In the past week, the 2013 tight end class got a massive flood of declarations: Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame), Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo (Stanford), Jordan Reed (Florida), and Gavin Escobar (SDSU). It’s a diverse and highly talented group, all of whom have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Cincinnati senior Travis Kelce (younger brother of Eagles center, Jason Kelce) might have the most complete skillset of them all, though. A 6’6” 260 pound sledgehammer with speed and strength, Kelce will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski as he goes through the pre-draft process.
Quote:
Kelce's complete skill set as a blocker and receiver and his ability to line up almost anywhere on the field was the most valuable asset for the Bearcat offense this year, and they made great use of his talent. While he may have toiled away in relative obscurity in comparison to the underclassmen from legacy programs, make no mistake that NFL teams are salivating over what he can bring to an offense.
This guy is a solid blocker and a decent receiver. Seahawks should try to get this guy in the mid rounds if we don't spend our top rounds picks on someone like Zach Ertz. He might not be available in the mid rounds though depending on his performance at the combine.
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SomersetHawk
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:30 pm
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Doubt he gets far past the second. I really like him, and if we didn't have defensive needs I'd love us to take him with our second. I imagine if we miss out on a target or two then there's a chance we pick him up. We stress the need for a receiver who can get open for Wilson, but imagine two TE's who can block and catch (Kelce's real quick too and has good YAC ability). I'd much rather this pick in the second than a WR (assuming Hopkins is long gone).
SeahawksFanForever
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:37 pm
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SomersetHawk wrote:
Doubt he gets far past the second. I really like him, and if we didn't have defensive needs I'd love us to take him with our second. I imagine if we miss out on a target or two then there's a chance we pick him up. We stress the need for a receiver who can get open for Wilson, but imagine two TE's who can block and catch (Kelce's real quick too and has good YAC ability). I'd much rather this pick in the second than a WR (assuming Hopkins is long gone).
So far, he is not getting much hype because of the other TEs coming out in this draft. This guy would be a steal in round 3 in my opinion. He's got great combination of size, strength, and speed.
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T-Sizzle
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:43 pm
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Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:14 am Posts: 1132
I prefer Escobar as I feel he is different than Zack Miller in his skill set while Kelce is a lot like Miller in his.
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McGruff
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:52 pm
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Prefer we sign a veteran receiving TE like Keller or Cook.
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Scottemojo
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:52 pm
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SeahawksFanForever
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:53 pm
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Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:11 pm Posts: 1836
T-Sizzle wrote:
I prefer Escobar as I feel he is different than Zack Miller in his skill set while Kelce is a lot like Miller in his.
I think this kid has a chance to be special. I think he tests well and ends up in as high as 2nd round. He's a big physical guy who can block, run and catch. Sounds simple enough, but there aren't that many TEs that can do those three things.
And he appears faster n quicker than Zach Miller. I am going to watch his combine performance closely especially 10-yard split.
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SomersetHawk
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:55 pm
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Joined: Thu May 10, 2012 6:33 am Posts: 193 Location: United Kingdom
SeahawksFanForever wrote:
SomersetHawk wrote:
Doubt he gets far past the second. I really like him, and if we didn't have defensive needs I'd love us to take him with our second. I imagine if we miss out on a target or two then there's a chance we pick him up. We stress the need for a receiver who can get open for Wilson, but imagine two TE's who can block and catch (Kelce's real quick too and has good YAC ability). I'd much rather this pick in the second than a WR (assuming Hopkins is long gone).
So far, he is not getting much hype because of the other TEs coming out in this draft. This guy would be a steal in round 3 in my opinion. He's got great combination of size, strength, and speed.
I've seen him rated as third to Eifert and Ertz on a few sites. I think Toilolo will go in the early mid rounds whilst Reed and Escobar will probably be late second-early third round. Some have Reed projected ahead of Kelce but Kelce can block better, and provides as much of a receiving threat (plus he is nearly as quick as Reed despite being 2 inches and 20lbs heavier.)
kearly
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:54 pm
* Mr Random Thought *
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Doesn't look like the best athlete. I'd guess he'll run around 4.8 in the forty. Doesn't separate. Not sure why Cincy was lining him up at WR spots with that kind of speed. People think Kelce is fast but I'm not seeing it yet.
Effort level seems low in both blocking and route running. On the plus side, he has long arms and seems to have a strong upper body.
Seemed to be on a different page than his QB at times.
I'm not impressed, but I could see Seattle drafting him mainly because of the untapped potential he has as a run blocker, and they seem to really like TEs with long arms. Kelce is a pretty solid blocker and he's doing it mostly with upper body strength. If he got his hips and core more involved and upped the effort he would certainly improve. McCoy is a hit and miss blocker so adding a guy that can block the shit out of people makes sense.
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MontanaHawk05
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:31 pm
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Scottemojo wrote:
Saw him run some slice-routes outlets there, similar to what Zach Miller and Michael Robinson have been running this year.
That is what i thought, it was like watching Miller.
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onanygivensunday
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:44 pm
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McGruff wrote:
Prefer we sign a veteran receiving TE like Keller or Cook.
PASS!
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McGruff
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:30 pm
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onanygivensunday wrote:
McGruff wrote:
Prefer we sign a veteran receiving TE like Keller or Cook.
PASS!
Why?
As of right now I haven't seen a lot of rookie TE's in this class who have the speed and receiving abilities we need to compliment Zach. cook and Keller are both 4.5 guys with good receiving skills.
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MontanaHawk05
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:05 pm
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McGruff wrote:
As of right now I haven't seen a lot of rookie TE's in this class who have the speed and receiving abilities we need to compliment Zach. cook and Keller are both 4.5 guys with good receiving skills.
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:14 am Posts: 571 Location: Blaine, WA
MontanaHawk05 wrote:
McGruff wrote:
As of right now I haven't seen a lot of rookie TE's in this class who have the speed and receiving abilities we need to compliment Zach. cook and Keller are both 4.5 guys with good receiving skills.
Not a fan of Gavin Escobar or Jordan Reed?
If those guys run 4.5's then sure, I'd consider them . . . But I'd still probably rather add a guy who has proven he can catch 50 passes in the NFL.
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MontanaHawk05
Post subject: Re: TE Travis Kelce
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:11 pm
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Well, you could say that about every position. When do we decide to get younger and develop our own guys? Especially given that we already have a worthy but expensive TE in Miller.
And not every stud TE is a burner, though I'd certainly like a burner. Jason Witten, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Kyle Rudolph, and Miller are all a tick slower than 4.5. Escobar and Reed are projected to run 40 times in their range.
I would've said (just looking at youtube footage) that he mirrors well and is probably better in pass pro than in run blocking. Shows decent technique but for a 260 lber he isn't very physical at the point of attack and gets blown back a lot. Doesn't seem to finish his blocks well. Shows a decent awareness of the open holes in the zone, seems to have soft hands and catches away from his body. I didn't see great acceleration, but looked like decent top end speed for a big guy.
Shows potential, but I don't know that I would spend a 2nd rounder on him.
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