Draft Preview: Tight Ends

There’s no better friend to a young quarterback than a quality tight end, something Green Bay hasn’t had since Jared Cook in 2016. With Jordan Love expected to be under center next season, finding that type of player should be a high priority for general manager Brian Gutekunst later this month. Fortunately, the upcoming draft is very deep at the position.

The following are my top half-dozen tight ends (this list isn’t meant to predict the exact order in which these players will be drafted but rather how well they’d fit in the Packers’ offense. Those two things don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand):

🏈POTENTIAL DAY 1 PICKS

Michael Mayer might not be a special athlete, but he’s a special player. While the former Notre Dame star won’t run away from defenders, very few inside linebackers and safeties were able to cover him in college. Mayer simply knows how to get open, and once he creates a little separation, he has a unique ability to track and adjust to off-target and underthrown balls. He’s also an accomplished blocker, which separates him from most young tight ends. Is he worth the 15th pick? Probably not, but T.J. Hockenson went at No. 8 to Detroit in 2019, and Mayer has a chance to be a better pro.

Luke Musgrave caught only 47 passes in college due to COVID in 2020 and a knee injury last season. While the former Oregon State star doesn’t have much experience (20 games), he’s easily the most talented all-around tight end in this draft class. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands and can turn short gains into big plays. He’s also a solid blocking technician in-line and at the second level. While Musgrave has a much lower floor than Meyer, he also has a higher ceiling. He’d be a gamble in the middle of the first round but a potential steal for any team picking in the mid to late 20s.

Dalton Kinkaid could be selected before Mayer and Musgrave, but he’s probably not an ideal fit for the Packers. Coach Matt LaFleur wants his tight ends to block, and while the former Utah star gives a pretty decent effort, he lacks the bulk to factor in-line in the pros. Still, plenty of teams won’t care about this deficiency and focus instead on Kinkaid’s ability to create mismatches in the slot with his length and run away from linebackers and even safeties in man coverage. He didn’t participate in any of the drills at the Combine due to a small fracture in his back, so that’ll have to be checked out.

🏈POTENTIAL DAY 2 PICKS

Tucker Kraft has a chance to be the best tight end in this class if he gets to the right team. The former South Dakota State star will need patience and great coaching because, as is the case with most small school players, he’s very raw. While Kraft should be an asset as a blocker right away, he’s going to take time as a receiver. He needs to learn how to sharpen his routes and become more crafty at shaking coverage. More concerning is his tendency to fight the ball at times. Still, his skill set is so intriguing that it’s difficult to imagine him lasting until the Packers pick in the middle of Round 3.

Sam LaPorta is the latest in a long line of talented tight ends from Iowa. The list includes Hockenson, George Kittle, Dallas Clark, and Noah Fant, selected 20th overall in 2019. LaPorta won’t go nearly that high, but he has a chance to be the better NFL player. The 22-year-old is a good athlete, although he doesn’t play quite as fast as his 40 would suggest. But what LaPorta does extremely well is use head fakes, jabs, and gear change to set up defenders. That allows him to create separation in the middle of the field. The tenacious 245-pounder is a better-than-expected run blocker for his size.

Darnell Washington is the type of prospect who’ll be either a Pro Bowler or a continual tease. My guess is the latter. While the former Georgia star does a few things every week that make your eyes pop out of your head, he looks pretty ordinary too often. Washington ran a very fast 40 at the Combine, but he’s not particularly sudden or quick off the line of scrimmage and builds to speed. He also struggled at times to make contested catches in college. It would be a bit of a surprise if he develops into a high-volume receiver at the next level. It would be a bigger surprise if he isn’t a dominant blocker.

🏈POTENTIAL DAY 3 PICKS

There are six tight ends at the head of the class, but at least another 10 have a chance to play in the NFL, and a few will probably be really good. The trick will be finding them after Round 3. The list includes Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker (6-5, 251, 4.63), Cincinnati’s Josh Whyle (6-6, 248, 4.69), Old Dominion’s Zack Kuntz (6-7, 255, 4.55), Penn State’s Brenton Strange (6-4, 253, 4.70), Clemson’s Davis Allen (6-6 1/2, 245, 4.84), Alabama’s Cameron Latu (6-4, 242, 4.78), Miami’s Will Mallory (6-4 1/2, 239, 4.54), Wake Forest’s Blake Whitehead (6-4 1/2, 247, 4.70), and Purdue’s Payne Durham (6-6 1/2, 253, 4.87).

🏈IF I WERE THE GM

With undersized Josiah Deguara and journeyman Tyler Davis currently atop the depth chart, Gutekunst almost has to draft a tight end before the end of the third round. The problem is that the highest-rated prospects (Mayer, Musgrave, and Kinkaid) probably aren’t worth the 15th pick, but they’ll almost certainly be off the board by the time the Packers choose again at 45. It might make sense for Gutekunst to trade down in Round 1 or up in Round 2 to secure one of the big three.

Another option would be to sit tight at 45 and select Kraft, LaPorta, or Washington. At least two, if not all three, should be available. They’re intriguing prospects, but whether any of them deserve to be drafted in the middle of Round 2 is debatable.

A much riskier strategy – at least with Gutekunst calling the shots – would be to wait until Round 3 and roll the dice on Schoonmaker or Kuntz. While plenty of quality tight ends have been selected at this point in the draft (Pro Bowler Mark Andrews is a recent example), so were Deguara in 2020 and former Packer and current USFLer Jace Sternberger a year earlier.