Tight Ends

Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma- It’s a shame that Gresham will miss the entire 2009 season after having knee surgery last week. I thought Gresham would have been a top 15 pick in last year’s draft, and had he shown even a slight improvement in his blocking this year, he would have been a sure fire top 10 pick. He has an ideal size/speed ratio for the position, and he’s an incredible athlete. He’s built like a basketball player and almost uses his body like a power forward to gain position on the defender and get to jump balls. Gresham will have to hope he’s ready in time for the post season all-star games and the combine, as a lot will be riding on performing well at these. I think regardless of missing the season, as long as he checks out medically, he’s a sure fire first rounder. But he will definitely lose some money more than likely.

Dennis Pitta, BYU- Pitta is a bit undersized and is more along the lines of the recent string of pass catching TEs. He’s got some good skills in this area though, and he would fit nicely into a team like Indy that lets their TE’s find soft spots in the defense. If he can show decent enough blocking, it may help to push him up into consideration within the first three rounds.

Rob Gronkowski, Arizona- Gronkowski may be the player that will benefit the most from Gresham getting hurt. He’s more of a throwback TE similar to Brandon Pettigrew from last year, who went to the Lions in the first round. He is a good blocker, has good size, and is a reliable pass catcher. He’s not a game changer in the passing game, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s just a very well rounded player at the position, and I could see his stock going up drastically this year as he won’t have many peers with Gresham out.