2012 NFL Draft Preview: Tight Ends Highlighted by Coby Fleener

We’re doing a quick overview of each position in the 2012 NFL Draft to prep you for the upcoming draft. This section will focus on the Tight ends. Tight ends are a coveted position in the league right now with all the success the Patriots had this past year with Gronkowski and Hernandez, but the problem is if teams are looking for great tight ends in this class, they’ll be grasping at straws.

Three Studs:

Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson

Allen reminds me a lot of Brandon Pettigrew, but not quite as big or as good of a blocker. Allen has great body control, and good size, he’s a willing blocker and catches the ball well. Even though Fleener’s blazing speed and size make him an intriguing prospect, I’ve had Dwayne Allen as the number one tight end throughout the process. He’s a fringe first round prospect, and if a team can get him late in the second round that’d be a coup.

Coby Fleener, Stanford Cardinal

A willing blocker, but too lean at 6’6. He ignited his stock with a terrific proday in which he ran a better forty yard dash than some wide receivers. The focal point of the Cardinal passing offense (well all the tight ends), Fleener is a potential matchup nightmare at the N.F.L. level. I think, however, if a team expects him to make a QB better they’ll be disappointed. If he ended up with a team like the Giants, Steelers, Bears he could have 600+ receiving yards and 8 touchdowns in year one. A team like the Browns and he wouldn’t put up nearly as good numbers.

Michael Egnew, TE, Missouri

There are really only four top tight ends in this draft, the two previously mentioned Egnew and Orson Charles. Egnew had a bad senior year, was that because of the quarterback play or a deterioratin in his play? He doesn’t have reliable hands, but he has good hands, has enough size and is a nice potential receiving threat. He’s likely to be drafted in the 3rd or 4th round and is good value there.

One Dud

Orson Chalres, TE, Georgia

I don’t dislike Orson Charles, but there are some concerns with him. He’s a potential matchup nightmare if he gets it figured out. Recently got a DUI. He’s shorter, but strong and has been falling on draft boards. My concern is that I’m guessing he gets drafted early third round which means that he ends up with a team without a great quarterback which isn’t going to help him. I’ll let you know if I like where Charles ended up after the draft.

Two Sleepers

I usually do two duds and one sleeper, but the fact that there might not even be four tight ends drafted before the end of day two means it’s kind of hard to call any day three picks duds.

Kevin Koger, TE, Michigan

I’m a big supporter of Koger the TE out of Michigan. He seems most likely to be the Jake Ballard type player out of this class. He played in an offense that didn’t feature his abilities at all, but when you watch him play he has some really nice parts to his game. Koger is likely to be drafted late on day three, but I’d be comfortable taking him in the 5th round.

Adrien Robinson, TE, Cincinnati

Robinson is a very good athlete who wowed at his proday. He measured in at 6’4 264 pounds and ran a 4.56 forty yard dash, with a 39.5″: vertical jump and a pretty good 1.61 10 yard split. Tha’s impressive physical ability and he has a shine to develop into a pretty good TE with the right coaching.

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