3rd Round, Pick #94 Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State

[TeamoftheCentury]

This might be my favorite pick in the draft.

I think he's going to play a lot. This is a role/function that has been sorely lacking for us.

Absolutely

 

[xgeoff]

This is a hard draft to pick an Adopt-a-Rookie from, but I think this guy's gonna be it for me.

I'm with you. On topic a full spectrum TE? Those are rare so why did he drop so far? This smells like the Tyler Lockett drop but I don't get why.

It's about the measurables. He doesn't have good speed, though he plays fast in games. But I think some teams just looked at his 40 time and lost interest.

Which is great for us! I watched this kid in the senior bowl and he was very impressive. Am so psyched we got him!

 

[xgeoff]

So I watched a couple games on Vannett.

He is not a receiving threat. He doesn't separate with his routes and is slow. In four years at Ohio State, he had 55 catches for 585 yards. Combined. An average of 15.8 receiving yards per game.

He also plays almost all of his snaps from the slot or from H-back spots so it's basically impossible to judge his pass blocking.

I was wondering what Seattle was smoking that made them think this guy was worth a 3rd round pick, that was until I saw this guy run block. He's an elite level run blocker. If he packed on weight, he could play OL in the NFL. That's how good his technique is. Germain Ifedi should room up with Vannett to ask him for tips on proper hand placement and blocking technique. Seriously.

Vannett has soft hands, but given his inability to work himself open I highly doubt that he will ever break 200 receiving yards in a season in his NFL career. He's going to have to earn his keep as a run blocker and special teams guy. His ability to make blocks downfield, and stick to them, is special. If his inline pass blocking ends up being as technically sound as his run blocking, then Seattle just got an elite level blocking tight end. Seattle desperately needed a blocking TE last year so I get this pick, even if the 3rd round is a bit too early for a pure utility player.

I only watched one game, which was the senior bowl, and he really impressed me as a receiver. I don't know if he can beat guys one on one but he was really good at finding spots in the zone. He showed good hands and ran well after the catch.

 

[Tical21]

The big question to me is, if Vannett is as good of a blocker as advertised, how many packages we run this season without Jimmy Graham on the field. Do we have to go double-tight to get Vannett on the field?

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

So I watched a couple games on Vannett.

He is not a receiving threat. He doesn't separate with his routes and is slow. In four years at Ohio State, he had 55 catches for 585 yards. Combined. An average of 15.8 receiving yards per game.

He also plays almost all of his snaps from the slot or from H-back spots so it's basically impossible to judge his pass blocking.

I was wondering what Seattle was smoking that made them think this guy was worth a 3rd round pick, that was until I saw this guy run block. He's an elite level run blocker. If he packed on weight, he could play OL in the NFL. That's how good his technique is. Germain Ifedi should room up with Vannett to ask him for tips on proper hand placement and blocking technique. Seriously.

Vannett has soft hands, but given his inability to work himself open I highly doubt that he will ever break 200 receiving yards in a season in his NFL career. He's going to have to earn his keep as a run blocker and special teams guy. His ability to make blocks downfield, and stick to them, is special. If his inline pass blocking ends up being as technically sound as his run blocking, then Seattle just got an elite level blocking tight end. Seattle desperately needed a blocking TE last year so I get this pick, even if the 3rd round is a bit too early for a pure utility player.

I only watched one game, which was the senior bowl, and he really impressed me as a receiver. I don't know if he can beat guys one on one but he was really good at finding spots in the zone. He showed good hands and ran well after the catch.

Even if he's just an occasional reliable outlet for Wilson, that will be so valuable. I fully expect to hear Wilson3 praising Vannett early and often. I do expect that Vannett will be a more balanced TE during his NFL career. He will seemingly be an improved receiving TE simply by having one Russell Carrington Wilson dishing out the ball. Stats wont tell the story.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

The big question to me is, if Vannett is as good of a blocker as advertised, how many packages we run this season without Jimmy Graham on the field. Do we have to go double-tight to get Vannett on the field?

Seattle has morphed into a predominant 11 personnel team.

I would expect Vannett to feature heavily. Because he gives this package a lot more balance. With Willson or Graham -- they are somewhat of the equivalent of a 4 wide formation. They don't offer the same kind of equivalent threat in terms of running or passing out of this package.

Remains to be seen how the Graham injury rehab unfolds. I really don't expect him to play this year. I think at best, he'll be PuPed and after 8 weeks, we'll see where we're at. And then get shut down on week 11.

This injury just takes so much time to recover from. It's not the healing of the surgery. It's the rebuilding of the strength in the quad. It's going to atrophy significantly and tighten considerably. He'll need to restore flexibility and strength. Which is more difficult with a major muscle.

He can look good standing around. And can be seen without a brace. But the long haul is restoring the muscle not the tendon. The flexibility has to be there or it'll risk re injuring it.

I do think we're going into this year with Willson as the pass catching TE and Vannett as the balance/Y option. Vannett really does bring something we've not had since Miller. For a team looking to re-establish LOS dominance this is a big component for us.

I don't think his receiving skills are awful. For this role, I think his blocking is superb for a Y tight end, and his receiving skills are also superb for a Y tight end. I don't think they rate like Willson's. But the combination for his role is high on both accounts.

 

[McGruff]

We were also starting to flex Jimmy out more as the season went on. Look for that to continue.

 

[IBleedBlueAndGreen]

Baldwin split out left with Vannett on the LOS off LT, Graham in the slot to the right with Lockett spilt right outside him. Rawls in the backfield. Sounds like a dangerous combination to me.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

After next season, I think another team pays Willson more than we want to, and Vannett will have a shot at starting - as we may cut Graham loose after hoisting the Lombardi this season, depending on how things go performance and salary cap wise.

All in on Graham this year for the SB51 run.

I will be shocked as shit if Willson gets an offer from another team.

Unless it's the Tards feeling a burning sensation from the past.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Good thing we got a vannett. A full-sized van would tear up the field.

 

[cover-2]

Good thing we got a VANNett. A full-sized van with tear up the field.

:th2thumbs: