Detroit Lions: A tight end for every round
By Ash Thompson
Andrew Vollert is not a name that you have likely heard unless you’re a Weber State alum. I hadn’t heard of him until I read that he had run a 4.54 40 yard dash at the Weber state pro day. His 4.09 short shuttle would have been the fastest time put up at the NFL combine by a tight end. Even if you assume that the times coming out of a small school pro day are a little embellished, those are impressive numbers. Even if you add 0.1 seconds to each he would have been third in the 40, and second in the short shuttle. Unless the 30 NFL scouts that were there are leaking extremely incorrect information Vollert is a heck of an athlete.
Vollert looks like a big wide receiver. He is more of an effort and positioning blocker than powerful, but he is willing. His quick feet and long arms allow him to get by that way. He gets position and keeps it, and he understands how to be a productive member of a double team at the point of attack.
He catches the ball well, and unlike many tight ends, he was asked to do more than just run up the middle and catch balls behind the much less athletic linebackers he was up against. That was his primary usage, but he is very adept at chipping, and feinting a block before releasing. He gave his quarterback a lot of easy completions releasing after his defender had written him off.
A tight end for every round of the draft
- Hayden Hurst, South Carolina
- Dallas Goedert,
- Ian Thomas, Indiana
- Chris Herndon, Miami
- Jordan Akins, Central Florida
- Ty Conklin, Western Michigan
- Andrew Vollert, Weber State
Next: Lions draft prospect Isaiah Wynn
Those are my picks at the tight end position for each round of the 2018 NFL draft.