Midseason NFL Draft outlook: Tight ends

The college football season continues to churn on, so there’s no better time to take an early look at the top five players position-by-position eligible for the NFL Draft and two other players to watch.

Today, we move on to tight end.

NFL Draft outlook: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receiver

Recruiting: A few weeks following National Signing Day 2012, Butt committed to Michigan over several Big Ten and MAC schools and others, including Stanford, Tennessee and UCLA. He was a lifelong Ohio State fan but was not offered by the Buckeyes.

Stats: Butt is second on the Wolverines with 23 catches for 270 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 11.7 yards per reception.

Farrell’s take: The former four-star tight end is probably the most well-rounded on this list as he can block, catch and work inline and outside effectively. The NFL likes tight ends that can do it all, but they are enamored with athletic freaks, which is why Howard and Leggett could slide ahead of him. But I’m beginning to think Butt looks like a guy who will have a 10-12 year NFL career and be that reliable Jason Witten-type. That reliability is what we liked about him out of high school as well.

Recruiting: The top-ranked tight end in the 2013 class and a five-star prospect, Howard committed to Alabama heading into his junior season over Auburn, Florida State and others.

Stats: Howard is third on the team with 13 receptions for 186 yards and one score this season. He’s averaging 14.3 yards per catch.

Farrell’s take: The former five-star tight end is the most athletic player I have ever scouted at the position. Simply put, Howard was a freak of nature and the fact that he hasn’t been utilized properly at Alabama is tough to figure. After his national title game performance where he exploded for 208 yards and two touchdowns on just five catches, you would expect that to change this year, but yet it hasn’t. One underrated part about Howard’s game? His hands, he rarely drops anything.

Recruiting: The three-star prospect committed to Clemson in early March of his junior year over offers from Louisville, South Florida and Central Florida. He was the No. 13 tight end in the 2013 class.

Stats: Leggett only has 10 receptions this season for 176 yards but he has scored three times and is averaging 17.6 yards per catch.

Farrell’s Take: Leggett was a tall, skinny kid coming out of high school who fell short of four-star status by a few spots and has since proven us wrong. He was under-recruited and is another great example of the Clemson staff seeing something many others missed. He has more NFL upside than Howard and Butt because Leggett is longer and bigger and a deeper threat, but he has struggled a bit this year when I expected a breakout season.

Recruiting: Ranked as a four-star quarterback in the 2013 class, Hodges picked Virginia Tech over offers from Ohio State, West Virginia, Illinois, Maryland and others.

Stats: In five games, Hodges has recorded 13 catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns averaging 13.7 yards per reception.

Farrell’s take: Hodges, a four-star quarterback when I scouted him in high school, has blossomed into a huge tight end who is hard to handle because he’s so big and sneaky fast downfield. He can stretch the field and also do damage over the middle. I thought he was the perfect fit as a mobile quarterback for the Hokies, but he’s been a better fit as a tight end.

Recruiting: Engram committed to Ole Miss over Wake Forest, Marshall and a bunch of low-level FBS offers. UCLA was also showing interest before Engram picked the Rebels in the summer before his senior season.

Stats: Engram leads the Rebels in all three major receiving categories with 30 catches for 479 yards and four touchdowns in five games. He’s averaging 16 yards per reception.

Farrell’s take: Engram is higher on many lists, but his lack of size hurts him on the NFL scale. He’s just not a big target. He can run, he can do more with the ball closer to the line of scrimmage than most on this list, but that size hurts the former three-star. He’s been much more productive so far than those ahead of him. Will it be enough for scouts?

Recruiting: The City College of San Francisco recruit picked Louisville over offers from Idaho, Nevada, Purdue, UTSA and UAB.

Stats: Hikutini is second on the Cardinals with 19 receptions and three touchdowns and third with 261 receiving yards in five games. He’s averaging 13.7 yards per catch.

Farrell’s take: Hikutini flipped from Purdue to Louisville at the last second and I love his game. Bottom line, we missed on this kid out of JUCO. He burned a year at Sacramento State and only had two years to play in college, so many schools didn’t bother, but Louisville saw an athletic kid who could do work after the catch and would fit into their offense. He’s physical, he can get downfield and he provides a big target.

Recruiting: Sprinkle, a two-way standout in high school, picked the Razorbacks over Mississippi State, Kansas, Purdue and Louisville among others.

Stats: In six games, Sprinkle has 18 catches for 194 yards and four touchdowns, tied for second best on the Razorbacks.

Farrell’s take: Sprinkle could play offense or defense coming out of high school and was tall, skinny and athletic. He was mildly recruited and one of the better players in his home state, but he had a long way to go physically which is why he was a low three-star recruit. He’s obviously filled out very well, is a massive target and has underrated hands.