2021 NFL Draft: Brant Kuithe a rare athlete at tight end

Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe is a rare athlete at the TE position in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The 2021 NFL Draft is going to be loaded at the tight end position.

Based on the early portion of the scouting process, it’s almost unanimous that Florida’s Kyle Pitts and Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth are the top two players at tight end in the potentially stellar class, but what about the players behind them?

There are a number of really strong candidates to be considered the current TE3 behind Pitts and Freiermuth, but Utah’s Brant Kuithe has got to be among the leaders for that distinction.

Kuithe a rare athlete at the tight end position.

How does a three-star athlete from the state of Texas wind up playing for the Utah Utes?

Not every Texas kid stays local to play college ball, but Kuithe, a 6-foot-3 ‘athlete’ out of Katy, TX was not offered by Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Houston, TCU, or Baylor.

What gives?

After originally committing to Rice in 2017, Kuithe decommitted and wound up getting offered by Utah, where he has now established himself as the best tight end prospect in the PAC 12 conference.

As a sophomore in 2019, Kuithe averaged over 17 yards per touch both as a receiver and runner.

At 6-foot-3 (or 6-foot-2, depending on which site you check) and 235 pounds, Kuithe is built more like a big running back and less like a tight end. Derrick Henry is 6-foot-3, 240 pounds. AJ Dillon is 6-foot-2, 240.

Kuithe has rare athleticism for his position and despite not being a prototypical blocker at the tight end position at this point in time, he’s capable when called upon and is way too much of a mismatch in the passing game to ping for his blocking at this point in time.

The way Kuithe moves in the open field is unlike anything you generally see from a young tight end prospect.

He has 61 total touches through two seasons at Utah and has averaged over 15 yards per play with 10 touchdowns. Utah used him six times last year as a runner with six carries, three going for touchdowns.

This guy is a mismatch with his size and quickness off the snap as a big slot, and he can do serious damage in the open field.

As he continues to hone his craft, it really looks like the sky is the limit. Kuithe has outstanding long speed, agility, quickness, and explosiveness. His field vision is tremendous and his hands are very good.

Even though he might be a scheme-specific player with his size, there is a place for him somewhere to be an absolute star in the NFL.