A very weak Tight End class, nobody before round Three appears to have the value I'd like for their projected draft position.
Third round
Kevin Boss (Western Oregon) - The player who would appear to have the most upside is Kevin Boss (Western Oregon) who broke 7 seconds in the 3-cone at 6'6 1/2" 252. His stock has moved him up NFLDraftScout.com's projections from 6th round to late 3rd. A team who values TEs and has the patience to develop a raw player with his apparent upside is likely to find him an attractive target.
Scott Chandler (Iowa) - I thought he stood out as the better blocker of the TEs invited to the Senior Bowl.
Fourth/Fifth rounds
Joe Newton (Oregon State) - He caught my eye in the Boise State game back in the early part of the season.
Clark Harris (Rutgers) - I caught a couple Rutgers' games this past season and thought he played well. He also looked good in a brief glimpse during Senior Bowl week before he left with an injury.
Sixth/Seventh rounds
Jonny Harline (BYU) - Productive receiver in a pass oriented offense.
Dante Rosario (Oregon) - Natural receiver who made the transition from fullback to tight end over the final two seasons of his career. Surprisingly athletic, Rosario can generate yards after the catch and is tough to bring down. Blessed with soft hands and quick change of direction to develop into a fine route-runner. Selfless player who signed with Oregon as a linebacker before being switched first to fullback, then tight end. Accomplished special teams performer.
Daniel Coats (BYU) - Their blocking TE, he looked good in his drills at the Combine and improved his 40 time at his Pro-day.
UDFA - Two kids who showed early promise before being sidelined by injury may be good developmental projects.
Dan Murray (Connecticut) - Decent Pro-day numbers per NFLDraftScout.com.
Height: 6047
Weight: 256
40 Yrd Dash: 4.75
20 Yrd Dash: 2.81
10 Yrd Dash: 1.64
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 22
Vertical Jump: 33 1/2
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.38
3-Cone Drill: 6.81
- Regarded as the premier tight end in the Big East Conference and a member of the John Mackey Award (nation's best tight end) 2006 preseason Watch List, Murray was primed for a banner senior season. On Aug. 21, he suffered a left high ankle that kept him out of the first three games of the 2006 season, and he saw limited action in three others while continuing his rehabilitation. Just when he was returning to full health, he suffered a right shoulder sprain against Syracuse, forcing him to appear only on special teams at the end of a trying '06 season.
- 03/30/07 - Gloucester High alumnus Dan Murray may have revived his chances of being selected in the 2007 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-5, 258 pound recent University of Connecticut graduate believes his stock increased after an audition before seven NFL scouts at UConn's Pro Day. Murray clocked the fastest time of any tight end prospect in the country this season in the NFL's standard agility drill (three cone L-drill, 6.78 seconds). He also improved his top 40-yard dash time from 4.81 to 4.75. In a test of strength, Murray performed 22 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press. Coming off an injury-plagued senior season, Murray was not one of 300 prospects invited to last month's NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Ind. He felt he needed a breakout performance on Saturday to convince scouts he was completely healed from a severely sprained ankle that kept him out of two games during his senior season. "I got the numbers I needed to get," Murray said. "It went as well as I could've expected." - Dan Guttenplan, Gloucester Daily Times
Matt Herian (Nebraska) - 03/08/07 - Pro day: One ex-Husker who definitely should have opened some eyes Wednesday was tight end Matt Herian. Running his first 40 since suffering a broken leg during the 2004 season, the Pierce product showed a burst that led him to be a first-team All-big 12 Conference player as a freshman. Herian said his 4.7-something time was the best since running a 4.67 as a freshman. Back then, he weighed closer to 220. On Wednesday, he tipped the scales at 242. “I hope it kind of re-opened some eyes,” Herian said. “Some guys liked me before my injury, and kind of questioned me afterwards. Hopefully after seeing that today, they see me back to where I was.” Herian also said he recorded a 38-inch vertical jump, but the 40 time was the mark he considered special. “I think that shows explosiveness. When you do the 40, a lot of people time (you at) 10 (and) 20 (yards), so they see how fast you're getting out and how fast you're getting downfield,” he said. “Specifically in my position, a lot of teams are looking for a guy who can go downfield, get on top of that safety real fast. And a 40's just a good measure of all of that.” - Curt McKeever, Lincoln Journal Star
