Snead’s Snacks: Tight ends in the draft who could replace Tyler Higbee

Who are the best fits in the draft to replace Tyler Higbee?

The Los Angeles Rams enter a crucial year when it comes to the NFL draft. With limited cap space (and limited draft capital for that matter), it’s going to be more important than ever to build depth through the draft and that means hitting on the majority of their picks.

Since the 2020 NFL Draft, I’ve done a series called Snead’s Snacks. In other words, we’re going to find and look at common themes and traits of previous Les Snead draft picks and see which players in the upcoming NFL Draft fit the mold for the Rams.

The focus for today’s edition of “Snead’s Snacks” will be on the tight ends. Over the last couple of years, the Rams have been set at the position. However, Tyler Higbee is in the last year of his contract and behind him remain unproven players in Brycen Hopkins and newly acquired Hunter Long

This will be my first time doing a Snead’s Snacks on tight ends. Let’s get started!

*Note: Numbers taken from RAS and Mockdraftable

2023 Snead’s Snacks:

• Cornerback – 5 players Rams could draft to replace Jalen Ramsey
• Edge Rusher – Which Edge Rushers could Rams target in the draft
• Interior Offensive Line: Will the Rams draft an interior offensive lineman?
• Defensive Line: Will the Rams give Aaron Donald any help on the defensive line?

Notable Past Rams Drafted Players

Jacob Harris, TE, UCF – 4th Round

Measurables:

Height: 6’5 (86th percentile)

Weight: 219-pounds (38th percentile)

Arm Length: 33.75 inches (82nd percentile)

Shuttle: 4.31 seconds (57th percentile)

3-cone: 6.51 seconds (98th percentile)

Broad Jump: 133 inches (98th percentile)

Vertical: 40.5 inches (96th percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.43 seconds (90th percentile)

Size Grade: Poor

Speed Grade: Elite

Agility Grade: Great

Explosion Grade: Elite

RAS: 9.28 – Great

Traits:

• Raw athlete with elite size and speed
• Versatile player with good body control and leverages on routes.
• Plays with toughness and has special teams ability

Overview of Pick

Jacob Harris was seen as an insane athlete and a tweener between a wide receiver and tight end. The Rams starter Harris as a tight end before moving him to wide receiver. Injuries derailed Harris’ career before it really started. He was cut last season. It’s hard to blame the Rams for selecting Harris in the fourth-round with an athletic comparison to Kyle Pitts.

Brycen Hopkins, TE, Purdue – 4th Round

Measurables:

Height: 6’4 (39th percentile)

Weight: 245-pounds (17th percentile)

Arm Length: 32.125 inches (16th percentile)

Shuttle: 4.28 seconds (73rd percentile)

3-cone: 7.25 seconds (32nd percentile)

Broad Jump: 116 inches (59th percentile)

Vertical: 33.5 inches (57th percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.66 seconds (76th percentile)

Size Grade: Poor

Speed Grade: Great

Agility Grade: Good

Explosion Grade: Good

RAS: 8.19 – Great

Traits:

• Good athletic traits
• Versatile player who is natural in his routes and has good body control
• Adequate toughness

Overview of Pick

Brycen Hopkins has had a quiet career thus far through three seasons. His big moment came in the Super Bowl when he filled in for an injured Tyler Higbee. Hopkins was seen as an athletic tight end coming out of UCF who could be molded into a productive receiver.

Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama – 2nd Round

Measurables:

Height: 6’3 (16th percentile)

Weight: 239-pounds (5th percentile)

Arm Length: 33 inches (46th percentile)

Shuttle: 4.33 seconds (59th percentile)

3-cone: 6.99 seconds (82nd percentile)

Broad Jump: 126 inches (95th percentile)

Vertical: 37.5 inches (91st percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.62 seconds (83rd percentile)

Size Grade: Very Poor

Speed Grade: Elite

Agility Grade: Good

Explosion Grade: Elite

RAS: 8.98 – Great

Traits:

• Tight end with wide receiver traits
• Good athlete
• Natural pass catcher and good YAC ability
• Brings a physicality in the run game and is a willing blocker

Overview of Pick

Gerald Everett may not have ever lived up to his second-round draft status, but he was a successful player for the Rams. Everett was seen as a versatile pass-catching tight end coming out of South Alabama with a lot of potential.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Western Kentucky – 4th Round

Measurables:

Height: 6’6 (86th percentile)

Weight: 249-pounds (32nd percentile)

Arm Length: 33.25 inches (58th percentile)

Shuttle: N/A

3-cone: N/A

Broad Jump: 108 inches

Vertical: 31 inches

40-yard dash: 5 seconds

Size Grade: Good

Speed Grade: Elite

Agility Grade: N/A

Explosion Grade: Great

RAS: 9.88 – Great

Traits:

• Tight end with wide receiver experience
• A smart route-runner with YAC ability and a large catch radius
• Versatile tight end

Overview of Pick

Tyler Higbee may go down as the greatest tight end in Rams history. He dropped in the draft due to some pre-draft off the field issues and a knee injury. However, he was seen as a very good pass-catching tight end coming out of Western Kentucky. The Rams took a chance and it has more than paid off.

Temarrick Hemingway, TE, South Carolina State – 6th Round

Measurables:

Height: 6’4 (67th percentile)

Weight: 244-pounds (14th percentile)

Arm Length: 34 inches (83rd percentile)

Shuttle: 4.31 seconds (64th percentile)

3-cone: 6.88 (92nd percentile)

Broad Jump: 115 inches (52nd percentile)

Vertical: 30.5 inches (22nd percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.71 seconds (68th percentile)

Size Grade: Okay

Speed Grade: Good

Agility Grade: Great

Explosion Grade: Great

RAS: 6.98 – Okay

Traits:

• Raw athlete
• Wide receiver/tight end tweener

Overview of Pick

Temarrick Hemingway spent three years on the Rams between the active roster, injured reserve, and practice squad. Hemingway was seen as an athletic developmental project coming out of South Carolina State.

Notable Past Rams Undrafted/Signed Players

Hunter Long, TE, Boston College – Acquired in Trade

Measurables:

Height: 6’5 (66th percentile)

Weight: 254-pounds (66th percentile)

Arm Length: 33.75 inches (79th percentile)

Shuttle: 4.42 seconds (41st percentile)

3-cone: 7.41 (14th percentile)

Broad Jump: 122 inches (86th percentile)

Vertical: 32.5 inches (42nd percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.71 seconds (66th percentile)

Size Grade: Good

Speed Grade: Great

Agility Grade: Poor

Explosion Grade: Good

RAS: 8.58 – Great

Traits:

• A solid athlete with good size and length
• Natural pass catcher and sound route-runner
• Versatile tight end

Kendall Blanton, TE, Mizzou – 2019 UDFA

Measurables:

Height: 6’6 (92nd percentile)

Weight: 262-pounds (81st percentile)

Arm Length: 33.75 inches (79th percentile)

Shuttle: 4.42 seconds (41st percentile)

3-cone: 7.37 (19th percentile)

Broad Jump: 113 inches (38th percentile)

Vertical: 31 inches (17th percentile)

40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds (11th percentile)

Size Grade: Elite

Speed Grade: Poor

Agility Grade: Poor

Explosion Grade: Okay

RAS: 5.24 – Okay

Traits:

• Good size and speed
• Shows good body control as a pass catcher
• Versatile H-back tight end

Johnny Mundt, TE, Oregon – 2017 UDFA

Measurables:

Height: 6’4

Weight: 243-pounds

Arm Length: 32.375

Shuttle: 4.24 seconds

3-cone: 7.21

Broad Jump: 113 inches

Vertical: 30 inches

40-yard dash: 4.74 seconds

Size Grade: Poor

Speed Grade: Good

Agility Grade: Good

Explosion Grade: Poor

RAS: 6.68 – Okay

Common Traits Rams Look For in Tight Ends

• The Rams seem to like athletes at the tight end position. Every tight that they’ve draft under Snead outside of Temarrick Hemingway had great to elite RAS scores. Out of those, Brycen Hopkins had the lowest RAS score at 8.19. Additionally, a lot of these players were said to be solid athletes, raw athletes, or players with good athletic traits coming out of college.
• We’re also looking at tight ends with speed. Since McVay took over in 2017, only Kendall Blanton had poor speed. Gerald Everett, Brycen Hopkins, Jacob Harris, and Hunter Long all posted great to elite speed scores.
• From a traits perspective, the Rams seem to like natural receivers or tight ends with wide receiver experience. Hunter Long, Brycen Hopkins, and Gerald Everett were all said to be natural pass catchers or natural in their routes. Higbee was a wide receiver who switched to tight end.
• It may not be the most important trait the Rams look for, but several tight ends that they’ve drafted were said to be versatile. Hunter Long, Brycen Hopkins, Jacob Harris, Kendall Blanton, and Tyler Higbee all check this box.
• As far as draft placement, we’re likely looking at players in the fourth round area, but McVay’s first draft pick was Gerald Everett in round two. The Rams won’t hesitate to take a tight end early.

2023 Players Who Fit The Rams

1. Dalton Kincaid – Utah

Will Dalton Kincaid fall to the second round? That’s the big question and it’s something that the Rams will be monitoring on day one of the draft. Kincaid is arguably the third-best tight end in the class behind Michael Mayer and Darnell Washington. If Kincaid falls out of the first-round, don’t be surprised if the Rams sprint to the table with their draft card. As a former wide receiver in high school, Kincaid possesses good body control and and is a natural hands-catcher. The Utah product also has a good mixture of speed and athleticism. Kincaid checks a lot of boxes and if the Rams are targeting pass-catchers in the draft, he has to be atop the list of targets. Kincaid didn’t test at the NFL Combine due to an injury and therefore doesn’t have a RAS, but neither did Tyler Higbee.

Grade: 1st-2nd Round

2. Luke Musgrave – Oregon State

Musgrave is a former high school wide receiver and led all tight ends with his 10-yard split at the NFL Combine. He has impressive size and speed for the position and lined up both in-line and in the slot at Oregon State. Musgrave also shows good body control as a receiver and ability to make plays after the catch.

Grade: 2nd Round

3. Luke Schoonmaker – Michigan

A more realistic option for the Rams is Luke Schoonmaker out of Michigan. Schoonmaker is a natural athlete with size and speed and possesses good body control as a receiver. He’s also versatile as someone who can be used as H-back or as a Y-tight end. His production was limited at Michigan, but his potential is there due to his elite athletic traits.

Grade: 3rd Round

4. Josh Whyle – Cincinnati

Josh Whyle is someone who actually makes a lot of sense for the Rams. He compares very favorably to Tyler Higbee and could be seen as a Higbee replacement next year. Whyle is a good athlete with exceptional size and speed for the position. He was also a natural pass-catcher and versatile player for the Bearcats. As a mid-round tight end, Whyle is a great fit in McVay’s offense.

Grade: 4th-5th Round

5. Brenton Strange – Penn State

Brenton Strange is another athletic tight end with alignment versatility that the Rams could target. Stranger lined up in-line and in the slot at Penn State He has good size and speed for the position and is good after the catch. Strange posted good speed scores during testing and while he’s only 6’3, he is explosive and shows willingness as a blocker.

Grade: 5th Round

Honorable Mentions

Davis Allen – Clemson

• Hybrid wide receiver/tight end
• Good body control
• Versatile player with good athleticism

Grade: 5th Round

Will Mallory – Miami

• Good athlete with size and speed
• 40-yard dash was fastest for tight ends at the Combine
• Shows alignment versatility

Grade: 5th-6th Round

Leonard Taylor – Cincinnati

• Compares athletically to Tyler Higbee and Byrcen Hopkins
• Willing blocker with alignment versatility
• Good athlete

Grade: 7th Round-UDFA