D. Tomlinson Draft Preview: Rare skills make Davis a catch

[PWT36]

Dylan Tomlinson Draft preview: Rare skills make Davis a catch
Tight end Vernon Davis, a first-team all-American last year at Maryland, is coveted because of his speed and big-play ability.




The Davis file
Name: Vernon Davis

College: Maryland

Position: Tight end

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 254 pounds

Nickname: Duke

Players most often compared to: Former Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe and San Diego’s Antonio Gates.




By Dylan B. Tomlinson
PackersNews.com

Kellen Winslow Jr. couldn’t do it. Neither could Kyle Brady, Rickey Dudley, Tony Gonzalez or Bubba Franks.

While the aforementioned players were taken in the first half of Round 1 of the NFL draft, no tight end has cracked the top five since the Denver Broncos selected Riley Odoms with the fifth pick in 1972.

Maryland’s Vernon Davis might end that 34-year streak.

At the NFL scouting combine in February, Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, the fastest ever for a tight end. The time would have been outstanding for any receiver, but for a 6-foot-3¼, 256-pound tight end, the numbers were astonishing.

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who has coached Shockey the last two seasons, said having an elite tight end can be a tremendous boost for an offense.

“If you’ve got speed at that position, you can do all these other things as well,â€

 

[pyledriver80]

Well I do like Vernon Davis, if the Packers would take him I would be upset about it.

We have bigger needs than TE. I think we will go with Hawk at 5. Everything I have seen says he will be there, and I can't see us passing him up.

 

[all about da packers]

Boy is Davis tempting or what? The thing is, Davis is a FREAK you RARELY get in the draft. I mean he is disgusting with his speed, catching, and most importantly his strength. He can literally carry defenderd to get another 5 yards. He IS that amazing.

That being said, I think Hawk/Williams are the first 2 choices for the Packers. IF they are both gone, I think the Packers look at either Huff or Davis, both of whom are solid. Honestly having such a fast TE would do wonders for this O, and really limit the impact of not having Walker.

 

[HatestheEagles084]

Well I do like Vernon Davis, if the Packers would take him I would be upset about it.

We have bigger needs than TE. I think we will go with Hawk at 5. Everything I have seen says he will be there, and I can't see us passing him up.

It's a tough call at this point, in my time I've seen Kyle Brady, Rickey Dudley, Kellen Winslow all flop as top-ten TE's picked...I've also seen Antonio Gates star after being signed from absolute nowhere. I also see Bubba Franks and Donald Lee on our depth chart--Franks is still a red zone threat, Lee is a little more downfield--I'll be interested to see how a more west-coast oriented coach uses Franks and Lee instead of Sherman, who always refused to incorporate tight ends unless on the goal line.

I'm confident that AJ Hawk is there for us at 5. If we sign Arrington, that could be subject to change, but I still think he's the best pick for us, unless Mario manages to fall

 

[Chamuko]

We wont pick in #5 TT will trade down to get more picks, lets forget about drafting an impact player that will ask for a lot of $$$ lets check what will be available after pick 10-15th that is where we will pick..

 

[pyledriver80]

Yeah Kellen Winslow was an "Impact Player" as well. Unfortunately the only impact he has made is when his body impacted the pavement after crashing a bike.


Noone knows who an "Impact Player" is until he becomes one.

 

[porky88]

I wouldn't mind Davis... I rather have him than AJ Hawk..