The TE's at the combine

[kingwilly]

Quite a few talented guys in this group as I watch.

Graham is a really fast, fluid athlete.

Clay Harbor could be interesting.

Clearly Gresham is a great athlete as well. timed slow

McCoy looks smooth.

Plenty of TE's from r3 on.

[Whur CHad At?]

count me in on the Gresham band wagon

[SupaBran]

Jimmy Graham looks like a great prospect but I think everyone is desperate to get the next Antonio Gates and they more often than not are big projects and I really want to give Chase Coffman a chance.

I thought Gresham really struggled. He was slower than I thought he would be but maybe he plays faster than his 40 time. He put up 20 reps on the bench press but so did the Super Freak Arrelious Benn.

Tight end is not high on my wish list anymore, maybe if someone falls into our laps that we have to take but other than that I think we have higher priorities.

[James_Brooks21]

[SupaBran]

Jimmy Graham looks like a great prospect but I think everyone is desperate to get the next Antonio Gates and they more often than not are big projects and I really want to give Chase Coffman a chance.

I thought Gresham really struggled. He was slower than I thought he would be but maybe he plays faster than his 40 time. He put up 20 reps on the bench press but so did the Super Freak Arrelious Benn.

Tight end is not high on my wish list anymore, maybe if someone falls into our laps that we have to take but other than that I think we have higher priorities.

(SupaBran)

I'm with you SupaBran, it's highly unlikely we take Gresham in the first round unless he has a hell of a pro day workout, the Bengals should be reluctant as hell to draft another TE coming off an injury. The OT from Maryland looked like a better athlete then Gresham. A lot of people come back from ACL injuries but we always forget that it's still a major knee injury and you have your Kenney Iron's of the world that never come back from the injury. They can't draft him in the first round on what he did in previous years before the injury until he shows that he has the same burst that he used to have and that work out at the combine did not show any of that.

[HAPPYJAQ]

[SupaBran]

Jimmy Graham looks like a great prospect but I think everyone is desperate to get the next Antonio Gates and they more often than not are big projects and I really want to give Chase Coffman a chance.

I thought Gresham really struggled. He was slower than I thought he would be but maybe he plays faster than his 40 time. He put up 20 reps on the bench press but so did the Super Freak Arrelious Benn.

Tight end is not high on my wish list anymore, maybe if someone falls into our laps that we have to take but other than that I think we have higher priorities.

(SupaBran)

I'm with you SupaBran, it's highly unlikely we take Gresham in the first round unless he has a hell of a pro day workout, the Bengals should be reluctant as hell to draft another TE coming off an injury. The OT from Maryland looked like a better athlete then Gresham. A lot of people come back from ACL injuries but we always forget that it's still a major knee injury and you have your Kenney Iron's of the world that never come back from the injury. They can't draft him in the first round on what he did in previous years before the injury until he shows that he has the same burst that he used to have and that work out at the combine did not show any of that.

I posted earlier this week in another thread that Gresham is not the athlete everyone thinks he is. I think that BCS game he played in a few years ago overvalued his stock. Don't get me wrong, he'll be a fine NFL player, but it'll be different going against NFL linebackers and safeties in the passing game, and his blocking needs a lot of work.

I thought Graham looked outstanding and he has a lot of upside. I would rather get a guy like him in the 4th, as opposed to burning a 1st on Gresham. McShay also said yesterday that Gresham tore the other ACL in high school, so the medical concerns have teams ranking him all across the board. If Gresham turns out to be like Clint Ingram from last year, it'll be a tragic mistake for whichever team rolls the dice on him in the 1st.

[Kazkal]

So is it me or are teams making out to much of dickerson running a 4.4 since hes the size of a WR

[SupaBran]

[SupaBran]

Jimmy Graham looks like a great prospect but I think everyone is desperate to get the next Antonio Gates and they more often than not are big projects and I really want to give Chase Coffman a chance.

I thought Gresham really struggled. He was slower than I thought he would be but maybe he plays faster than his 40 time. He put up 20 reps on the bench press but so did the Super Freak Arrelious Benn.

Tight end is not high on my wish list anymore, maybe if someone falls into our laps that we have to take but other than that I think we have higher priorities.

(SupaBran)

I'm with you SupaBran, it's highly unlikely we take Gresham in the first round unless he has a hell of a pro day workout, the Bengals should be reluctant as hell to draft another TE coming off an injury. The OT from Maryland looked like a better athlete then Gresham. A lot of people come back from ACL injuries but we always forget that it's still a major knee injury and you have your Kenney Iron's of the world that never come back from the injury. They can't draft him in the first round on what he did in previous years before the injury until he shows that he has the same burst that he used to have and that work out at the combine did not show any of that.

I posted earlier this week in another thread that Gresham is not the athlete everyone thinks he is. I think that BCS game he played in a few years ago overvalued his stock. Don't get me wrong, he'll be a fine NFL player, but it'll be different going against NFL linebackers and safeties in the passing game, and his blocking needs a lot of work.

I thought Graham looked outstanding and he has a lot of upside. I would rather get a guy like him in the 4th, as opposed to burning a 1st on Gresham. McShay also said yesterday that Gresham tore the other ACL in high school, so the medical concerns have teams ranking him all across the board. If Gresham turns out to be like Clint Ingram from last year, it'll be a tragic mistake for whichever team rolls the dice on him in the 1st.

its Cornelius Ingram...from Florida? Who went to Philly? Clint Ingram is a linebacker for Jacksonville

[SupaBran]

So is it me or are teams making out to much of dickerson running a 4.4 since hes the size of a WR

I was saying the same thing! Everyone is talking soooo much about him but I kept asking why he was consider a tight end and not a receiver. I don't get it! He's 6'1, 225 lbs...

[redsbengalsbucks]

I like the Moecki kid from Iowa, in the later rounds to fulfill the need at TE. He is a complete TE, he can block well, has good hands and ran a faster 40 than Gresham.

[derekshank]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

[HAPPYJAQ]

I like the Moecki kid from Iowa, in the later rounds to fulfill the need at TE. He is a complete TE, he can block well, has good hands and ran a faster 40 than Gresham.

I like him, too. He reminds me of a more athletic Foschi, believe it or not. The only drawback is that he is another in this TE class that has struggled with injuries, and his history in that regard might be the worst of the bunch. This year's TE class has to be the one with the most prospects with injury concerns of all time.

It sounds like the Bengals kicking the tires on USCs Anthony McCoy, who's supposed to be pretty athletic. He ran a 4.79 at 6'5'' 259, which is decent. He also chipped in 19 reps on the bench. By most accounts, he's a solid blocker who might develop into a great blocker with some added strength and a jack-of-all trades, master-of-none type. I think he's a mid-third round prospect.

/>http://www.kffl.com/team/12/nfl

[cincyhokie]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

Does anyone trust Brat with a TE that struggles to block and fitting him into a scheme? Does anyone trust Brat anyway?

It's obvious Brat NEEDS at TE that can block. If it's Coffman, great. I just haven't seen anything that makes it seem like he's ready to step in.

[derekshank]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

Does anyone trust Brat with a TE that struggles to block and fitting him into a scheme? Does anyone trust Brat anyway?

It's obvious Brat NEEDS at TE that can block. If it's Coffman, great. I just haven't seen anything that makes it seem like he's ready to step in.

Well... none of us have seen anything other than a handful of clips from Hard Knocks almost a year ago. Isn't it safe to say he's progressed... and that given his skill set, a 1st round pick on a pass catching TE would be greedy.

And to say you haven't seen anything from Coffman is overstated. We all saw what he could do in college. We all know he was never healthy enough to play last year. What exactly has anyone seen from Gresham, or any rookie TE that we haven't seen in Coffman? Why use a 1st round pick on another injury risk TE? It just doesn't make any logical sense.

And if the reason you don't like Coffman because you don't trust Brat to get a pass catching TE involved... what would be the point in having two?

[derekshank]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

Does anyone trust Brat with a TE that struggles to block and fitting him into a scheme? Does anyone trust Brat anyway?

It's obvious Brat NEEDS at TE that can block. If it's Coffman, great. I just haven't seen anything that makes it seem like he's ready to step in.

Well... none of us have seen anything other than a handful of clips from Hard Knocks almost a year ago. Isn't it safe to say he's progressed... and that given his skill set, a 1st round pick on a pass catching TE would be greedy.

And to say you haven't seen anything from Coffman is overstated. We all saw what he could do in college. We all know he was never healthy enough to play last year. What exactly has anyone seen from Gresham, or any rookie TE that we haven't seen in Coffman? Why use a 1st round pick on another injury risk TE? It just doesn't make any logical sense.

And if the reason you don't like Coffman because you don't trust Brat to get a pass catching TE involved... what would be the point in having two?

Cincyhokie... after re-reading your post, I see now that you aren't disagreeing with me on Gresham... just Coffman. And my opinion on Coffman isn't that he'll light the world on fire, but that there is no need to draft a pass catching TE as long as he's on the roster. I think you agree with that... so ignore most of my previous post.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

You can never really go wrong in selecting a first-round OL, but I think the Bengals are looking for an impact player on either side of the ball. I do believe the Bengals will select an OL in the first 5 picks, but not with their top pick overall. I still think that the Mathis/Livings rotation was average-to-good, and both are young players still adjusting to a new position in their own rights. They should only get better and are relatively cheap. We'll get another mauler to go on the right side at some point early, though.

I'll admit, these LBs are looking pretty damned good.

How about a Rolando McClain or Sean Weatherspoon at #21? Weatherspoon looks like Jon Beason #2, and has one of those Ray Lewis-type personalities, while we all know about McClain. Off the field issues aside with Rey, we could use more production at LB, and their always seems to be tremendous value at LB in the mid-to-late first round.

I wonder whatever happened to all of the Brandon Spikes pimps from last year and before?

It kinda reminds me of the Rey pimps from his Junior season, once he didn't declare for the draft.

The question is, are we sold on what we have at LB right now? Personally, I think we could use another impact player there.

[cincyhokie]

Todd McShay says that Jermaine Gresham is the biggest risk in the entire draft. I don't want anything to do with this guy.

The players in the locker room all seemed to think Coffman was coming along quite well, and didn't understand why he wasn't being activated... until he was placed on IR. I think the Bengals have their 1st round TE already. They might take another on day 2... but the Bengals needs more help on the O-Line in my opinion. If they don't go O-Line in round 1, I'm hoping for more defense.

Does anyone trust Brat with a TE that struggles to block and fitting him into a scheme? Does anyone trust Brat anyway?

It's obvious Brat NEEDS at TE that can block. If it's Coffman, great. I just haven't seen anything that makes it seem like he's ready to step in.

Well... none of us have seen anything other than a handful of clips from Hard Knocks almost a year ago. Isn't it safe to say he's progressed... and that given his skill set, a 1st round pick on a pass catching TE would be greedy.

And to say you haven't seen anything from Coffman is overstated. We all saw what he could do in college. We all know he was never healthy enough to play last year. What exactly has anyone seen from Gresham, or any rookie TE that we haven't seen in Coffman? Why use a 1st round pick on another injury risk TE? It just doesn't make any logical sense.

And if the reason you don't like Coffman because you don't trust Brat to get a pass catching TE involved... what would be the point in having two?

Cincyhokie... after re-reading your post, I see now that you aren't disagreeing with me on Gresham... just Coffman. And my opinion on Coffman isn't that he'll light the world on fire, but that there is no need to draft a pass catching TE as long as he's on the roster. I think you agree with that... so ignore most of my previous post.

You bastard. Ha, yeah basically if they need a TE he better be able to block. I agree Coffman CAN be a good receiver. What I am worried about is that if Brat puts in Coffman and he CAN'T block then Brat's tipping his hand that we're passing the ball on that given down.

I just haven't seen anything yet of Brat that says he can utilize a pass catching TE, like Coffman, effectively. Annnd, it's worrysome.

[ArmyBengal]

People are forgetting that the Bengals took Coffman knowing he was recovering from an injury and that with Kelly and Utecht (at the time being healthy) Coffman wasn't going to see any significant playing time to begin with. Heck, they still had Coats on the roster as well. Then they brought back Matt Sherry for a time as well. I simply don't think they had much of any intention of getting Coffman into the rotation last year and the situation was just unfortunate for him.

There is NO REASON to draft a pass catching TE for ANY reason as Coffman was one of the best college pass catching TE's in history. Don't give me that crap about, well that was college. That's the same reason ANY player gets drafted, because of what they did in college. Let Coffman get healthy and we will be fine.

Hell, just listen to the coaches know a days when they talk about TE's these days and how you will get one or the other, but the elite TE's that can catch and block are simply few and far between. The coaches will tell you how much easier it is to teach a TE to block as opposed to being able to run routes properly and catch the ball.

JUST SAY NO TO A TE IN THE FIRST...

[cincyhokie]

People are forgetting that the Bengals took Coffman knowing he was recovering from an injury and that with Kelly and Utecht (at the time being healthy) Coffman wasn't going to see any significant playing time to begin with. Heck, they still had Coats on the roster as well. Then they brought back Matt Sherry for a time as well. I simply don't think they had much of any intention of getting Coffman into the rotation last year and the situation was just unfortunate for him.

There is NO REASON to draft a pass catching TE for ANY reason as Coffman was one of the best college pass catching TE's in history. Don't give me that crap about, well that was college. That's the same reason ANY player gets drafted, because of what they did in college. Let Coffman get healthy and we will be fine.

Hell, just listen to the coaches know a days when they talk about TE's these days and how you will get one or the other, but the elite TE's that can catch and block are simply few and far between. The coaches will tell you how much easier it is to teach a TE to block as opposed to being able to run routes properly and catch the ball.

JUST SAY NO TO A TE IN THE FIRST...

I hope you're right. We'll see what the coaching staff thinks in regards to Coffman come the draft.

[ArmyBengal]

People are forgetting that the Bengals took Coffman knowing he was recovering from an injury and that with Kelly and Utecht (at the time being healthy) Coffman wasn't going to see any significant playing time to begin with. Heck, they still had Coats on the roster as well. Then they brought back Matt Sherry for a time as well. I simply don't think they had much of any intention of getting Coffman into the rotation last year and the situation was just unfortunate for him.

There is NO REASON to draft a pass catching TE for ANY reason as Coffman was one of the best college pass catching TE's in history. Don't give me that crap about, well that was college. That's the same reason ANY player gets drafted, because of what they did in college. Let Coffman get healthy and we will be fine.

Hell, just listen to the coaches now a days when they talk about TE's these days and how you will get one or the other, but the elite TE's that can catch and block are simply few and far between. The coaches will tell you how much easier it is to teach a TE to block as opposed to being able to run routes properly and catch the ball.

JUST SAY NO TO A TE IN THE FIRST...

I hope you're right. We'll see what the coaching staff thinks in regards to Coffman come the draft.

Not trying to be an ass, but I'll simply say almost everything I said is FACT, as opposed to opinion.

Coffman wasn't going to see the field with any consistency with a healthy Kelly and Utecht.

Coffman was recovering from an injury and was looked at as a future replacement.

Coffman was one of the best pass catching TE's in history.

Elite TE's are few and far between.

The only thing to hope about is that Coffman comes back healthy and picks up blocking. That being said, a rookie TE is going to have less chances of success in this offense than Coffman, as he has a year in the system. Coffman simply presents this teams best option and should allow the team to NOT take a TE in the first round. If the team gets a free agent TE, I would go so far as to say they don't bother even drafting one. Of course, that's strictly opinion there...

[cincyhokie]

People are forgetting that the Bengals took Coffman knowing he was recovering from an injury and that with Kelly and Utecht (at the time being healthy) Coffman wasn't going to see any significant playing time to begin with. Heck, they still had Coats on the roster as well. Then they brought back Matt Sherry for a time as well. I simply don't think they had much of any intention of getting Coffman into the rotation last year and the situation was just unfortunate for him.

There is NO REASON to draft a pass catching TE for ANY reason as Coffman was one of the best college pass catching TE's in history. Don't give me that crap about, well that was college. That's the same reason ANY player gets drafted, because of what they did in college. Let Coffman get healthy and we will be fine.

Hell, just listen to the coaches now a days when they talk about TE's these days and how you will get one or the other, but the elite TE's that can catch and block are simply few and far between. The coaches will tell you how much easier it is to teach a TE to block as opposed to being able to run routes properly and catch the ball.

JUST SAY NO TO A TE IN THE FIRST...

I hope you're right. We'll see what the coaching staff thinks in regards to Coffman come the draft.

Not trying to be an ass, but I'll simply say almost everything I said is FACT, as opposed to opinion.

Coffman wasn't going to see the field with any consistency with a healthy Kelly and Utecht.

Coffman was recovering from an injury and was looked at as a future replacement.

Coffman was one of the best pass catching TE's in history.

Elite TE's are few and far between.

The only thing to hope about is that Coffman comes back healthy and picks up blocking. That being said, a rookie TE is going to have less chances of success in this offense than Coffman, as he has a year in the system. Coffman simply presents this teams best option and should allow the team to NOT take a TE in the first round. If the team gets a free agent TE, I would go so far as to say they don't bother even drafting one. Of course, that's strictly opinion there...

That's what I meant. I hope that he is healthy, which he should be, and that he has picked up how to block. I just haven't seen him be able to block yet. I certainly didn't see it on Hard Knocks when he fell down to the 3rd TE spot behind Coats and Foshci. If the coaches think he's ready to start, then great. If not, I wouldn't be a bit suprised to see them draft a TE who can block because Brat's schemes are built on the TE blocking.

I never had any doubts on his receiving abilities. I have more doubts with Brat and how he thinks he can utilize Coffman.

[Dadraftnick]

As I said before the combine , my 2 guys are...

Jimmay Graham 6-7 260 4.62

and Dennis Pitta 6-5 250 4.72

Both are mid round picks and have great hands especialy Pitta.

From what I saw in the all star games they both looked like they blocked well.

[kingwilly]

I am not really enamored with any of the TE's. none I get excited about in the first 4 rounds.

[HairOnFire]

I'm not starting a new thread for this, but Joe Reedy is reporting New England TE Chris Baker will visit next week.

[Trevor]

I'm not starting a new thread for this, but Joe Reedy is reporting New England TE Chris Baker will visit next week.

HELLO! There we go now he is known for his blocking, correct?!

[HairOnFire]

I'm not starting a new thread for this, but Joe Reedy is reporting New England TE Chris Baker will visit next week.

HELLO! There we go now he is known for his blocking, correct?!

Correct. In fact, it's fair to say that's all he's known for.