For a very brief series of games last season we saw what the Steelers offense could offer with a real vertical pass-catching tight end (Ladarius Green) playing. Then he suffered a concussion, was placed in the league’s protocol and never saw the field again last season.

I’ve said it before, and I will probably say it repeatedly – I’m a glass half-full guy, and I hope that Ladarius can get past these issues and be a real contributor for the Steelers in 2017. But I have to admit to being a little worried. Jesse James was better-than-advertised last year, and his blocking improved as well. I’m still not convinced (much as I love “the Outlaw”) that he’s the long-term solution.

So maybe there is reason to look at the tight end class with more than a casual glance?

Overview

Tight end is an odd position:

• You have guys like Matt Spaeth who are primarily in-line blockers, and rarely catch a pass.
• You have guys like Greg Olsen who are almost more receivers than pure tight-ends.
• You have guys like Heath Miller who put the whole thing together, and give you the best of both worlds: solid blocking and excellent receiving.
• Then you have Gronk. That guy is just a freak.

Of course, everyone is looking for the next Gronk. I don’t think that guy is in this draft, but there are some interesting possibilities here. While I still believe, this position is a luxury pick versus a definite need, there could be real value that drops in the Steelers’ lap at 30.

If it does, I’d be hard-pressed to pass on it.

Let’s take a look at who is available in the tight end class, broken down into three categories – the Cream, the Crop and the Dregs.

The Cream

There are some really talented guys in this group. There are a couple I’d spend the 30th pick on, or at least think hard about it. I also think I’d be willing to part with our 2nd round pick for any of them, if they happened to fall that far: I believe a couple  of them will. The problem is that both the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers could use a tight end, and they both draft ahead of us. Yes, they both have other pressing issues as well (especially if the Giants lose Jason Pierre-Paul in free agency), so it’s possible they don’t spend a first rounder on a tight end, and therefore, one of the top two could drop to us at 30.

The five guys who I consider the “Cream” of this year’s draft class are as follows:

• O.J. Howard (Alabama) – 6’6″, 249
• David Njoku (Miami) – 6’4″, 245
• Bucky Hodges (Virginia Tech) – 6’7″, 245
• Gerald Everett (South Alabama) – 6’3″, 227
• Jordan Leggett (Clemson) – 6’5″, 250

The two guys I would consider dropping the 30th pick on are Howard and Njoku.

Howard is a potential All-Pro tight end. He has really long arms, huge hands and really good acceleration when going into his routes. He looks as fast on the field as a wide receiver. I think the chances of Howard dropping to 30 are slim to none, but if he does, it would be really hard to ignore him. He’s projected to be a top-ten pick; that kind of talent at 30 is a steal.

The guy who is much more likely to drop to us, and who I like a lot, is David Njoku. He’s more Greg Olsen than Gronk, but that’s not a bad thing. He has good height, really long arms and cold bulk up, his frame can handle it. And he’s scary fast. He might be faster than Howard. If he blazes his 40 at the combine he’ll never be there when we pick, but if he just puts in a good time, he might be.

His NFL.com draft profile says this:

“Tremendous acceleration out of breaks to separate and widen the window for quarterbacks. Opens the throttle in open field. When he catches it on the move, the YAC yards can become an avalanche.”

I really like this kid, and the more I read about him, and the more film I see on him, the more I like him. If he’s around at 30, I might have to push the button, depending on who else is still on the board.

Of the next three guys, Hodges, Leggett and Everett, I wouldn’t think about them in round 1, but round 2? Of the three, I really like Bucky Hodges. Call me sentimental, but we’ve had really good luck with tight ends from the state of Virginia (I know, I know, Heath went to Virginia, not Virginia Tech, but still, it’s the same state!)

Hodges is really tall (6’7″) and he runs and plays fast, and has a huge catch radius. This is the line from his NFL.com profile that sticks with me:

“Once he stacks defender on his hip, he wins.”

Unless there’s some other special value, I’d pull the trigger in the 2nd round if he’s available.

Leggett and Everett are fringe guys for me. They have measurables, but I’m just not as impressed with them. If they are still around in the 3rd round, maybe I bite. But overall, I’d pass, unless they really dropped down, into the 4th or 5th. Then they’d be a really high-value pick.

The Crop

Let me just say that between the bottom of the Cream and the top of the Crop, there is an extremely fine line, with a lot of potential for disagreements on where some of these guys fall. You could almost have a middle category called “Cream/Crop” which the bottom three and top three of each category would fit in.

But that’s too much work for me, and too confusing. So, the “Crop” of tight ends looks something like this:

• Evan Engram (Mississippi) – 6’3″, 236
• Jake Butt (The Stupid Team Up North) – 6’6″, 250
• Adam Shaheen (Ashland) – 6’6″, 277
• Jeremy Sprinkle (Arkansas) – 6’5″, 256
• Michael Roberts (Toledo) – 6’4″, 261

I admit to having a bit of a bias against guys from that school up north. It takes me a while to get that Wolverine stench out of my nostrils. Butt will be an in-line tight end, and compares to Zach Miller more than anyone else. He’s slow off the line, and really only has one speed; but he will get first downs. Evan Engram strikes me a lot like a poor man’s Jordan Reed, and I’m not that in love with him. I don’t think I’d spend even a 4th round pick for him, unless there’s nothing else on the board. The same is true of Sprinkle and Roberts. Roberts only has one year of production at a smaller school, and Sprinkle didn’t impress me with the tape I watched.

The kid I like here is Adam Shaheen. He’s a small school guy, and this kid is by no means a finished project. He’s huge though, but he plays more like a pass-catcher than a “Y” tight end. He played lower competition level, and that is a little concerning, but as I’ve said before, he did what he was supposed to do, and dominated. Hell, he crushed them… but his blocking needs a lot of work, but he has real upside. If we haven’t jumped at anyone in the early rounds, I would definitely consider him in the 4th and beyond.

The Dregs

The drop off from “Crop” to “Dregs” is pretty severe. There are solid “Spaeth-like” tight ends to be found here, but there are no game changers down here.

The group that falls into the “Dregs” is:

• Jonnu Smith (Florida International) – 6’3″, 245
• Cole Hikutini (Louisville) – 6’5″, 248
• Blake Jarwin (Oklahoma State) – 6’5″, 248
• Scott Orndoff (Pittsburgh) – 6’5″, 256
• Eric Saubert (Drake) – 6’5″, 251

I’m not going to waste a lot of time on this group, because frankly there isn’t a player I feel is a good fit for the Steelers. These aren’t bad prospects, but they aren’t going to help us anytime soon, and if we are going to operate under the assumption that Ladarius Green is going to be a problem, then these guys aren’t going to help; it’s more likely that one of the Cream or Crop guys would.

Most of these players will be around as undrafted free agents anyway, so there’s no need to spend a pick on them. If you want one bad enough, one might be worth a 7th round pick, but these guys feel more like camp bodies, than potential contributors.

Conclusion

In my next “Mock Draft Insanity“, you’ll see action at the tight end position. I would be thrilled if Njoku fell into our laps, and in a few instances, I have actually traded up to get him.

I think that BPA (Best Player Available) for the most part should be the Steelers motto for this entire draft. We don’t have that many holes. There is one exception, as I’ve hinted at in previous Draft Prep articles, but we’ll get to that when we get to that. There is potential value in this group, and there are a few guys I would love to see wearing Black and Gold on Sundays. We’ll have to see how the draft plays out.

Next up: Wide Receivers