Weak best describes tight end crop
There is no Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham in this year's NFL draft that starts April 26.
There is no Tony Gonzalez, no Antonio Gates and no Vernon Davis.
This year's group of tight ends is weak ... really weak.
But there is Lemont's Coby Fleener, a Joliet Catholic High School and Stanford graduate who has a chance to sneak into the first round after a senior season in which he averaged 19.6 yards on 34 catches and scored 10 touchdowns.
He is the best pass-catching tight end on the market this year.
Including Fleener, Stanford could have four first-round picks — quarterback Andrew Luck, guard David DeCastro and offensive tackle Jonathan Martin. Under coach Jim Harbaugh, the program made huge strides, which continued even after Harbaugh left a year ago to become the San Francisco 49ers head coach.
“One of the things I'm proudest of in going to Stanford is taking a team that was 1-11 (in 2006) and helping to turn that around to two straight BCS games,” Fleener said. “I think for years to come they're going to be a pretty good team.”
Georgia's Orson Charles and Clemson's Dwayne Allen are both solid all-around tight ends and will probably be second-round picks. After that, there might not be another tight end taken until Saturday, the third day of the draft, when Rounds 4-7 will be conducted. According to Pro Football Weekly's Nolan Nawrocki, there might only be 10 tight ends drafted this year.
But Fleener is being compared to former Bears tight end Greg Olsen, who was drafted 29th overall in 2007. He's the kind of tight end the Bears could use since they traded Olsen to the Panthers after the 2010 season.
At 6-feet-6, 247 pounds, Fleener is a big target with the wingspan and leaping ability to create a wide catching radius. The NFL has trended toward tight ends who can be impact players in the passing game. Teams looking for a tight end who is a wipeout blocker or a slightly smaller offensive lineman won't find that in Fleener.
He's more lean than stout and could use a little more of the bulk that made his namesake, Joe Jacoby, a Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Redskins.
When Fleener's mom, Michelle, was pregnant with him, she was watching an NFL game with her husband, Bill. She noticed “Jacoby” on the back of one of the “Hogs” jerseys and thought “Jacoby Fleener” had a nice ring to it.
Her husband was leaning toward a different name, something like “Bill.”
After a long and difficult delivery, Michelle requested the name she preferred and got her way.
“So here I am,” said Fleener, who had a phone conversation with Jacoby a few months ago that was arranged by the professor in his sports journalism class, Joe Pomeranz, who knew Jacoby from when he was a beat writer covering the Redskins.
“We had a good conversation,” Fleener said.
“He's a great guy. I'm glad to kind of consider him a friend now.”
Maybe some day Fleener will be considered in the same category as the NFL's current elite pass-catching tight ends.
“It's exciting to be even considered part of that position,” he said. “The Jimmy Grahams and the Gronkowskis of the world have really done our class of tight ends a favor this year. “I hope to one day go play just like that.”
rlegere@dailyherald.com