Countdown to Camp: Rams Looking for More out of Tight Ends

[den-the-coach]

Countdown to Camp: Rams Looking for More out of Tight Ends

Myles Simmons
RAMS INSIDER

We’re now just a week away from Rams rookies reporting to training camp, with veterans reporting two days later on July 25. Our 2018 countdown to camp continues today with a look at Los Angeles’ tight ends.

Newcomers: Codey McElroy

If there’s one area in particular where Los Angeles is looking for offensive growth in 2018, it’s at the tight end position. Though the Rams led the league in scoring last season, the club’s tight ends as a whole accounted for just 49 receptions and 610 yards receiving — just 15 percent of the team’s total in both categories.

Tyler Higbee led the group with 25 receptions for 295 yards, and caught one touchdown. He’s heading into his third season with L.A. after being selected in the fourth round back in the 2016 NFL draft.

Second-year tight end Gerald Everett may see some more playing time in 2018 after entering the league last year as a second-round pick. Everett displayed versatility as a rookie, playing in-line and split out wide as a receding threat. But he also took a tight end jet sweep for 13 yards against the Jaguars. Head coach Sean McVay said he would like to vary personnel groups more in 2018, which would likely give Everett more opportunities if the team elects to use two tight-end sets.

Temarrick Hemingway is also heading into his third year, but training camp will represent his first chance to put on pads in nearly a year. Hemingway suffered a season-ending leg injury during the 2017 preseason matchup with the Chargers, but should be ready to go for training camp. Listed at 6-foot-5, Hemingway’s considerable height makes him a solid potential target for quarterback Jared Goff.

Rounding out the group, Johnny Mundt spent the majority of last season on the practice squad and could challenge for a roster spot. Henry Krieger-Coble also spent time on Los Angeles’ practice squad in 2017. And L.A. signed former Atlanta Braves minor leaguer Codey McElroy as an undrafted free agent in mid-May.

[www.therams.com]

 

[den-the-coach]

Some will be rooting for My Boy McElroy, however, if the Rams keep 4 TE's, which is possible, it will because someone emerges as an in line TE for blocking purposes and of the 5 TE's currently on the roster, Henry Krieger-Coble fits that role the best IMO.

OVERVIEW

Krieger-Coble and his first cousin, George Kittle (their mothers were sisters), formed a solid one-two punch at tight end for the Hawkeyes in their successful 2015 campaign. Krieger-Coble had to wait until this senior year, though, to break through for head coach Kirk Ferentz. He started one game in his redshirt freshman year (in a two-TE set), catching four passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. As a sophomore, he caught no passes despite playing in all 13 games. Krieger-Coble earned three starts in his junior year, catching three passes for 28 yards and two scores, but missed the final three games due to a shoulder injury. He finally was rewarded with the starting job in 2015, finishing second on the team with 35 receptions for 405 yards and one touchdown for a Hawkeyes squad that finished the regular season undefeated.


PRO DAY RESULTS

40-yard dash: 4.8 seconds
Vertical: 33 1/2 inches
Broad jump: 9 feet, 2 inches
Short shuttle: 4.52 seconds
3-cone: 7.72 seconds
Bench: 10 reps of 225 pounds
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Comes out of his stance with purpose. Plays fast and with a sense of urgency. Has good shake out of his stems to gain advantage against coverage. Can sell linebackers into wrong turns in coverage with stutter steps and head fakes. Hard-nosed Hawkeye. Sturdy build with strength in his lower half for balance through contact. Will drop his head and deliver a blow after the catch. Can run through arm tackles. Knee-bender counted on to do his part as inline blocker. Capable cut-blocker. Makes accurate initial contact with defender and brings his feet with him. Well-schooled as run blocker.
WEAKNESSES
Started full-time just one season. Doesn't have desired length as an inline tight end. Catch radius is just average and won’t come down with many acrobatic catches. Hands appear to be solid, but he'll fight the ball from time to time. Has issues bodying his way out of coverage once defenders get into his frame down the field. True cover talent causes issues for him. Fumbled twice this season.
DRAFT PROJECTION
Rounds 6 or 7
NFL COMPARISON
Luke Willson
BOTTOM LINE
Determined combination tight end with the potential to play inline or as a move tight end. Krieger-Coble was a three-sport star in high school and played multiple positions on the football field, which accounts for his athleticism and competitiveness. He might not blow teams away with freaky traits, but his tape shows the potential to help in a zone blocking scheme as well as the ability to win against man coverage.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/henry-krieger-coble?id=2555363

 

[Merlin]

I think the TE depth/longshot types have the stars aligned in their favor as much as is possible due to the combination of coaching quality for the position plus roster strength. The competition for the third and possibly a fourth spot will be wide open. Hemingway will be battling for his job, so I hope for his sake he can stay on the field through camp.

If McElroy goes into camp and works hard, I could see him making the roster. And if I'm any of these TEs gunning for the depth spots, I'm doing everything I can to win a special teams core job so as to stand a chance vs that WR and DB depth come the final roster cuts.

 

[HellRam]

I think Everett showed promise as a rookie. Because the Rams O is so stacked his opportunities will be limited. But if Gerald can be in that 400 to 500 yard range recieving. I'd call that a really good year for him.

 

[RamFan503]

Rams Looking for More out of Tight Ends

Are we not doing phrasing?

 

[OldSchool]

We Rams fans think we've had it bad at tight ends but how bout the Bears and wide receivers? This is pretty pathetic for so old a franchise.


View: https://twitter.com/biakabutuka21/status/1020404063958073344?s=21

 

[RamFan503]

We Rams fans think we've had it bad at tight ends but how bout the Bears and wide receivers? This is pretty pathetic for so old a franchise.


View: https://twitter.com/biakabutuka21/status/1020404063958073344?s=21

Wow! That IS amazing.

 

[bubbaramfan]

What's amazing about the Bears is how its possible to suck at drafting WR for 75 years.

 

[Loyal]

Are we not doing phrasing?

ID@mn, you stole my schtick! I thought den-the-coach was trying to tell us something...

 

[Ram65]

Time for Higbee, Everett and Hemingway to step up. I feel confident they will. Look for some big plays as they will be a little under the radar with the WR trio of Woods, Kupp and Cooks getting the attention.

Codey McElroy

I'm interested to see what McElroy can do. At 6'6" with a basketball background he could become a red zone target. Looks like he has big mitts in this video of showing him working out. It's a long shot but, you can't teach that height. He has to have good hand eye coordination with the baseball pro contract early in his career.

https://kfor.com/2018/07/15/codey-mcelroy-changes-careers-credits-oklahoma-roots/

 

[ReekofRams]

I didn't realize the Rams had such bad constipation. What kind of food are they serving there?

 

[ReekofRams]

ID@mn, you stole my schtick! I thought den-the-coach was trying to tell us something...

Exlax, the chewable chocolate kind.

 

[ReekofRams]

We Rams fans think we've had it bad at tight ends but how bout the Bears and wide receivers? This is pretty pathetic for so old a franchise.


View: https://twitter.com/biakabutuka21/status/1020404063958073344?s=21

They've had decent receivers, but sucky QB's.

 

[LesBaker]

If there’s one area in particular where Los Angeles is looking for offensive growth in 2018, it’s at the tight end position. Though the Rams led the league in scoring last season, the club’s tight ends as a whole accounted for just 49 receptions and 610 yards receiving — just 15 percent of the team’s total in both categories.

I like Myles, and I even like his voice which bothers some people.

But this is a speculative piece, which is fine I'm OK with opinions, but I disagree with and here is why.

The growth in passing yards, which is essentially offensive growth, is going to come from Gurley and Cooks. Not the TE's.

I posited ( hey @LoyalRam I posted another dictionary word LOL) that Gurley was going to take off in the passing attack, which he did. He got 87 targets, and I expect him to get north of 100 this year, and maybe become the newest member of the 1000/1000 club. 1200/1200 club anyone???

He averaged 12.9 per catch last year. That is a VERY big number for a RB, Faulk's highest was 12.0 and I think that was a record for RB's at the time, and I fully expect McVay to leverage that mismatch like Martz did with Faulk. Gurley doesn't have Faulk's moves and shiftiness but he has as good or better speed and real power.

McVay has really deployed Gurley so well because he has never had anything like Gurley in the backfield with a good QB. WASH has crap at the position when he was there. Now he has a playmaker. He's going to deal that out to the defense even more I'm sure of it...........wouldn't you?

IMO the tight ends will not be getting more attention this season, it'll be the deep game with Cooks and Gurley out of the backfield.

Are we not doing phrasing?

Maybe merge this with the JG/Porn star thread?

 

[ReekofRams]

I like Myles, and I even like his voice which bothers some people.

But this is a speculative piece, which is fine I'm OK with opinions, but I disagree with and here is why.

The growth in passing yards, which is essentially offensive growth, is going to come from Gurley and Cooks. Not the TE's.

I posited ( hey @LoyalRam I posted another dictionary word LOL) that Gurley was going to take off in the passing attack, which he did. He got 87 targets, and I expect him to get north of 100 this year, and maybe become the newest member of the 1000/1000 club. 1200/1200 club anyone???

He averaged 12.9 per catch last year. That is a VERY big number for a RB, Faulk's highest was 12.0 and I think that was a record for RB's at the time, and I fully expect McVay to leverage that mismatch like Martz did with Faulk. Gurley doesn't have Faulk's moves and shiftiness but he has as good or better speed and real power.

McVay has really deployed Gurley so well because he has never had anything like Gurley in the backfield with a good QB. WASH has crap at the position when he was there. Now he has a playmaker. He's going to deal that out to the defense even more I'm sure of it...........wouldn't you?

IMO the tight ends will not be getting more attention this season, it'll be the deep game with Cooks and Gurley out of the backfield.




Maybe merge this with the JG/Porn star thread?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LesBaker]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYY?????????

 

[bubbaramfan]

Way too hard on Myles...……..

 

[den-the-coach]

IMO the tight ends will not be getting more attention this season, it'll be the deep game with Cooks and Gurley out of the backfield.

They will have to diversify because the Falcons took Gurley out of the passing game and it disrupted the flow of the offense, so besides the deep out to Cooks, bringing the TE underneath as a Safety Valve or down the seam, will keep the Linebackers away from #30.

 

[OldSchool]

They've had decent receivers, but sucky QB's.

Actually they haven't had decent home grown of either in a very long time if ever.

 

[OldSchool]

They will have to diversify because the Falcons took Gurley out of the passing game and it disrupted the flow of the offense, so besides the deep out to Cooks, bringing the TE underneath as a Safety Valve or down the seam, will keep the Linebackers away from #30.

What I'm looking for isn't big numbers like some are though those are nice. What I'm looking for is when they go to a tight end in the clutch they complete the play consistently.