NFL Draft: Tight ends/fullbacks
Cream of the crop
Name School Pos. Ht. Wt.
Coby Fleener Stanford TE 6-6 247
Scored team-high 10 touchdowns and averaged 19.6 yards a catch last season.
Dwayne Allen Clemson TE 6-3 255
Mackey award winner in 2011 as nation's top TE but not very fast (4.89 in 40).
Orson Charles Georgia TE 6-2 251
Lacks ideal height for the position but very strong, good hands, willing blocker.
Ladarius Green La.-Lafayette TE 6-6 238
Needs more bulk and strength but is one of the fastest (4.48), most athletic TEs in draft.
Michael Egnew Missouri TE 6-5 252
Production dropped in 2011 in more run-oriented attack, but he shined in offseason workouts.
Don't overlook
Chad Diehl, FB, Clemson; Bradie Ewing, FB, Wisconsin; Emil Igwenagu, TE/FB, Massachusetts; DeAngelo Peterson, TE, Louisiana State; Kevin Koger, TE, Michigan.
Rams needs
With more urgent needs at several other positions and only eight draft picks, tight end may not be an area the Rams address this draft. Improvement is expected from Lance Kendricks, a second-round pick a year ago. Maybe this is the year Michael Hoomanawanui stays healthy. And Matthew Mulligan, the former New York Jet, was signed in free agency as a blocking tight end. The current roster also includes Central Missouri State's Demarco Cosby, hard-nosed Ben Guidugli and St. Louisan Mike McNeill. At fullback, Brit Miller returns.
Rating the field
Just an average group at tight end. Fleener could slip into the first round, with Allen, Charles, and Green possibilities in the second or third rounds. Mizzou's Egnew projects as a middle-round pick. Fullback is almost a lost art these days in the NFL, with only about a half-dozen drafted annually over the past five drafts. Diehl and Ewing could be among the late-round picks at the position.
Jim Thomas
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