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Bucs bring in a blocking specialist to help pave the way for the
team's skill position players.
APR 30, 2022
The Buccaneers
have selected their second tight end in this year's draft, by moving up to
select Ko Kieft, a player who spent his collegiate career playing for the
Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota.
Don't make assumptions based on
his position label, because the Bucs' latest draft pick, tight end, Ko Kieft,
isn't here to make plays with the football in his hands. His primary role will
be to pave the way for other players on the roster who can.
Jason Licht
obviously views Kieft's specific skill-set (a blocking tight end) as a priority
for his current roster. This is supported by the fact he made the decision to
trade picks 235 and 261 in order to move up to 218 to select Kieft.
At 6'4"
and 259 pounds, Ko Kieft certainly has the size required to be on an NFL
football field. He has 33" arms, and clearly has the necessary strength,
as indicated by his 21 reps on the bench press. Let's be clear, Kieft is
big enough, and strong enough, but he is not an athletic player. He ran a very
modest 4.59 40-time, while jumping 30" in the vertical testing.
Kieft has been
described as a player who has an excellent motor, and an aggressive demeanor
while demonstrating exceptional strength and power as a blocking specialist. He
knows what he is, and he clearly embraces that role.
Kieft isn't a jack of all trades,
he's a master of one.
He embraces his ability to block, which
obviously paid off for him in terms of his effectiveness as a football player
for Minnesota. He was considered by some evaluators to be one
of, if not the best blocking tight end in the nation last year. He excels
so much as a blocker, that he was often used in various different roles and
alignments within the Golden Gophers' offense, but it was always with
the same purpose—to put him in a position to create alleys for Minnesota ball
carriers to run through.
Kieft had minimal production as a
receiver at the college level, where he only managed to produce 12 catches, and
166 yards receiving over the course of his collegiate career. Again, this isn't
an issue. This is a player who was selected 100% for his blocking ability, not
for what he can't do as a pass-catcher. You could go as far as to consider him
as another, more agile version of an offensive lineman.
Ko Kieft will join Tyler Johnson
and Antoine Winfield Jr. as the third Golden Gopher alumni to join the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers.
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