2021 NFL Draft Day!!

Scalper · 05-02-2021, 12:01 AM

4th round
124 overall
John Bates - TE - D grade

Bates is a Y tight end, meaning he is a balanced or inline tight end. In English, a blocker. If you aren't an athletic receiver, you are a Y tight end, LOL. All teams need a Y tight end for running, goal line, etc. situations. Bates has size, is an accomplished blocker, and serviceable WR, though no one will ever mistake him for the type of receiving threat that teams covet.

This is a need pick. There were much more athletic and proven players at several positions if you went BPA. You don't have to draft a player like this in 4th round. You can get one in 6th or 7th or as UDFA. Most pundits had Bates rated 6th to UDFA.

The value of a block-first TE is not to be underestimated, however, amid all the obsession with pass catching TEs. It is difficult to have the weight to take on 260-290# DLs when you are as light as most receiver TEs, and the Y tight end is often a fundamentally different body type and a strength more than fast twitch athlete. Maybe he has upside as a receiver, but this is a major reach by pigeonholing need rather than going BPA. I don't give this an F grade solely because Bates is a VERY good blocker.

05-02-2021, 12:01 AM	#11
Scalper Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 419	John Bates TE Grade 4th round 124 overall John Bates - TE - D grade Bates is a Y tight end, meaning he is a balanced or inline tight end. In English, a blocker. If you aren't an athletic receiver, you are a Y tight end, LOL. All teams need a Y tight end for running, goal line, etc. situations. Bates has size, is an accomplished blocker, and serviceable WR, though no one will ever mistake him for the type of receiving threat that teams covet. This is a need pick. There were much more athletic and proven players at several positions if you went BPA. You don't have to draft a player like this in 4th round. You can get one in 6th or 7th or as UDFA. Most pundits had Bates rated 6th to UDFA. The value of a block-first TE is not to be underestimated, however, amid all the obsession with pass catching TEs. It is difficult to have the weight to take on 260-290# DLs when you are as light as most receiver TEs, and the Y tight end is often a fundamentally different body type and a strength more than fast twitch athlete. Maybe he has upside as a receiver, but this is a major reach by pigeonholing need rather than going BPA. I don't give this an F grade solely because Bates is a VERY good blocker.

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