Flex End ~ Tyler Higbee ~ Western Kentucky
HillToppers ~ 6057/250
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 Prototyped 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 Flex Ends operate as an Hybrid's Hybrid ~ part Tight End and part WideOut, with Blocking ~ the occasional Chip ~ being but a tertiary part of their Game ~ I break down their Attributes pretty much like I would those of a WideOut:
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.
Yards After Catch are well and fine, but it seems to me that 90% of the Value of a Flex End and any WideOut is getting open and catching the Ball. Anyone who's read my Work extensively knows that I consider Blocking to be the Heart & Soul of FootBall, but that is a philosophical position, and I recognize that with most Philosophies, where it comes to Wide Receivers and Flex Ends...it's just Gravy. And so is Yards After Catch: Moving The Chains is What Wins.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Separation
* Combat Skills
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Routing
* Deception
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
Catch Point Capacity
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Hands
* WingSpan
Catch Point Capacity: Outstanding. Tremendous Tracking & Timing, strong Combat Skills, and phenomenal Hands.
Blocking Bonus: Decent for a Flex End, especially an erstwhile WideOut!! Marginal Positioning but terrific Persistence.
At worst, he had a Stupid Kid Moment.
At best, he was defending his GirlFriend.
I'm moving on.
Tyler Higbee has the Frame of a Tight End, and might end up Beefing Up a bit more and becoming one, but as it stands he's a Flex End, where Blocking is important, but not crucial. Even so, he's got the right Attitude, and if he ends up developing into a Tight End, I believe that he'll become a good Blocker by Tight End Standards.
As it is, he's not a bad Blocker by Flex End Standards.
And as a Receiver, he is potentially an enormous Impact Player. He needs to keep developing his Combat Skills at Release, and he needs to keep developing his Routing...But his Field Vision in navigating Traffic is already impressive, his Speed, Fluidity, and Ricochet are tremendous, and his Catch Point Capacity is outstanding.
The Rams got themselves a Steal.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value #110 | Yankee Grade 1st/2nd Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!