Bears Day 2 Draft Prospects: Tight End

Austin Hooper, Stanford (6’4 | 254 | 4.69) – Left college after just two seasons and may not be ready to step into the starting lineup as a rookie, but has the potential to be a quality starting tight end early in his NFL career. Hooper doesn’t stand out in most aspects of the tight end position; He runs decent routes, gives good effort as a blocker but can be overpowered, drops too many catchable passes, and isn’t going to wow anyone after the catch… but Hooper has the unique ability to make highlight reel catches in traffic. In every game I watched last season Hooper made a high-point catch in traffic while absorbing contact. It’s a rare skill and should get Hooper drafted no later than day two.

He needs to get stronger, improve his routes, and clean up his blocking technique before he can be a 3-down starter, but all of those inadequacies are fixable. Hooper is fast enough to stretch defenses and has the ability to be an impact play-maker in both the seam and the red-zone, which gives him a lot of value in a very weak tight end draft class.  The Bears are thin at the tight end position and Hooper would be a solid complement to Zach Miller in the Bears offense.

Nick Vannett, Ohio St (6’6 | 257 | 4.89) – Underutilized with the Buckeye’s but Vannett has a legit NFL skill set. Urban Meyer’s OSU squads don’t use the tight end position much but Vannett seems to have the requite skill set to be a solid NFL tight end. He flashed at time at the Senior Bowl, showing the ability to make plays in the middle of the field and on standard tight end out routes.

Vannett has the versatility to line up as an in-line tight end, h-back, or move tight end. He’s got more agility than he showed with the Buckeyes and could be a much more productive tight end at the next level. He can run seem routes, block a bit, and be a safety-valve receiver at the next level. Vannett will most likely be a mid-to-late round pick in this years draft, but has the potential to develop into a starting tight end in the NFL.

Next: Adams, Williams, & Cajuste