Most Athletic Rookie TE

[anonymously]

I have a draft upcoming Saturday and amongst others, I have the 7th overall pick. I'm eyeing a TE and my money's always been on Howard but I've been intrigued by Njoku and Engram due to versatility and athleticism.

The crux of this post relates to Njoku. The argument for Njoku has always been that he's an athletic freak. I'm not denying that but what's lost on me is what makes him the most athletic of the three?

Of the main three, he has the slowest 40, 3 cone, and 20 yard shuttle.

Of the main three, he has the best vertical and broad jump.

Engram has the fastest 40, Howard has the fastest 3 cone and 20 yard shuttle.

If anything, Engram seems like the athleticism/upside play.

With Howard being the biggest and quickest, combined with a 4.51 40, why isn't he touted as the athletic specimen of the three?

Formatting is awful but here are the combine numbers for each
Height Weight Arm Hand 40 Bench Vert Broad 3 Cone 20 Yard
Njoku 76 246 35.25 10 4.64 21 37.5 133 6.97 4.34
Howard 78 251 33.75 10 4.51 22 30 121 6.85 4.16
Engram 75 234 33.5 10 4.42 19 36 125 6.92 4.23

[Pac_Eddy]

I don't know where that athletic opinion came from. Maybe Njoku is better in games than with measurables?

For me, Howard is clearly the better pick. Don't overthink it. He's also on a much better team with a long term QB than Njoku. People will say there are too many mouths to feed, but long term, talent wins out.

[Goddard]

I don't know where that athletic opinion came from. Maybe Njoku is better in games than with measurables?

For me, Howard is clearly the better pick. Don't overthink it. He's also on a much better team with a long term QB than Njoku. People will say there are too many mouths to feed, but long term, talent wins out.

This. Who cares who's more athletic anyways. Take the best player, and that's Howard and not close.

[jaykay22]

I'd stick with Howard, as well. I love Engram, am intrigued by Njoku's potential, but there is no reason to get cute and not draft OJH. He's the biggest of the three, very athletic in his own right, and being touted as complete of a TE as there has been in a bit. And as mentioned above, he's got his QB locked in in Jameis, while Engram has to rely on old man Eli, and Njoku has to rely on ??? (Kessler? Kizer?).

If you want to double up and get yourself an intriguing athletic TE out of this class, use your 3rd on Everett, and if he's already gone by then, draft Jonnu Smith, who tested pretty well at the combine, as well.

[dm1129]

There has been a lot of attention given to the athleticism of Njoku and repeated proclamations about how he has the highest ceiling for TEs in this class. This is completely misguided and honestly, baffling. Howard is an absolute physical freak who is also extremely good at virtually all facets of playing TE. He has gone to a situation where there is a young franchise QB, a superstar WR who essentially requires opposing defenses to double cover him, a coach with a long history of using the TE position, and a deep threat to take the top off of defenses. This translates to Howard having a lot of room to run routes and exploiting his freak athleticism. Owners that pass on him are very likely going to regret it for a long time.

[anonymously]

I'm pretty well set on OJ unless one of the top 6 falls. I've considered Ross (just so damn fast) and Perine (non-PPR) as well. OJ seems like the complete package and comes with a great spot. I was just curious if I was missing something re: Njoku.

[skip]

Rankings should be based on game tape, not on "athleticism". Using the latter is what gets dynasty owners buying into players who fit into some arbitrary box of "measurables" that they believe is a predictor of success in the league.

[_yeti]

A couple of us have been down this road before debating on the other thread. As a believer in him, he isn't the "most athletic," none of them are. There are things that each does better than each other. Ceiling is subjective.

What he is, is only 20 years old (for a few more days) with a ton of room to grow in every direction of his metrics. I also really like how he moves with the ball (not to say the others don't do that well).

That being said, Howard is safer. Njoku represents more of a gamble but one (I subjectively believe) has more upside. Take Howard to play it safe, Njoku to gamble, and Engram to make a mistake. (Engram is good I just see him as too little and I fear TE/WR hybrids who can't translate to the NFL).

Fact of the matter is you don't get THREE TEs in the first round unless they are absolute studs. I hate how it has been made to seem if you like one the most, somehow that means the other two have to not be good.

[jcc6fd]

I like Njoku, but I don't know how he became the consensus TE2 in this draft class. The talk I've heard is "athletic upside" as well, but you're right that from a measurable standpoint he's at best 3rd in the class... I think if we're honest the fact that he went to a situation with a wide open receiver depth chart pushed him above a similarly ranked Engram for many.

If Njoku is a late first and Engram is an early second I'll take Engram. There's just not enough to separate them as much as they seem to be at the moment.

[cazzie33]

I'll take George Kittle in rd 5 and match the BIG 3 or at least be competitive.

[seahawks506]

Bucky Hodges

[skip]

I like Njoku, but I don't know how he became the consensus TE2 in this draft class. The talk I've heard is "athletic upside" as well, but you're right that from a measurable standpoint he's at best 3rd in the class... I think if we're honest the fact that he went to a situation with a wide open receiver depth chart pushed him above a similarly ranked Engram for many.

I know some who had Njoku as the "clear" top TE in this class heading into the draft. So it's not all about situation.

[jcc6fd]

I like Njoku, but I don't know how he became the consensus TE2 in this draft class. The talk I've heard is "athletic upside" as well, but you're right that from a measurable standpoint he's at best 3rd in the class... I think if we're honest the fact that he went to a situation with a wide open receiver depth chart pushed him above a similarly ranked Engram for many.

I know some who had Njoku as the "clear" top TE in this class heading into the draft. So it's not all about situation.

Fair enough. If you liked his potential and don't want the combine or draft position/situation to pollute your rankings and you had Njoku ranked ahead of Engram or even Howard then that's fair. I don't think that's the consensus though. Most had Engram above Njoku predraft and DLF's rankings agreed with that line of thinking, making me think Engram was the more talented player (or at least the better risk/reward player) regardless of situation. Post-draft the two promptly flip-flopped both in expert rankings and in conversation via these forums. I don't think it's a coincidence.

[ericanadian]

I like Njoku, but I don't know how he became the consensus TE2 in this draft class. The talk I've heard is "athletic upside" as well, but you're right that from a measurable standpoint he's at best 3rd in the class... I think if we're honest the fact that he went to a situation with a wide open receiver depth chart pushed him above a similarly ranked Engram for many.

I know some who had Njoku as the "clear" top TE in this class heading into the draft. So it's not all about situation.

Fair enough. If you liked his potential and don't want the combine or draft position/situation to pollute your rankings and you had Njoku ranked ahead of Engram or even Howard then that's fair. I don't think that's the consensus though. Most had Engram above Njoku predraft and DLF's rankings agreed with that line of thinking, making me think Engram was the more talented player (or at least the better risk/reward player) regardless of situation. Post-draft the two promptly flip-flopped both in expert rankings and in conversation via these forums. I don't think it's a coincidence.

TE is one of the more situation dependant positions in the NFL. I have no problem with people adjusting rankings within tiers based on landing spots. Howard is clearly the best TE for me in this draft, but unless he drops a lot, with the depth of this TE class, I'm likely grabbing Kittle, Shaheen, Everett, Smith, Butt or Hodges later on.

[spotxc]

Engram looks studly. Like Howard and njoku also, but engram stands out for me