Oldfaithful
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2018 Scouting Report: Dallas Goedert, Tight End, South Dakota State
This is a series of articles about players I have been personally scouting. Since I have no life I enjoy watching the tapes of several prospects. Would I consider myself an expert or a guru? Nope. I’m not applying for jobs with other teams. Would I say I’ve had more hits than misses? Yes, especially over the past three years.
This Tight End class is proving to be very impressive over the long stretch. While it does not have the top end talent of last year’s, it is certainly not lacking and should be considered a well above average class. Sadly, this class tends to be underrated because of how well the talent in the last class tends to be looked at. However, I do not subscribe to the notion that none of these Tight Ends would have been considered upper tier last year. However, given that we completely ignored Tight End last draft when the class was so deep, I have to disagree, the top two prospects in this draft, Mark Andrews being one of them, not only hold up compared to the last draft’s Tight End prospects, but are arguably equal or greater in my eyes. The second-best player of all of these players is Dallas Godert. Small school player out of South Dakota State.
Positives.
Goedert is not a perfect prospect but his athleticism is very intriguing. Easily among the best in the entire class, which is not a small feat as Andrews, Hurst, Thomas, and Gesicki are all well above average athletes. In all likelihood Ian Thomas is faster. But the overall combination of leaping ability, foot speed, quickness, body control, and strength turns into elite athletic ability for a Tight End. Not in the Vernon Davis/OJ Howard sense, but in the Jimmy Graham sense. Graham is not going to burn you with his speed, but his athleticism is elite nonetheless.
That’s Dallas Goedert in a nutshell. He’ll make an insane catch and still make a play after the catch he has room to work. Goedert does not have elite speed, but I would consider it above average for a Tight End. I’d even put it above Mark Andrews’ speed, and his is also above average. He’s got solid burst for a man his size.
Some would attribute his production to the lower level competition he has played, I disagree. Athleticism is athleticism. Production is production. Likewise, good coverage is good coverage. Dallas Goedert eats good coverage alive in two ways. 1. He’s actually better at finding some soft spots in the zone than I initially gave him credit for. He’s not nearly as adept to it as Mark Andrews, but he can do it better than some other prospects I have scouted thus far. 2. His box out discipline is excellent because, surprise, he’s a former basketball player. Damn good rebounder with impressive leaping ability. I’d argue that Gesicki is better at the leaping part of the jump ball, but Goedert is more fundamentally sound. His boxing out fundamentals are Tim Duncan levels of textbook and his body control is simply better.
To add to this ever love fest. Goedert is a good blocker, or at least he displays the tools to eventually become a good blocker. He’s clearly strong and his technique isn’t terrible. That said, like with any small school prospect it could use some work. But he could turn into an asset for any team that drafts him. You could easily play him from either the slot(which he does operate out of), or inline.
Overall, Goedert is athleticially gifted. If his combine numbers are excellent he will be the first tight end taken even though I believe that Andrews is a superior prospect.
Negatives
Once again. Not much. That said, I do have a few minor concerns about him. His hands are good, but he did put a few balls on the ground, moreso than Andrews or Gesicki. That concerns me slightly, as he can make the spectacular catch but not the routine grab. Which is concerning. Likewise, I do have some minor concerns about the occasional lack of separation. I do not think that this is due to a total lack of athletic ability, but his game needs some tweaking. This is a common problem from a small school prospect. This leads me to my final concern. The small school thing is one of the most overrated concerns out there, but I do wonder how quickly he will adjust to the game. Not only is he a small school prospect, he’s a Tight End. They notoriously develop slowly and I wonder if he is going to develop at a slower rate than others.
Player Comparison: Jeremy Shockey. No, I am not going to compare him to Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez. That would be way too easy. I do think he’s athletically similar, with those two ultimately being superior. But he plays the game like Shockey did. Not fast, but quicker. An absolute monster in jump ball situations. Nice strong hands. Minus the personality that Shockey had.
Overall Grade: Late first- Mid second round prospect. Even with the small school mantra, I would seriously be surprised if he was drafted after the second round. His athletic talent and skills are too good. He needs some refinement and coaching, but that is a usual occurrence. I have worries that it will take him awhile to adjust to the game, but overall, what I see from him is very promising.
This is a series of articles about players I have been personally scouting. Since I have no life I enjoy watching the tapes of several prospects. Would I consider myself an expert or a guru? Nope. I’m not applying for jobs with other teams. Would I say I’ve had more hits than misses? Yes, especially over the past three years.
This Tight End class is proving to be very impressive over the long stretch. While it does not have the top end talent of last year’s, it is certainly not lacking and should be considered a well above average class. Sadly, this class tends to be underrated because of how well the talent in the last class tends to be looked at. However, I do not subscribe to the notion that none of these Tight Ends would have been considered upper tier last year. However, given that we completely ignored Tight End last draft when the class was so deep, I have to disagree, the top two prospects in this draft, Mark Andrews being one of them, not only hold up compared to the last draft’s Tight End prospects, but are arguably equal or greater in my eyes. The second-best player of all of these players is Dallas Godert. Small school player out of South Dakota State.
Positives.
Goedert is not a perfect prospect but his athleticism is very intriguing. Easily among the best in the entire class, which is not a small feat as Andrews, Hurst, Thomas, and Gesicki are all well above average athletes. In all likelihood Ian Thomas is faster. But the overall combination of leaping ability, foot speed, quickness, body control, and strength turns into elite athletic ability for a Tight End. Not in the Vernon Davis/OJ Howard sense, but in the Jimmy Graham sense. Graham is not going to burn you with his speed, but his athleticism is elite nonetheless.
That’s Dallas Goedert in a nutshell. He’ll make an insane catch and still make a play after the catch he has room to work. Goedert does not have elite speed, but I would consider it above average for a Tight End. I’d even put it above Mark Andrews’ speed, and his is also above average. He’s got solid burst for a man his size.
Some would attribute his production to the lower level competition he has played, I disagree. Athleticism is athleticism. Production is production. Likewise, good coverage is good coverage. Dallas Goedert eats good coverage alive in two ways. 1. He’s actually better at finding some soft spots in the zone than I initially gave him credit for. He’s not nearly as adept to it as Mark Andrews, but he can do it better than some other prospects I have scouted thus far. 2. His box out discipline is excellent because, surprise, he’s a former basketball player. Damn good rebounder with impressive leaping ability. I’d argue that Gesicki is better at the leaping part of the jump ball, but Goedert is more fundamentally sound. His boxing out fundamentals are Tim Duncan levels of textbook and his body control is simply better.
To add to this ever love fest. Goedert is a good blocker, or at least he displays the tools to eventually become a good blocker. He’s clearly strong and his technique isn’t terrible. That said, like with any small school prospect it could use some work. But he could turn into an asset for any team that drafts him. You could easily play him from either the slot(which he does operate out of), or inline.
Overall, Goedert is athleticially gifted. If his combine numbers are excellent he will be the first tight end taken even though I believe that Andrews is a superior prospect.
Negatives
Once again. Not much. That said, I do have a few minor concerns about him. His hands are good, but he did put a few balls on the ground, moreso than Andrews or Gesicki. That concerns me slightly, as he can make the spectacular catch but not the routine grab. Which is concerning. Likewise, I do have some minor concerns about the occasional lack of separation. I do not think that this is due to a total lack of athletic ability, but his game needs some tweaking. This is a common problem from a small school prospect. This leads me to my final concern. The small school thing is one of the most overrated concerns out there, but I do wonder how quickly he will adjust to the game. Not only is he a small school prospect, he’s a Tight End. They notoriously develop slowly and I wonder if he is going to develop at a slower rate than others.
Player Comparison: Jeremy Shockey. No, I am not going to compare him to Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez. That would be way too easy. I do think he’s athletically similar, with those two ultimately being superior. But he plays the game like Shockey did. Not fast, but quicker. An absolute monster in jump ball situations. Nice strong hands. Minus the personality that Shockey had.
Overall Grade: Late first- Mid second round prospect. Even with the small school mantra, I would seriously be surprised if he was drafted after the second round. His athletic talent and skills are too good. He needs some refinement and coaching, but that is a usual occurrence. I have worries that it will take him awhile to adjust to the game, but overall, what I see from him is very promising.
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