Trait Ranking Series - Tight Ends

The trait rankings series presses on with the tight end group, which consists of two top 10 overall prospects, and the only group that boasts multiple early P5 signees. The group is diverse in its skill sets, but the one thing they all have in common as Kansas prospects is meanness and physicality in every aspect of the game. <table style="width: 50.32%; height: 186px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 44px;"> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Athleticism</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Pass Catching</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Blocking</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 44px;"> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Acceleration</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Routes</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Positioning</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 44px;"> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Burst</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Seem threat</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Balance</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 44px;"> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Agility</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Radius</td> <td style="height: 44px;" width="208">Strength</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 10px;"> <td style="height: 10px;" width="208">YAC</td> <td style="height: 10px;" width="208">Hands</td> <td style="height: 10px;" width="208">Technique</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>   [player_tooltip player_id="122458" first="Jaden" last="Hamm"] – Eudora High School, 6’6 225 One of two early P5 signees (Arkansas) at the position, Hamm’s athleticism allows him to play on both sides of the balls, and while his athleticism absolutely jumps out when you watch the tight end film, it was fascinating to watch him at the edge position and see traits that potentially translate to the tight end position. Hamm possesses terrific natural bend, which paired with his explosion should allow for sudden hip sink and separation when running routes in a more expansive route tree. Hamm also shows tremendous agility in being able to gather and rip down ball carriers away from his frame, which shows up when he’s asked to adjust to the football in the air. Prospects at Hamm’s size that are explosive and move with the ease he does are not easy to find, and he has every chance to excel on either side of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="87669" first="Will" last="Anciaux"] – Kapaun Mount Caramel High School, 6’6 220 Anciaux has already been snapped up by Kansas State as a junior, and when you flip the film on it’s easy to see why. Anciaux has an easy on the eye, smooth stride, as well as smooth acceleration, which allows him to quickly threaten the seem and force defenders to react. In addition, he shows very good agility and body control when adjusting to passes thrown away from his body. He has shown flashes of ability to create after the catch, and he’s not incapable of separating when he can gather a head of steam. With a size/athleticism combination that coaches covet, Anciaux should once again be a handful to cover as a senior and has a chance to make an impact early on at K-State. [player_tooltip player_id="244974" first="Noah" last="Bruce"] – Andale High School, 6’3 220 Despite only catching 9 passes as a junior, Bruce has quite a bit of potential to be a matchup nightmare at the position thanks to his athleticism. The state champion tight end has some impressive ease of movement for his size and shows the lateral twitch and short area burst to line up out wide and create separation. With more opportunities in the passing game as a senior, Bruce should have a chance to easily surpass his 2021 numbers and draw the attention of college recruiters.   Best Pass Catchers [player_tooltip player_id="87669" first="Will" last="Anciaux"] – Kapaun Mount Caramel High School, 6’6 220 Anciaux is just about the total package in terms of a tight end prospect that gets open down after down and can slowly bleed a pass defense out over the course of a game, with highly dependable hands and a natural feel for getting open. His size and agility allow him to stack and angle out defenders with ease. His size coupled with a long, smooth stride, make him a nightmare in the seem due to the efficiency with which he eats up ground. Anciaux is a clever, subtle route runner with a good feel for setting up defenders, knowing that all he needs is a slither of angle to shield his defender off the football. [player_tooltip player_id="87665" first="Tyler" last="Little"] – Galena High School, 6’5 235 As far as shielding off defenders goes, Little is the best in this tight end class. He does it with more brute force than finesse, overwhelming defenders with a frame that is on the rare side for a high school prospect going into his senior season. While he’s a little tight hipped coming out of his breaks, Little has very nimble feet, and he’s clever with his speed variance going into his stem, which allows him to lull his defender and quickly eat up ground taking advantage of his stride, which he follows with absolutely wiping his defender out of the rep when he gets in position to make a catch. He also does a great job tracking the football and has the hands and sneaky hops to make difficult catches in traffic. [player_tooltip player_id="35645" first="Cole" last="Watson"] – Lawrence High School, 6’5 230 Watson is the type of tight end quarterbacks clamor to play with. His hands are the first trait to really pop out on film, and he might just be the best pure catcher of the football in his class regardless of position. Watson can make the ridiculous look routine as far as catching the football goes, but beyond that, he has the hand speed and hand eye coordination of a boxer. The football simply looks like it has been erased out of thin air when Watson gets his mitts on it, and he routinely finds extra yards due to effortlessly maintaining his stride. Watson is also a patient and detailed route runner, adept at using subtle body movements for deception. Watson is a walking quarterback bail-out and should continue to turn his with spectacular catches this fall.   Best Blocker [player_tooltip player_id="87665" first="Tyler" last="Little"] – Galena High School, 6’5 235 The epitome of the term country strong, [player_tooltip player_id="87665" first="Tyler" last="Little"] is simply an overwhelming force as a blocker. It begins (and ends in the case of the defender that takes him on) with terrifyingly heavy and violent hands. Once he lands a jarring initial punch is when the fun starts, as he can rag-doll his assignment and completely remove him from the rep. Little’s blocking prowess isn’t all brute force, as he has some sneaky bend to him, and drops his pads efficiently for a taller kid. What should endear him to coaches at the next level the most however, is his veracious appetite to physically impose himself on defenders, and the fact that he generally plays the game looking like he’s in a foul mood. There are instances in Little’s film that show the power and aggression of an offensive lineman. Without throwing out any wild predictions, it is worth pointing out that 2 or 3 star tight end recruits have gone on to become NFL offensive linemen in the past, with the most prominent example being former Chief Eric Fisher. [player_tooltip player_id="166968" first="Bryce" last="Salmans"] – Hays High School, 6’3 225 The immediate standout when flipping the film on is Salmans’ ability to block on the move. He shows excellent control and balance in squaring up to a moving target, and attacks with tremendous leverage and explosion, allowing him to clear out his defender on outside and inside zone plays. Salmans is an excellent finisher and very difficult to shed once he gets under his assignment’s pads. He has the hip flexibility to mirror on engagement, and simply does not stop his feet. In addition, he shows enough hip pop to contribute as a down blocker when lined up on the LOS. Salmans is the quintessential tight end/h-back hybrid that can line up anywhere in the formation and has the tenacity, power and movement skills to thrive in a variety of running schemes. [player_tooltip player_id="87692" first="Kaleb" last="Wagenblast"] – Thunder Ridge High School, 6’1 220 If I had to make a list of players I would not want to be blocked by, Wagenblast might just head up the list. 8M players are so often overlooked, but those overlooking them do so at their own peril, as many of them are very well rounded because they have to play multiple positions on a consistent basis. What stands out the most in this aspect is Wagenblast’s innate feel for angles when he blocks, which stems from a high volume of reps at linebacker. He also has some serious juice to his game when engaging defenders on the move, taking his assignment clean off his feet on multiple occasions. While he doesn’t have great reach, his hand fits are accurate and he stays very active through initial contact, with the balance and upper body strength to allow him quickly recover body position.