a lot of routes on the boundary. He looks out of his comfort level when asked to play from a three-point stance as an inline TE and his blocking leaves a lot to be desired. Hodges is an obvious mismatch for most of his competition. He has such great size and athleticism that when he stretches the field he can cause his defenders to panic and he has drawn a lot of pass interference calls against the defense. Hodges is one of the better receiving options of the entire TE/WR class but as good as he is he still suffers from the occasional focus drop especially when he is tightly covered. If he can play a bit more to his size, with more “vinegar”, and cut down on some of those drops he’s going to be a real receiving weapon as a tight end or a wide receiver.
Strengths
- Superb height, weight, athleticism, and speed for the position. He is a mismatch physically on the field.
- Has sneaky gradual speed and can work over the top of defenders using his body and hands to create separation.
- Lined up virtually from every receiver position on the field and can cause damage from the outside, seam, and slot.
- Effective as a blocker against players in the secondary.
Weaknesses
- Inline blocking needs a ton of work. His technique is pretty bad and he needs some strength and leverage work as well.
- Doesn’t attack the ball in the air waits for it to come to him instead. A good corner or safety it's going to come away with those 50/50 targets in the NFL.
- Doesn’t fight off the LOS and can have his route disrupted by bigger physical corners and safeties.
- Not the most natural of pass catchers. Will body catch and double clutch he has trouble making the most difficult grabs.
Combine/Pro day
College stats
*2014 Virginia Tech ACC FR TE 13gm 73tgt 45rec 526yds 7TD 7ra 20yds 2.9 0
*2015 Virginia Tech ACC SO TE 12gm 70tgt 40rec 530yds 6TD 5ra 27yds 5.4 1TD
2016 Virginia Tech ACC JR TE 14gm 84tgt 48rec 691yds 7TD 9ra 42yds 4.7 0
Career Virginia Tech 227tgt 133rec 1747yds 20TD 21ra 89yds 4.2 1TD (58.6%) 7.7 YPT