pre-draft position outlook

[RuthlessBurgher]

Now if Hockenson fell to them or Fant, yeah. But if not, I could see them taking Butler. And the Cardinals like Butler too.

I thought you didn't believe in taking a TE in the first round since you can always find a Gronk or Kelce in a later round?

But now it's fine and dandy if New England does it?

[tiproast]

I thought you didn't believe in taking a TE in the first round since you can always find a Gronk or Kelce in a later round?

But now it's fine and dandy if New England does it?

Belichick has shown that he will use a first round draft pick on a TE (Daniel Graham, Ben Watson).

And he will trade to move up in the first round (Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower).

But will he trade to move up in the first for a TE? I think he would have to do that to get one of the Iowa TEs.

I don't see that happening - more likely the Pats are looking at Sternberger on day 2 for their TE, and using their first round pick for a big body, like Dexter Lawrence, and hoping he turns out to be Wilfork-like.

[Mick'sTeam]

Hock combines the competitiveness with the athleticism and the intelligence. He already has experience as an inline blocker, and possess a good hand punch, solid feet, and he is able to lock in to someone and finish his block. Although he is not the freaky elite level of athlete that Fant is, he certainly possess above-average athleticism, which is more than enough to create separation vs. linebackers and safeties. He runs sharp routes and is able to accelerate out of his cuts and box out defenders in close. Provides a wide catch radius and hands like glue. Considering that he had another first-round talent on the same team, he was still very productive in a major conference with 49 catches for 760 yards and 6 TD's. I literally have difficulty coming up with negatives when talking about this guy. I actually think he is already very Heath-like and can only improve from there.

Fant, on the other hand, I'm not nearly as sold on. His production is good and the measurables are absolutely eye-popping, but he's more of a "big WR" type than a true TE. It's funny that you mention Vernon Davis, because that's kind of how I see Fant. Davis also had ridiculous combine numbers, and although he's had a reasonably solid NFL career, he was nowhere near the dynamic talent that many thought he could be.

I think Hock is a significantly better blocker who also has better hands, runs crisper routes, is better at finding holes in zones, etc. Really, the only thing that Fant does better than Hock is run faster in a straight line, jump higher, etc. In my mind, Hockenson is a sure thing, while with Fant there may be some...I don't want to say bust potential because I don't think he'll be a bust...so I guess disappointment potential...he could be a solid enough receiver at the next level but may not be the dominant gamebreaker that many are hoping for. We'll see.

Thank you for the insight! If Hock isn't there at 20, is Fant worth the pick there?