When you think of first round caliber tight ends available in this years draft, Tyler Eifert, and maybe even Zach Ertz comes to mind. Gavin Escobar is a victim of the same system that Sherman speaks of: [urltargetblank]http://smarturl.org/ssirq[/urltargetblank]. "McShay or Kiper didn't consider him a first round talent? I better not draft him in the first round then." Carroll and Schneider don't subscribe to that logic, but they are obviously well aware of it. There's a reason that they waited three rounds to pick up the franchise quarterback.
Escobar fits the new mold of the evolving tight end. He was often used as an extra offensive lineman in the run first attack of the Aztecs, but this guy caught near anything thrown his way. He impressed at the combine, despite running a 40 on the wrong side of 4.8. The Aztec tight end displayed his elite hands, and scored second best in his class in the three cone drill and 20 yard shuttle. You should take that with a grain of salt, though, like every other combine performance.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljO2OScTeRI[/youtube]
A big body down field is something that should be valued in today's NFL, with players such as Gronk and Jimmy Graham creating huge mismatches. Escobar's 6'6" frame and incredible hands should be enough to nose his way into the first round, but maybe he'll make his way into day two, and some lucky team will catch his fall. Perhaps the Hawks?
It's a common belief among us that we should grab a joker tight end, be it in free agency or the draft. I'm not saying this guy should, would, or even could land in Seattle, but whoever drafts Gavin Escobar will likely be getting a steal.