Agreed, it would be tough to pass on a sure thing superstar TE, for sure. However, college success or measurables don't always translate to pro success. Who knew - regarding Graham and Gronkowski? And I can't really think of any great examples, but probably not all college greats burned up the NFL either. And who's to say Prior or Dix won't be a LOT better than Burnett? For that matter, I'm not nearly as down on Burnett as a lot of people are. And he, of course, was not a first round pick.
Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker
I think most that follow the pre-draft stuff know it was possible for Gronkowski
IF he stayed healthy, but with some injuries including recent back surgery, no one knew if he'd stay healthy.
As for Graham, I wanted the Packers to draft him SOOO bad. I seem to love potential when it comes to the draft, and I knew Graham had a ton of potential and would probably be a boom or a bust guy. I didn't know which he was going to be. When the Packers traded up in the 3rd round that year I thought it was going to be for Graham, instead it was for Burnett (who's been pretty good himself until last year.).
This year seems like the TEs are all pretty different, pretty much got some for all styles of football.
The 3 guys I think have the most potential at TE spot in this draft are
(maybe not in this order)
Eric Ebron, Jace Amaro and Troy Niklas
TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina, 6-4, 250
He's got a lot of the same skill sets as TE Vernon Davis, doesn't run the best routes but tons of explosiveness straight line speed, and burned guys... this does NOT mean he will be boom like Vernon Davis did (heck Vernon Davis didn't boom until a couple years in, the head coach kicked him off the sideline and gave a speech about him).
TE Jace Amaro, Texas Tech, 6-5, 265
I won't same the same but he's got a similar skill set as Jimmy Graham, as both are basically over sized WRs. I haven't really seen Amaro block with, and Graham hasn't been asked to block much lately though, and he had very little power, yet was surprisingly good because he's super long arms made him pesty.
TE Troy Niklas, Notre Dame, 6-6, 270
Of the blockers, Niklas has shown the best potential to me, he's still learning the receiver side of things and less like he's coming out a year earlier than everyone thinks he should of (same with Finley, when he came out). But he's shown the best movement skills, getting down field surprisingly quick as times and has shown very good potential as receiver despite being very raw in that area.