Tight End ~ Jeff Heuerman ~ Ohio State BuckEyes ~ 6050/255
Regarding Tight Ends
"Tight End" is a term I apply only to the Players with a Frame built for the classic "In Line" Tight End ~ an Hybrid Player who serves as a combination Blocker and Receiver. Some Tight Ends, like Jimmy Graham, only line up on the Line of Scrimmage occasionally, and some do very little receiving, but they are, optimally, proficient at both.
The Prototype would be about 6050/260 or so.
The "Tight Ends" whose Frames are better suited to be deployed in running Routes from all over the Formation, and who aren't especially renowned for their Blocking ~ though many are adept Chippers ~ I refer to as Flex Ends.
The Prototype would be about 6030/245 or so.
Those of either type who present legitimate Dual Threats ~ who can make a genuine Impact either as a Blocker or as a Receiver ~ are impossible to predict from Snap to Snap, and this renders them extraordinarily dangerous.
Conceivably even more dangerous and dynamic than either of these two types is one of my pet Positions: The WingBacks. I employ this ancient FootBall Term, one still in active use in many High Schools and Colleges, to refer to a Role so ethereal as to be almost imaginary: an Hybrid FullBack & Flex End ~ a Super Hybrid, if you will.
The Prototype would be about 6000/250 or so.
The WingBack, optimally, would be a guy capable of Lead Blocking in the Run Game, Pass Blocking in the Passing Game, or splitting out and running Pass Patterns from SlotBack, Slot End, Split End, or Flanker. He could line up at any of those spots, or on either Wing, on the Line, or in the BackField. He could even go In Motion or run the Ball!!
Such a versatile, dynamic Player could have an explosive Impact on the Competitive LandScape.
The Game has reached a point in its Tactical History that is perfect for such a Player.
It awaits only for the NFL to realize the Opportunity.
Because Tight Ends, in the particular categorical sense in which I employ the term, are optimally genuine 50/50 Hybrids, I focus equal attention on Attributes both of Linemen and of WideOuts in evaluating their Skill Sets:
Lineman Attributes
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.
Combat Skills: Paw Power, Mechanics ~ Hand Speed & Positioning ~ and of course: Frame.
Intangibles: Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength in the Passing Game. The capacity to Stand one's Ground.
* Drive Power in the Running Game. The capacity to drive your man back.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Combat Skills
* Paw Power ~ The Power & Speed of the initial Punch.
* Paw Velocity ~ How active the Hands are.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Frame ~ Above all: WingSpan.
Intangibles
* Processing Speed ~ Field Vision. Reading Defensive Schemes quickly and effectively, and finding 2nd Level Targets.
* Motor ~ Intensity and Duration.
WideOut Attributes
Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.
Catch Point Capacity: In Transit or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing.
Navigation: How well he Navigates the Field after the Catch: Power, Agility, Acceleration, Long Speed, and Field Vision.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Separation
* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Navigation
* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Acceleration
* Long Speed
* Field Vision
The Prototype would be about 6050/260 or so.
The "Tight Ends" whose Frames are better suited to be deployed in running Routes from all over the Formation, and who aren't especially renowned for their Blocking ~ though many are adept Chippers ~ I refer to as Flex Ends.
The Prototype would be about 6030/245 or so.
Those of either type who present legitimate Dual Threats ~ who can make a genuine Impact either as a Blocker or as a Receiver ~ are impossible to predict from Snap to Snap, and this renders them extraordinarily dangerous.
Conceivably even more dangerous and dynamic than either of these two types is one of my pet Positions: The WingBacks. I employ this ancient FootBall Term, one still in active use in many High Schools and Colleges, to refer to a Role so ethereal as to be almost imaginary: an Hybrid FullBack & Flex End ~ a Super Hybrid, if you will.
The Prototype would be about 6000/250 or so.
The WingBack, optimally, would be a guy capable of Lead Blocking in the Run Game, Pass Blocking in the Passing Game, or splitting out and running Pass Patterns from SlotBack, Slot End, Split End, or Flanker. He could line up at any of those spots, or on either Wing, on the Line, or in the BackField. He could even go In Motion or run the Ball!!
Such a versatile, dynamic Player could have an explosive Impact on the Competitive LandScape.
The Game has reached a point in its Tactical History that is perfect for such a Player.
It awaits only for the NFL to realize the Opportunity.
Because Tight Ends, in the particular categorical sense in which I employ the term, are optimally genuine 50/50 Hybrids, I focus equal attention on Attributes both of Linemen and of WideOuts in evaluating their Skill Sets:
Lineman Attributes
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.
Combat Skills: Paw Power, Mechanics ~ Hand Speed & Positioning ~ and of course: Frame.
Intangibles: Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength in the Passing Game. The capacity to Stand one's Ground.
* Drive Power in the Running Game. The capacity to drive your man back.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Combat Skills
* Paw Power ~ The Power & Speed of the initial Punch.
* Paw Velocity ~ How active the Hands are.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Frame ~ Above all: WingSpan.
Intangibles
* Processing Speed ~ Field Vision. Reading Defensive Schemes quickly and effectively, and finding 2nd Level Targets.
* Motor ~ Intensity and Duration.
WideOut Attributes
Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration out'f the Blocks, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, the capacity to deceive Defenders, and Field Vision for Timing Seems and Open Zones. All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description are dwarfed by this one.
Catch Point Capacity: In Transit or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing.
Navigation: How well he Navigates the Field after the Catch: Power, Agility, Acceleration, Long Speed, and Field Vision.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Separation
* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Navigation
* Power
* Fluidity
* Ricochet
* Acceleration
* Long Speed
* Field Vision
Jeff Heuerman Scouting Report
Lineman Attributes
Power: Deficient. Impressive Torso Power but awful Core Power.
Agility: Effective. Impressive Fluidity. Mediocre Launch Velocity and Acceleration.
Combat Skills: Mediocre. Marginal Mechanics. Impressive Persistence.
Intangibles: Impressive Motor and impressive Tactical Vision.
WideOut Attributes
Separation: Marginal. Impressive Fluidity, but mediocre Combat Skills and equally mediocre Acceleration translate into a weak Release at the Line. His Routing is shaky, as well, and while he's smooth, he is definitely not explosive.
Catch Point Capacity: Competitive. Effective Hands, Tracking & Timing, and Focus.
Navigation: Competitive. Impressive Fluidity, but not much Power or Acceleration.
Power: Deficient. Impressive Torso Power but awful Core Power.
Agility: Effective. Impressive Fluidity. Mediocre Launch Velocity and Acceleration.
Combat Skills: Mediocre. Marginal Mechanics. Impressive Persistence.
Intangibles: Impressive Motor and impressive Tactical Vision.
WideOut Attributes
Separation: Marginal. Impressive Fluidity, but mediocre Combat Skills and equally mediocre Acceleration translate into a weak Release at the Line. His Routing is shaky, as well, and while he's smooth, he is definitely not explosive.
Catch Point Capacity: Competitive. Effective Hands, Tracking & Timing, and Focus.
Navigation: Competitive. Impressive Fluidity, but not much Power or Acceleration.
Jeff Heuerman Prospectus
I could be wrong, but I get the Notion that Jeff Heuerman's Stock may be getting a bit Inflated by a combination of the dearth of Tight End Talent producing a Supply & Demand Imbalance...and by his Ohio State Pedigree.
Then again, it may be just my Dumb @$$ not being able to read Tape!!
But I just don't see a distinguished Skill Set.
As a Blocker, Heuerman seems to me to present a Tight End's Frame but a Flex End's Blocking: He is pretty good in Space ~ as a Flex Blocker ~ but In Line his deficient Core Power and mediocre Combat Skills render'm a Liability.
And as a Receiver, he just doesn't seem to've developed very effective Separation Skills. He's large enough, of course, that he'll be able to make Plays even when he fails to get Open, but that hardly makes for a reliable Receiver.
He is by all accounts an hard Worker and excellent TeamMate who'll do whatever it takes to succeed, so I can certainly see'm carving out a place on someone's Roster...But I just don't see'm likely becoming an Impact Player.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Then again, it may be just my Dumb @$$ not being able to read Tape!!
But I just don't see a distinguished Skill Set.
As a Blocker, Heuerman seems to me to present a Tight End's Frame but a Flex End's Blocking: He is pretty good in Space ~ as a Flex Blocker ~ but In Line his deficient Core Power and mediocre Combat Skills render'm a Liability.
And as a Receiver, he just doesn't seem to've developed very effective Separation Skills. He's large enough, of course, that he'll be able to make Plays even when he fails to get Open, but that hardly makes for a reliable Receiver.
He is by all accounts an hard Worker and excellent TeamMate who'll do whatever it takes to succeed, so I can certainly see'm carving out a place on someone's Roster...But I just don't see'm likely becoming an Impact Player.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Contender ~ OverRated!!
| Market Value 3rd/4th Round | Yankee Grade 4th/5th Round |
Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!
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