Dallas Cowboys Draft: 10 Tight End Prospects and Their Fit
Andrew Beck, Texas
What’s Good: Blocking, Speed, Intelligence
What Ain’t Good: Route Tree, Injury History, Production
Here’s a player I enjoyed watching on Saturdays. Texas football took a turn in the right direction this season, even after their first loss to Maryland, and big reason why was because of the senior class. Beck, a 5th year senior, was an instrumental piece for the offense especially in the run game.
Beck was not invited to the combine but his pro day has caused teams to pay extra attention to him at the end of the draft season. Here were his test numbers from Aaron Wilson:
Teams should be interested by a tight end who shows athletic upside who happened to be a very effective blocker for the Longhorns. While Beck isn’t as big as some others, he showed fantastic blocking ability for the Longhorns.
He generally lined up as an H-back while splitting some snaps at fullback. (The fullback in shotgun formation looks really out of place) He set the blocks on the edge that allowed for Sam Ehlinger to either run to the outside or buy him more time to throw from the pocket.
As a blocker, he was worthy of late round draft pick. Now considering his athleticism, intelligence, and character his draft stock should rise. However, he does have some things that need to be fixed at the next level for him to find success.
At Texas he wasn’t asked to run different routes. In fact, I don’t think any of the receivers were asked to do many things. His film composed of verticals, slants, and some outs. As a pass catcher he was generally sure handed but he wasn’t thrown the ball much.
There isn’t any film on him making tight window catches or jump ball catches compared to some other tight ends in this class. Throw in the fact he’s only played tight end for roughly four years and it really lowers his floor. He might have a higher than expected ceiling but it will certainly be harder to reach.
Beck would be an interesting addition to a team because he is more of a project than a Warring, Sternberger, or Oliver but as athletic upside and a good run blocking foundation that teams look for in prospects like Beck. In addition, he didn’t play too far from the Cowboys so it’s possible the Cowboys may show him more interest than other teams?