Scouting 101: The Tight Ends

How to scout a tight end

Scouting a tight end is a chore to learn and even not easy to actually execute. To be able to look at a college tight end and know if he'll be a good NFL player, there is so much to look at. A complete tight end must be one-part receiver, one-part tackle and one-part fullback. The player must be able to pass block, run routes, catch and run block. A complete tight end must be agile, strong and have respectable speed in the open field. Each team wants something different in a tight end, I'll mainly be looking at how to find a tight end to compete against a cover two defense and work as a blocker in the running and passing games.

Speed : As cover two defenses become more trending, and as 3-4 defenses take over the NFL, tight ends must be able to run as well as other skill players. We are seeing more tight ends like Vernon Davis, who can consistently run a 4.4 40 yard dash. Greg Olsen, a first round pick in 2006, runs a legit 4.55. When playing against the Cover 2, NFL teams want their tight end to be able to run the seam (or hashes) route and hit the area between the linebackers and safeties. It's important for a tight end to have enough speed to get into his route quickly, but also to make plays with the ball in his hands. Against a cover two defense, a tight end generally will have one or two men to beat at most before scoring.
Scouting Points: Quite simply, the 40 yard dash. Game speed is very important, as mentioned with the wide receivers breakdown, but players are judged and ranked according to their speed in the dash. Anything under a 4.7 will get you classified as a receiving tight end. Above that and it's best to add weight and learn to block. Game speed can be evaluated by watching the tight end in his release and in his routes. Does he look heavy and uncoordinated? Is he out-running linebackers? Does the defense cover him with a safety?
Pro Standard: Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers

Strength: Even though we are seeing more and more teams use their tight ends as pass catchers first, they are still asked to block on running downs and even some passing situations. A tight end must be strong enough to not only be an effective blocker, but also to be able to release off the line of scrimmage and beat press coverage from a defensive end or linebacker. A tight end's primary role in the offense is as a do-it all type player. He must be strong enough to be relied upon as a blocker and red-zone receiver.
Scouting Points : This is also tested at the Combine with bench press reps of 225lbs. Strength is not always measured best in pure numbers though. Some players are naturally strong, but cannot bench press well. Other players excel in the weight room, but cannot put that strength to use on the field. The best way to scout strength on a tight end is to watch him closely when blocking. A good indicator of his strength is if the team uses him as a blocker and how they use him. Does the team trust him to handle a defensive end, or is he asked to climb the ladder to a secondary block on every down? A good tight end should be able to block 9 out of 10 defensive ends on his own. You can also watch to see how the tight end does in one-on-one blocking. Does he give up ground or can he hold his own? I also like to watch the tight end release into his routes. If he is jammed at the line of scrimmage, does the tight end fight to get off his man or is he too weak?
Pro Standard: Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers

Agility: Agility is so important for the tight end. He must be agile enough to be a good pass/run blocker, but also have the quickness and mobility to be a pass receiver. The complete tight end must be able to not only take short, quick steps in the blocking game; but he must be able to run for distance and stretch the field. Being an overall athlete is a must for this position, and more and more we are seeing former basketball players excel at the position because of the required agility.
Scouting Points: As I've pointed out probably every time, the three cone and pro agility drills are my favorite to watch to get a gauge on agility. On film or in person you can get a good look at how athletic the tight end is by watching him move in and out of his cuts and by watching his feet and hips in the blocking game. Does he stumble and lumber around, or is he quick and fluid in his movements? These are some keys to watch for.
Pro Standard: Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

Size: Size may be more important for a tight end than any other skill position. To play here, you must be of a certain height and weight. A short tight end will not only struggle blocking, but will also have a harder time getting open and being seen in tight spaces. A tight end that is too skinny or lean will not be able to fight off jams and "box out" in the red-zone. Size matters here because the tight end must be so versatile. It is important to remember that a tight end is going to take a lot of hits from linebackers and will be asked to bang heads with blitzing 'backers and ends for most of the game. They must have the size to hold up.
Scouting Points: Size cannot be scouted, but there is an industry standard here. Most tight ends need to weigh at least 245lbs. There has been some change here over the past few years with Vernon Davis and others coming into the league. We have always used 245 as a standard and will still mark a report if a player is under that weight. I prefer that a tight end be at least 6'3", but I've seen others use 6'2".
Pro Standard: Kellen Winslow, Jr, Cleveland Browns

Catching: Being able to catch is what separates a tight end from an offensive lineman. In the high school and even college ranks, the tight end is generally a bigger player that has decent hands. Once you get into major college football and the NFL, you will find that the tight end is a very specialized position that requires a lot of attention. This is the one position in football other than a quarterback that demands a position coach for so few roster spots. Being able to catch as a tight end is a virtually must. In the era of 3-4 and cover two defenses, a pass catching tight end is no longer a last resort. The tight end is now becoming a one or two read in most offenses. Because of the athletic ability being seen at the position, and because of the openings in zone coverages, a tight end used as a receiver propels most elite offenses in the NFL.
Scouting Points: This is quite simple, as noted with the wide receivers. I like to chart catches and drops for tight ends just like with the receivers. One thing to note with tight ends is that many have the bad habit of body catching because they are usually going across the middle. This is a very bad habit and one that must be broken during rookie camp if it persists. Tight ends need to have strong hands that can pull the ball in when in space and when they are getting hit. Watching tight ends run the gauntlet in Indianapolis is very important to me because here I have a chance to watch them make multiple catches in a very natural environment for them, as most tight ends will be running horizontal routes versus a wide receiver you runs mainly verticals.
Pro Standard: Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

Pass Blocking: Not many offenses keep their tight ends back as pass blockers anymore, but this is still a valuable asset in the tight end. If a tight end is kept in on a pass blocking assignment , he is generally going to be asked to do one of two things; he will either be zone-blocking or hinge-blocking. My terminology may be different from what you learned, so I'll break these down in the next section.
Scouting Points: Zone blocking is becoming more popular with the success of the Denver Broncos and college teams like Florida and Texas. A zone block asks the player to take a 45-degree step to either the strong or weak side (which is called in the play) and fill a "zone" or "gap". This is a very popular method because it essentially allows you to fill every possible rushing lane and lets you utilize quicker linemen. Hinge blocking incorporates some of the zone theory, but instead the player steps first inside to close down the gap and then opens to the outside to seal off any edge rushers. This is called a hinge block because the player should resemble a door being opened when he steps back and outside. Now that you have a basic understanding of these blocking schemes, you can watch and evaluate how well the tight end is pass blocking. Some things to note in pass blocking are: a) the blocker needs to keep a wide base and use his hands to punch at the defender; b) in pass blocking, you do not want to engage the defender or lock up with him, you want to keep him at bay and punch, only taking him to the ground if he locks up with you; c) most linemen are taught to block inside out, watch for this on film.
Pro Standard: Kyle Brady, New England Patriots

Run Blocking: Run blocking is where tight ends earn their paychecks. Most people look at the red-zone touchdowns as the role of a tight end, but the majority of NFL offenses still teach run blocking over route running. The tight end is the catalyst for most off-tackle and outside runs. Depending on the play called and the blocking scheme, the tight end can be one of the most important people on the field. Run blocking is an unquestioned skill that every tight end must possess or learn immediately. Being an effective run blocker is what keeps most rookies off the field.
Scouting Points: Just as there were a few techniques to look at with pass blocking, there are some with run blocking. I won't get into steps as much here, but some things to look for follow. The tight end needs to be the first man off the line of scrimmage on every play. He must anticipate the snap count and fire off into his man. Once he has made contact, the blocker must get inside leverage (on the chest plate in most cases) and drive his man in the direction the play calls for. This is where lower-body strength comes into play. The tight end must be strong enough to use his butt and legs to drive the defender. The blocker will take short, choppy steps in an effort to move the defender. This is where the term "rolling your hips" comes from. The blocker should be rolling through his defender by using his legs to drive block.
Pro Standard: Mark Bruener, Houston Texans

Footwork: Footwork sets up all blocks, routes and catches. Having sound footwork will help the blocker set up the correct angle and puts the receiver in the proper position on his routes. Tight ends must be nimble on their feet and have exceptional balance to be able to play the position on every down.
Pro Standard: Jeremy Shockey, New York Giants

Explosiveness: As mentioned above, the tight end should be the fastest player off the line of scrimmage. The tight end must be explosive on every play as to not tip off pass patterns and run downs. Every release should be the same within the first few steps. Quick burst is very important to the position and will be watched and evaluated heavily on film and the Combine.
Pro Standard: Ben Watson, New England Patriots

Route Running: Tight ends are expected to be able to run precise routes, just as receivers are. The how-to for receivers is a good read on route running, but there are some differences for the tight end. Most routes by the TE will begin with a straight up-field run. The TE must release hard off the line of scrimmage, and in most cases low to the ground. The TE will also need to be able to maintain consistency in their routes, despite running through and around traffic at times. The TE should fire straight off the ball, without trying to juke the DE or OLB. We want his first 5 yards to be a dead sprint.
Pro Standard: Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs

Extra Points....

Just a quick hit today, as I'm in the process of moving and finding that my time is pretty limited. We also have our first week of football camp for Missouri High Schools this week, and I'm coaching at a new school, so there's more time away from the PC.

We got a lot of comments about the QB rankings (ok, three), but I thought I'd address those.

- Michael Vick might have the strongest arm as far as dropping back and throwing the football, but he loses so much in force. Vick isn't as strong as Russell in the ability to force a ball into a tight spot. Russell may rival Elway for having the best "fastball" I've seen. This doesn't mean I think he's going to be a good QB, because I don't.

- McNabb should not be among the top in every category. When he doesn't choke in the Super Bowl, I'll call him clutch. He also lost three straight NFC Championship Games, people. Blame the running game or the defense, the quarterback takes the loss every time unless something amazing like a dropped pass happens in the wide-open endzone.

- How is Matt Leinart clutch you ask? The kid really turned it on the last half of the season and was winning close games and making big throws. There is a lot of projection to the clutch list, with Vince Young also being on it, but these two rooks really came in and impressed me.

- For those of you expecting to see the tight ends today, I'm hoping to get my notes together for a post tomorrow.

Scouting 101- The Wide Receivers

Scouting a wide receiver

My first and last experience as a football player came at the wide receiver position. Playing at a small 1A High School in Missouri, we all had to play offense, defense and usually special teams. Needless to say, I was a split end in an option offense, we rarely threw the ball. At the time I felt like I knew a lot about playing wide receiver, and defensive back for that matter. Since graduating and devoting my time to learning the game, I've been shocked at how little I actually knew in my teens.

Playing wide receiver is about more than being fast or athletic. It is not about who can run the fastest in a straight line, or who can jump the highest to get the ball. My own personal strength at the position was my speed, which was slightly above average for a small high school. What I learned after high school was that to be a complete wide receiver you must have amazing balance, agility and flexibility.

In coaching the position for a few years, those are the three things I try to stress. In scouting college and pro players, those are the three keys that begin my evaluation with every "skill" player. I'll take a look at these and other characteristics here, but would like to point out that of the many scouts I've met in my few years, not many agree on the most accurate way to scout a wide receiver. This position maybe more than any other produces more headaches and busts out of every draft. For every Jerry Rice, there is a Charles Rogers. For every Rod Smith, a Rashaun Woods.


Balance- I may overrate the need for balance at the wide receiver position, but I feel this ability separates the track stars from the good receivers. Being able to run a crisp route depends not only on footwork and speed, but on balance. Being able to come off press coverage and remain in line on your route is all attributed to balance. Being a fluid player is very important to the wide receiver position. I'll talk about this more later, but the first 3-5 yards of every route should look identical as far as steps and body position. This is where balance and flexibility make a huge difference in a receiver's ability to beat a cornerback.

Scouting points: This is a great trait to scout live at the Combine. My favorite drill is "The Gauntlet" where the receivers run horizontally across the field, catching a pass every 5-7 yards. This drill shows me not only their speed and hands, but their ability to control their balance by running full speed and adjusting to passes. We also like to watch a player workout. Does he jump rope well? Does he have the leg strength to stand on one leg and perform drills. I have seen workouts where a team will ask a player to do numerous workouts, such as a balance beem, to judge a player's ability in this area.

Agility- Agility is the backbone to so much of scouting a football player. Agility alone is not much to judge, but when you tie it in to balance and footwork, it makes the player. Being an agile receiver is more important in my mind than being a fast player. Being able to consistently get in and out of your cuts beats being able to run a 4.3 40. Can the player move well enough to beat a defender, and does he show the ability to get in and out of every break? Those are two important questions that must be asked of every receiver.

Scouting points: Agility can of course be scouted in the three-cone and pro agility drills. The three cone drill, or "L" drill, is the staple for scouting agility. There is more to agility than a timed speed in workouts. It is important to watch a player in pads to see if he moves as well with a helmet and shoulder pads on. Agility can make or break a player when it comes to draft position, but many scouts will look at timed speed and equate that to good agility. To me, the real test comes from studying game film and watching the player execute his breaks and how well he moves in the open field with the football.

Flexibility- Flexibility is so important to me at this position. I've seen many receivers that come into the league and are built like bodybuilders, and they end up getting hurt. Being flexible not only prevents injury, but it allows you to do more with your body. Being able to stretch for a poorly thrown ball, or make adjustments in the open field, are all because of flexibility. While there is no way to "scout" this, we do take note of it. You can tell a lot about this by the way a player moves. Does he look oversized and bulky? Does he get full leg extension (hips rolling, knees up) when he runs? There is an infatuation with big, muscled receivers in the NFL today, but when you look at the Marvin Harrison's of the world, being flexible is just as important.
Speed- Of course speed is very important to the position, and the game overall. Being able to outrun your man to the ball or the endzone will win 99% of the battles in the NFL. At the receiver position you must be able to get open and then separate from the defender. Most cornerbacks in the NFL are running sub-4.55 in the 40-yard dash. Receivers are getting faster and faster, with most elite runners timing under a 4.42. It is becoming more and more important for speed on the outside, as more teams go to one-back sets and spread the field.

Scouting points: This may be overly obvious, but you can tell so much from the infamous 40-yard dash with receivers. A wide receiver is more likely to run 40 yards in a straight line than any other player in football. In fact he may do it once a game. The league standard that I was taught was a 4.6. Anything over that and the player is most likely not going to make it. There are expections, and injuries do happen. I've seen some very good receivers run a 4.7 and still make the league, but it will hurt your draft stock quite a bit. We can also look for "game speed". How fast is a player in pads? Is he quicker with the ball than without it? Does he run his routes at full speed, never slowing down? These are three things to look for, especially if speed has been questioned about a certain player. One thing to remember is that this aspect alone does not make or break a football player. Speed is only a piece of the overall puzzle.

Hands/Hand size- This is becoming looked at more and more each year. At the Combine we obviously measure the hand size of every player that comes through. There is a direct correlation between drops and hand size. The smaller hand obviously will struggle more.

As far as "hands" go, a player must be able to catch the ball consistently on various routes. We not only test for this, but catches and drops are charted when scouting a game. It's as simple as setting up a simple "T" chart on a piece of paper and tallying drops vs catches. Be fair to the player though and do not count over or underthrown passes against them.

Scouting points: Obviously this is very easy to scout. If the player cannot catch, he most likely will not be playing at a major college, nor will we be evaluating him for the NFL. One thing that does need scouted is the player's ability to catch consistently. Does the player try for every pass? Does he catch low and high passes, or give up on them? How does the player react when going across the middle? A lot of publicity has been given to Terrell Owens for his inability to give extra effort when catching the ball. He is a fair example of what "not" to do when going over the middle or tracking an overthrown pass.

Release- This may be my favorite thing to scout for. A player should be able to beat press coverage, which is becoming very popular due to cover 2 schemes. If the receiver cannot beat the jam, he will not get into his route on time. The player should also be able to explode off of the line of scrimmage. We prefer that our players be at full speed within 5-7 yards of the snap. Getting a clean and explosive release sets up the entire route, as well as the timing of the pass. The receiver must run his routes the same way every time to develop chemistry with the quarterback. This is very important to watch for and to coach.
Scouting points: To do this on film, you really need to be able to slow down the frames and have a good notebook ready. I like to watch a player run a few routes, hopefully a short route, an intermediate and a fade/go. Watch the players first three steps and chart what he does. Does he take a back step (a big "no-no")? Is his head down (we want them staring right at the CB)? Where are his arms (down, up to break the press or in a running motion) when running? The receiver must look identical within the first 5-7 yards on every route. You will hear many coaches talk about counting steps, and this is why. We want the receiver to be the same on every route within the first 5-7 yards. A short in should look the same as a fly until the receiver breaks on the pass. Jerry Rice was a perfect example of this and can be studied for learning scouts. Rice looked identical on every break, and was rarely held up at the line of scrimmage because of his agility and strength.

Size- Size is an important part of the receiver. Being tall enough to get to a jump ball or out-reach a cornerback is a valuable asset to have. We also like our receivers to be big enough in frame to handle hard hits and press coverage. A big wide receiver can also get inside position better in the endzone and on crossing routes. There is no industry standard on size, and it is not a perfect indicator of success, but when two players grade alike in traits the bigger of the two will generally be the choice.

Acceleration- Being able to accelerate away from defenders ties very much into speed, but I wanted to touch on this separately. A key to being a productive offensive player is the ability to accelerate with the ball. Receivers must be able to also accelerate without the ball. A player must be able to explode off the line of scrimmage and into and out of his cuts. A good way to scout this is to watch the player on film. Does he hit a second gear when coming out of his break? Does he routinely run away from defenders with and without the ball?

Vision- Being able to see the open field is a key ingredient to being a productive player. Receivers must be able to see the defenders when running zone routes and when running with the ball. Knowing where the defender is will also aid you in making the right adjustments when trying to catch the ball. Vision can be tough to scout, but watch for a player that is aware of his surroundings. Does he sit well in a window against zone defenses? Does he make the right adjustments when running with the ball?

Footwork/Stride- Having quick feet will enable the receiver to cover more ground and make more precise cuts. Cutting is all about balance and footwork. A player must be able to make a hard cut on both feet and have the ability to quickly change direction. A receiver does not want to make long strides in his routes. Naturally tall players will have a longer stride, but we want quick up-and-down feet instead of long, lumbering strides. This can be corrected with coaching, but is something to watch for and note.

Route running- More than any other skill, this will be changed from day one in the NFL. College players are expected to come in to the NFL with a basic understanding of a passing tree and how to effectively run each route with consistency. Once a player is drafted, he will learn the different routes of the scheme being used by his NFL team. I have never been sold on scouting how well a player runs his routes, as this can be coached and will be changed. It is important for the player to have a good understanding of routes and why counting your steps is important, but this technique will be re-taught and refined at the NFL level.

Blocking- Like I mentioned with both the running backs and fullbacks, this is all about willingness. A good blocking wide receiver will open up the outside running game for every team. A receiver must be able to stock block, which his to lock-up and drive his defender away from the ball carrier. Most receivers would prefer to "run off" his man by faking a deep route. Look for aggressive receivers that enjoy blocking. It is something every player must learn, but few excel at.