Dallas Cowboys Draft: 10 Tight End Prospects and Their Fit
Jace Sternberger, Texas A&M
What’s Good: Route-running, Catching, Yards After Catch, Running Strength
What Ain’t Good: Blocking, Explosive, Contested Catches
Before I begin, some of the things I’ve mentioned as bad traits aren’t actually bad parts of Sternberger’s game. I bring them up because I have some questions regarding how they translate to the NFL. In reality his blocking and explosiveness are the only noticeable “bad traits” about his game. So…
Sternberger impressed me on film. His combine numbers aren’t great but that doesn’t matter when watching his film. As a receiving threat, he gets open no matter the coverage. When Kellen Mond doesn’t make an errant throw in his direction, he’s extremely sure handed. After the catch, not only is it really hard to bring him down, but also he possesses good open field vision to gain easy yards. (He had a field day steamrolling the South Carolina defense)
All this resulted in 48 catches for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns according to Sports Reference. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t get consistent playing time at Kansas…
There are some notable issues with Sternberger. He isn’t a polished blocker. Even though he is 6’4″ and 251 pounds, he has a relatively lean frame. Throw in his technique, blocking stance, and relatively small 32 1/8″ arms, and it doesn’t necessarily scream effective blocking material. The biggest issue for him as a blocker is when he lined up inline.
As an H-Back, he could generate momentum either by pulling or by simply running up to a linebacker and this helped him set blockers than when lined up at the line. He may need to gain some weight and/or work with an offensive line coach that can fix his technique. The issue would be, if he were to gain weight how does that affect his athleticism?
As a route runner, he’s really effective at getting separation on in-breaking routes, which would explain why his most common routes were Digs and Posts. As the season progressed, I saw fewer out-breaking routes. I bring this up because he didn’t always get the separation he’s used to on in-breaking routes.
More importantly, this is where the lack of burst will hurt Sternberger the most. The safeties and linebackers are far more athletic at the NFL level hence being able to separate will be more difficult. By lacking some explosiveness, it makes him easier to cover regardless if he’s a capable route runner. This is where it might take some time for Sternberger to develop before he can really hit his stride in the big league.
In all, Sternberger would be a fantastic addition to the Cowboys as a receiving threat knowing how much Dak likes his tight ends. As one would expect, it might take him some time before he gets significant playing time, but this is totally reliant upon how quickly he overcomes his athletic deficiencies with his hard work and intellect.