New York Jets Draft Profile: TE Zach Ertz

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stanford tight end Zach Ertz speaks to the media during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

This morning, we are going to continue our prep for the draft. As you know, we take a look at players that have been associated with the Jets’ and analyze whether or not they would be a good fit for the team. Today will be no different.

One position that the Jets have not rebuilt at all during the offseason is tight end. Dustin Keller is gone, taking his game to South Beach. The Jets have not replaced him yet, moving forward with a roster that includes Jeff Cumberland and Konrad Reuland. It’s become assumed that the Jets are going to take a look at this position in the draft, and Mel Kiper has the Jets addressing the position in the second round of the draft.

His choice is who we are going to look at this morning, Zach Ertz, TE from Stanford University.

MEASURABLES

He comes in at 6’5″, 249 pounds, and ran the forty yard dash in 4.76 seconds and the NFL Combine.  He led in the 3 cone drill with a time of 7.08 seconds.

Take a look at the full profile from nflmocks.com.

Here are his college stats:

Here are some video highlights on Zach:

PROS: Coming from Stanford, you know he is prepared to be a pro. The first thing I see on the video is his hands. He catches the ball with them, rather than letting it get into his body, the way an accomplished wide receiver would do so. I have read that he has issues with drops, but his hands seem soft on the tape. He may not have elite straight line speed, but he has speed with the ball in his hands. He has the speed to accumulate YAC, which is important in the WC offense. Zach is also a precise route runner.

CONS: Zach didn’t have a lot of experience against press coverage. He did OK in the clip or two that I saw press coverage, but it doesn’t happen often. It will be a test for him to face press coverage at the NFL level. The only other major knock on Ertz is that he is not a terrific blocker. It may give fans shades of Dustin Keller with his blocking ability, although Keller did improve.

This guy would definitely be an asset in the receiving game. I just wonder if, due to his difficulties in blocking, is he complete enough? Ertz will learn, and his blocking will get better. However, I am not 100% sold on him as a second round choice. If he is around later on, maybe, but I just think that the second round might be a bit too soon.