Under the Radar TE Prospects

by freddyjj on Jan 17, 2009 11:05 AM EST

With Gresham staying at Oklahoma and Ingram and Beckum coming off injuries, the Bills might want to take a look at some lesser known, but very athletic TE prospects.

Shawn Nelson, TE Southern Miss - 6'5" 240lbs

4 yr starter, avg'd 40 catches, 13 YPC and 4 touchdowns every year

from ESPN Scouts

Overall Football Traits
Production	2	2004: Southern Miss red-shirts Nelson. 2005-06: Appeared in 25 games (23 starts) recording 71 catches for 1,046 yards and six touchdowns. 2007: Appeared in all 13 games (12 starts) accumulating 33 catches for 451 yards and five touchdowns
Height-Weight-Speed	3	Lean but has room on frame to add necessary bulk. Possesses above-average top-end speed.
Durability	2	A minor concern, as he played with a fractured hand and sprained ankle during the 2006 season
Character	0	N/A

Tight End specific Traits
Ball Skills	2	A big target who is a natural pass catcher. Uses long arms to pluck the ball out of the air and doesn't have to break stride to haul it in. Does a nice job adjusting to balls thrown behind him, as he is able to open hips fluidly
Separation Skills	2	Gets good overall separation from defenders and can use big frame to shield defenders when doesn't. Avoids contact at line of scrimmage and generally gets a clean release. Does a nice job of creating leverage with an initial move and then sticking cuts against man coverage. Must show more awareness when trying to find the open area working against zone coverage.
Blocking	4	Does not have the size to match up in-line. Needs to get stronger in the upper body and get more push on defenders. A reliable blocker in space, though. Moves feet well and gets into proper position. Uses hands well and able to lock on and stay engaged with defenders. Takes good angles to second level can cut off linebackers
Toughness	3	Plays with good overall effort. Is willing to go over the middle and lay his body on the line to make reception. Showed willingness to play hurt during the 2006 season
Big-Play Potential	2	Clean release and good top-end speed allow him to stretch the middle of the field. Also is a very strong runner after the catch and can turn a catch underneath into a big gain

James Casey, Rice 6'4" 245lbs - 24 year old ex Pro Baseball player

2 year starter after enrolling in college as 22 year old freshman

2007 46 rec, 585 yds, 12.7 YPC, 4 TDs

2008 113 rec, 1329 yds, 12 YPC, 13 TDs - this is not a typo!!!

Granted, Casey played in a passing offense but look at some of the highlight film - a real athlete!

Both these guys have 61 yd longs and can be seam busters

I'd think Casey might go up to Rd 3 and Nelson is a 4th Rounder that would fill a drastic need on the Bills in 2009

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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Comments

I like Nelson. What about a guy like Jared Bronson?

My preferance would be Coffman in the third round but if he’s gone then Nelson or Bronson both sound like decent prospects.

Jared Bronson, TE, Central Washington
6’4 – 254 lbs.
Bronson was a high school QB and track and field star. He originally attended Pima Community College in Arizona and then walked on as a redshirt freshman at Washington University in 2004 (playing just a few series for the Huskies before transferring to Central Washington). After sitting out the 2006 season due to a knee injury, Bronson started twelve of thirteen games for Central in 2007 where he hauled in 35 passes for 477 yards (13.6 avg) and 2 TD.

Has great size/speed combination. Is fast for a TE (4.74) of his size. Very athletic player who has big play potential. Will make incredible catches. A good blocker. Bends his knees well and attacks the point with willingness and desire. Is very raw. Route running need coaching. Level of competition is a concern. Age is also a concern(he will be 24 when the Draft comes).

Bronson is a very interesting player. He is supremely athletic and will wow scouts at the Combine. There are concerns and a big risk factor associated with him. Age and inexperience are big concerns. He should be drafted because of his immense potential and the lack of middle of the road TE in this Draft.

BEAST MODE, During the week plan on it & on game day thrive on it!
GO BILLS!
Section 336 Row 13

by keysh67 on Jan 17, 2009 2:19 PM EST reply actions

Exactly, I've been on the Bronson bandwagon for a while now

I would be thrilled if we nailed him in the 4th round. We got our blocker in Fine and we got our utility man in Schou, an athletic, seam stretcher whose only job is to catch passes is all we need, and Jared can do that. We can teach the kid to block later….

Now if only this gopher could play DE, we would be doing better, I mean, who couldn't play better than the corpse brothers Kelsay and Denney?

by WABillsfan on Jan 17, 2009 5:46 PM EST up reply actions

Give me Coffman, Casey, Nelson, Beckum, Ingram in the 3rd or 4th round. It’d be a waste picking a TE any earlier this year….

~K
"I’m Kurupt with Buffalo Rumblings. I am worth hundreds!"

by Kurupt on Jan 17, 2009 2:35 PM EST reply actions

I love the kid from Rice..........

He’d be my choice for TE.

12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.

by norcaliangelsfan on Jan 17, 2009 3:12 PM EST reply actions

Agreed. For Coffman, it’s worth a 3rd but after him I’d feel comfortable taking a guy like Nelson or Casey in round 5 or Bronson in round 6

I’d like to see a C, DE & DT & possibly even a safety before.

BEAST MODE, During the week plan on it & on game day thrive on it!
GO BILLS!
Section 336 Row 13

by keysh67 on Jan 17, 2009 3:20 PM EST reply actions

I would kill if we got Bronson in the 6th, but I have a feeling if he is healthy come the combine

He might shoot up into the 4th-5th round area…. Hope he doesn’t…..

Now if only this gopher could play DE, we would be doing better, I mean, who couldn't play better than the corpse brothers Kelsay and Denney?

by WABillsfan on Jan 17, 2009 5:47 PM EST up reply actions

It's funny

Last year a lot of people where clamoring for a TE just as much as they are this year. Many of those same guys were saying that Derrick Fine isn’t the answer. Names like John Carlson and Martellus Bennett were mentioned often. Not much has changed in terms of what this team needs from it’s TE position, and the fact that there are many positions of need. Yet this year everyone seems to dismiss the bigger names like Pettigrew and Gresham (before he chose to stay at school) in favor of the later round finds.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jan 17, 2009 5:51 PM EST reply actions

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's because

Pettigrew isn’t worth it. He scored 0 TDs on a team that averaged 41 points a game.

by twoeightnine on Jan 17, 2009 6:14 PM EST up reply actions

Because Fine can catch the dang ball when it is thrown to him

And he is a heck of a lot better than Royal at blocking, thats why a later round pickup is fine with most of us now.

Now if only this gopher could play DE, we would be doing better, I mean, who couldn't play better than the corpse brothers Kelsay and Denney?

by WABillsfan on Jan 17, 2009 6:15 PM EST up reply actions

Doesn’t Pettigrew have some off the field issues?
BTW your young’un is a cutie. She wears a hat well.

everything goes better with a BIG MACK

by keuka121 on Jan 17, 2009 8:49 PM EST up reply actions

your young’un is a cutie. She wears a hat well.

Thanks, She gets cuter every day.

To answer your question; Last January Pettigrew assaulted an officer and it was pled down from a felony to a misdemeanor. He’s clean other then that.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jan 17, 2009 10:13 PM EST up reply actions

If Gresham would have come out this year, he would have gone top 20 for sure and it’s not that great of a need for us, at least not in my opinion anyway. There are a lot of very good pass-catching TEs that can be had in the later rounds

BEAST MODE, During the week plan on it & on game day thrive on it!
GO BILLS!
Section 336 Row 13

by keysh67 on Jan 18, 2009 1:30 AM EST up reply actions