Positional ranking: #5
Big Board ranking: #98
Overview
Position: TE
College: Boston College
Class: Junior (RS)
Age: 22
Measurables
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 254 lbs.
Arm length: 9 1/2″
Hand size: 33 3/4″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.65 sec.
Vertical jump: 32.5”
Broad jump: 122.0”
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: 7.41 sec.
Short shuttle: 4.42 sec.
Strengths
Ideal overall size/frame with long arms. Excellent awareness and intelligence. Great feel to find holes in coverage. Sits down and presents a target to his quarterback. Sells blocking assignment on delayed routes. Finds space on broken plays. Very soft hands. Extremely quick eyes to locate the ball and look it in. Great ability to reach down or go to the ground for a low pass. Plus overall athleticism. Vertical weapon that threatens the seam. Above-average speed. Good feet and smoothness at his size. Shows courage going over the middle. Can shield off defenders in single coverage downfield. Works back to the ball in the air. Moves in the open field with a head of steam. Strong after the catch. In-line or slot option. Has the ability to square up as a blocker.
Weaknesses
Has too many drops in contested coverage. Too many drops in general when not in open space. A bit stiff overall. Failed to separate when covered by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Needs to show more intensity/consistency as a blocker. Would like to see him be more physical/effective as a blocker and generally try to impose his will.
NFL comparison
Kyle Rudolph
Conclusion
Overall, Long is an intelligent tight end with prototype size and quality athleticism to make plays all over the field, including in scoring territory. If he can improve his blocking and be more consistently physical, Long can develop into a very good starter.
Safe to stay we won’t draft another TE lol.