2. John Bates, Boise State
Aside from the big five, John Bates is the best blocking tight end who can play in-line. There are not as many traditional tight ends these days, and that role has shrunk, but Bates is an old-school tight end.
You can see from his testing that he has the size, length, and strength that most of these other tight ends do not. His 3-cone is impressive for his size as well.
When you watch Bates, you can tell that he can block. Check out some of his best blocks below.
TE John Bates from @BroncoSportsFB is one of my favorites/sleepers. Was at @seniorbowl last week - needs more buzz!
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) February 5, 2021
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Long, Balanced Athlete
Efficient In-Line Blocker
Soft Hands/Radius
Special Teams Ace
Track Background
Here’s a few blocks that caught my eye 👀 pic.twitter.com/YoYb6PNgoe
The Chicago Bears are trying to help their quarterback more, and that could come from a commitment to the run game. Again, adding someone who is better than Kmet as a blocker unlocks Kmet to do much more. Still, it also means that when Kmet and Bates are on the field together that teams need to buckle up because they are going to run downhill at you.
That is the type of addition Bates can bring. He is enough of a compliment to the role of Kmet and Graham to fit the offense and is not going to be a headline attraction, as he is not an elite receiving threat.
Like the rest of these tight ends, he has a round five or six projection. This is the type of player the Chicago Bears should target in round six.