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Football Outsiders: Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft
There’s a growing diversity of players that are labeled tight ends in the NFL. Rutgers’ Tyler Kroft flashes upside to become more than a receiving specialist, but there’s no guarantee he’ll fulfill this potential. By Matt Waldman If there’s one prospect type in football that rarely lives up to the first-year hype of the general…
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RSP Rorschach: Michigan WR/TE Devin Funchess
Some plays are like Rorschach inkblots because there’s no definitive answer to why they unfold the way they do. This series examines plays that have more than one viable explanation and may be too difficult to draw a single conclusion. The fun part is that you have a voice in it. Rorschach No.4 Devin Funchess…
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RSP Sample Report: KC TE Travis Kelce
Every once in a while I provide a sample of my work — good or bad. Today, I sharing a promising one: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The former Bearcats tight end missed his rookie year with a knee injury, but Kelce is looking like a star in the making after three preseason games. Here’s…
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Listening to The Whispers: Changes to The RSP — WRs and TEs
Matt profiles changes to his TE/WR checklists and how his process encourages an interplay between logic and insight. I have spent the offseason reviewing and updating my evaluation criteria and scoring values for the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication. I covered quarterbacks and running backs last week. Today it’s the wide receivers and tight ends. The…
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No-Huddle Series: Cal/Green Bay TE Richard Rodgers
Cal tight end Richard Rodgers isn’t at the top of this class, but he has the tools to climb an NFL depth chart. The difference between a college star and an NFL starter is a player’s ability to integrate skills into meaningful play. Otherwise, his value to the team will be little more than that…
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Boiler Room: Utah TE Jake Murphy
Utah’s Jake Murphy is a safe, late-round pick with upside when called upon to do more. One of the challenges involved with player analysis is to be succinct with delivering the goods. As the author of an annual tome, I’m often a spectacular failure in this respect. A series I started last spring at the RSP blog…
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Reese’s Senior Bowl Offensive Practices Day 3
Players Who Grew On Me Oregon’s Josh Huff leads this list of players who I like more as I leave Mobile than I did upon my arrival. The receiver demonstrated that he could catch the ball with his hands on a consistent basis. While he doesn’t make receptions at the level of difficulty we see…
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Futures: Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro
Jace Amaro has the physical skills and baseline football acumen to generate talk that he’s a future Jason Witten Futures: Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro by Matt Waldman The best NFL teams possess three characteristics on the field: resiliency, intimidation, and explosiveness. Two are psychological and one is physical. All three are methods of managing…
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Futures: UNC TE Eric Ebron
Futures: UNC TE Eric Ebron by Matt Waldman Eric Ebron is the hot name among the NFL Draft media, but the University of North Carolina tight end isn’t some flash fire that ignited at Chapel Hill in mid-October. The Tar Heel has been ablaze for two seasons –- make it three if you count a…
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Mirror Images: Vernon Davis and Patrick Willis
I can’t think of an easier Mirror Images tandem than teammates. Cian Fahey profiled Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. I’m following suit with a pair of 49ers with freakish athleticism and great versatility. It’s only natural to me that two of the best all-around athletes with great scheme versatility – Vernon Davis and Patrick Willis – are mirror images. The fact that they…