Jump to content

UDFA Signings


Recommended Posts

1 minute ago, IntoTheGreen said:

Preferred Manet, but having report with Wilson will be a major plus for a backup OC.

Did Menet get drafted? I'm surprised if not. I was WAAAYYYY off on the late round centers. Not surprisingly. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kenny Yeboah, TE, Ole Miss – NFL Draft Player Profile

The middle rounds can be a popular place to find gems at tight end. Can Ole Miss tight end Kenny Yeboah fill that role at the 2021 NFL Draft?

 

Published

April 13, 2021
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
Kenny Yeboah, TE, Ole Miss - NFL Draft Player Profile
What's in this article?  Click to show 

Few top tight ends are deemed worthy of an early pick by scouts. Most teams tend to favor more value when it comes to the tight end position in the draft. That often means waiting until the middle rounds to select a player with good developmental potential. In the 2021 NFL Draft, Ole Miss tight end Kenny Yeboah projects well in that mold.

Not too late to get the PFN 2021 NFL Draft Guide!
Want to find out what PFN Chief Draft Analyst Tony Pauline had to say about prospects who were drafted by your favorite team? It’s not too late to download the PFN 2021 NFL Draft Guide. Click here to download for free!
 
 
 
 
 
132.2K
 
Breaking Down the Board with @SteveV_PFN | Recapping the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft
 
 
 

Kenny Yeboah NFL Draft Profile

  • Position: Tight End
  • School: Ole Miss
  • Current Year: Redshirt Senior
  • Height: 6’3 7/8″
  • Weight: 250 pounds
  • Wingspan: 80 3/4″
  • Arm: 33 1/4″
  • Hand: 9 3/8″

Tony Pauline’s Kenny Yeboah Scouting Report

Positives: Explosive pass-catching tight end coming off a career year. Quickly releases off the line into pass routes, moves well about the field, and shows a lot of athleticism. Extends his hands on crossing patterns to offer the quarterback a target and makes the reception away from his frame.

Contorts or adjusts to the errant throw, looks the ball into his hands, and works to come away with the difficult reception. Gives effort blocking and effectively blocks at the second level. Displays good vision as both a pass catcher and a blocker.

Featured | NFL Draft Prospects 2021: Pauline’s updated big board, player rankings

Negatives: Lacks an elite burst and plays more to one speed. Must improve his blocking strength and struggles finishing off opponents.

Analysis: Yeboah made the right move transferring from Temple to Mississippi and watched his game take off last season. He’s a terrific pass catcher who shows flashes of ability as a blocker and has the tools necessary to develop into a productive tight end at the next level.

Kenny Yeboah Player Profile

Many NFL Draft prospects have clear, attainable professional aspirations from the start. Kenny Yeboah, however, was different. It took a long time for Yeboah to get noticed, and when he did, he was a very different player.

Yeboah started out as a mere two-star recruit from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He played football at Parkland Senior High School. There, he was a 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver.

Unranked in the class of 2016, most of Yeboah’s offers came from non-FBS schools. New Hampshire expressed interest in his skill set, as did Towson, Robert Morris, and Old Dominion. But Yeboah managed to get one offer from a Division 1-A school. The Temple Owls, an in-state candidate, gave him an offer after watching him at one of their camps. Yeboah accepted and took off to Philadelphia for his college football career.

 

Kenny Yeboah’s journey to becoming an Ole Miss tight end

The early years of Yeboah’s Temple career weren’t very eventful. He redshirted his first season after only playing in one game, then caught just 27 passes for 290 yards and a score over the next two seasons. Nevertheless, his first three years did carry weight in a way. It was in 2016 that Temple’s head coach at the time, Matt Rhule, expressed confidence in Yeboah’s potential as a tight end.

From that moment onward, Yeboah started to build his frame and began developing his blocking skills. In 2019, his hard work yielded results. Yeboah became a solid red zone weapon for the Owls, earning 233 yards and five touchdowns on 19 catches. It wasn’t much in a vacuum. But it was enough to get Yeboah noticed. That was all he needed.

Yeboah’s chance at football’s highest stage

After his redshirt junior season, Yeboah decided that transferring from Temple would be his best option. As a grad transfer, his talent was heavily coveted, but he quickly made the decision to join the Baylor Bears, where his beloved former coach now took up occupancy. However, not long after Yeboah committed to Baylor, Rhule was hired by the Carolina Panthers to be their head coach. Yeboah re-opened his recruitment and diverted course to the SEC to team up with Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels.

Yeboah thrived in Kiffin’s offense. In just one season, the 22-year-old Ole Miss tight end adequately displayed his upside. Yeboah had a career season, amassing 27 catches, 524 yards, and six touchdowns in just seven games. He averaged over 70 yards per game and also averaged almost 20 yards per catch. Yeboah’s production earned him an invitation to the Senior Bowl in mid-November. Just a little over a month later, Yeboah declared for the 2021 NFL Draft, along with Ole Miss wideout Elijah Moore.

Analyzing Kenny Yeboah’s 2021 NFL Draft profile

There are a couple of traits that make Kenny Yeboah a very enticing option in the late-Day 2, early-Day 3 range. Nothing serves this purpose more than his utility as both a pass catcher and a blocker. He has a lot of experience as a blocker under his belt. Yeboah missed a few blocks here and there. However, he has enough short-area burst, length, and serviceable play strength to help clear lanes.

Of course, where Yeboah is going to make his money is in the passing game. The Ole Miss tight end took a big leap in Lane Kiffin’s offense, and it was visible not just on the stat sheet but also on the field. He’s still fairly raw when it comes to route running. However, Yeboah is clearly a smooth athlete who will bring solid contested-catch skills and good run-after-catch ability. He’s not going to make many players miss, but he has decent lateral agility on individual cuts. Yeboah is also physical after the catch, and as long as he retains his balance, he’ll fight for extra yards.

Featured | Rolfe’s First-Round 2021 NFL Mock Draft

Taking a closer look at Yeboah’s contested catch-ability, the Ole Miss tight end wins with body control, above all other traits. He’s not a burner, so he’s not going to get much separation. Thus, he needs to be able to use his length and contortion ability to his advantage. Luckily for Yeboah, it appears that he’s already well on his way in that department.

What are the concerns with Kenny Yeboah?

Yeboah is a good athlete when it pertains to fluidity and burst. However, he’s not overly fast or sudden. He shows some flashes of modest suddenness, but he doesn’t have the twitch that other tight ends have. His long speed also disappoints. Yeboah has the initial burst and catching ability to get into open space, but he’s not going to win a lot of footraces over long distances.

Yeboah’s speed also hurts him as a check-down option. As a long-strider, Yeboah needs a decent amount of space to accelerate. He doesn’t have the space to accelerate, and he doesn’t separate well from looming linebackers or defensive backs. On top of his speed deficiency, he can also fall victim to easy drops. While not prevalent, he’ll need to cut those drops out of his game if he wants to retain a regular role in the NFL.

Senior Bowl Performance

Tony Pauline was a fan of Kenny Yeboah at the Senior Bowl. According to PFN’s Chief NFL Draft analyst, Yeboah showed off all the necessary athletic traits to thrive in the NFL, and he also held his own in blocking drills. Here’s the full excerpt from Pauline, found in PFN’s National Team Practice Report.

“Yeboah was everything I expected from a pass-catching point of view — natural, fluid, and reliable, with the ability to get downfield. His blocking was better than advertised as he went from not embarrassing himself early in the week to looking real good by Thursday. I believe he cemented himself as a Top 75 selection.”

Kenny Yeboah’s best fits in the 2021 NFL Draft

Yeboah certainly helps fill out the depth of the tight end class, but in an NFL where mismatches are becoming more important at the tight end position, there are some mitigating factors regarding his stock. Yeboah’s long speed isn’t far above average. His explosiveness is good-not-great, as is his agility. He has a long frame, but he’s only an above-average athlete beyond that. Because of this, he may need to refine his route running and expand on his flashes of lateral quickness at the next level.

Framing it optimistically, however, Yeboah is a decent blocker and a good receiving threat, with some prevailing upside if he can develop. He clearly had a penchant for big plays in his final year, and he also has the size and length to be a dangerous red zone threat. In the middle rounds, he’s a solid investment, especially for teams that can scheme their tight ends into space.

Which teams mesh best with Yeboah’s skill set?

Teams that profile well for Yeboah in the 2021 NFL Draft include the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. However, he should draw interest from other teams that seek good value deals at the tight end position. As a late-Round 3, early-Day 3 pick, Yeboah is a solid investment, with reasonable upside for that range.

It will depend on how the rest of the board falls regarding tight ends, but Yeboah may get selected earlier than expected. However, if players like Pat Freiermuth, Brevin Jordan, and Hunter Long fall a bit, Yeboah might slip into the Day 3 mix. Whatever the case, Yeboah has a very intriguing toolset at his disposal, and he successfully made the leap to the SEC in his final season. He has enough talent to produce, and with more refinement of his tools, he could become a formidable, versatile threat.

Want more 2021 NFL Draft prospect news? Want to do your own mock draft?

Dive into PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator and test your own drafting acumen. Continue to visit Pro Football Network for NFL news and in-depth analysis. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@PFN365) to stay in the loop on all things college football and the NFL Draft landscape.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Lith said:

There is the signing of one of Zach's teammates.

A four-star recruit, he was considered the No. 1 center and signed with Notre Dame. After struggling to find the field, Hoge transferred to BYU, where he won the starting right guard job. He missed most of his junior year due to a leg injury, and COVID-19 knocked him out for a month midway through his senior season. Hoge has noticeable core strength to forklift or redirect defenders away from the lane. He isn’t a substandard athlete, but he doesn’t play under control as a pass blocker, leaving his feet and upper half on two different pages. His reaction technique must improve if he wants to hold up vs. NFL defenders. Overall, Hoge is a powerful interior blocker capable of creating movement, but his disorganized play style leaves him off-balanced in his pass sets or on the ground in the run game.
GRADE: Priority Free Agent

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Rhg1084 said:

 

SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Oregon State, Rashed was an outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar’s 3-4 scheme, standing up as an edge rusher and off-ball player. Despite an underwhelming senior campaign, he built up a productive college resume, leaving Corvallis ranked No. 6 in school history in tackles for loss (36.0) and sacks (16.5). A tough-minded defender, Rashed plays with the strength and effort to create leverage in the run game and fight through trench blocks. As a pass rusher, he has straight-line speed, but is tight-hipped and needs to improve his rush plans to compete for NFL reps. Overall, Rashed has ordinary tools as a face-up pass rusher, but he is assignment sound and competes with the length, strength and attitude at the point of attack to set a physical edge. He projects best as a back-up outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

GRADE: 6th Round
 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, JTJet said:

What is the fascination with this guy? He has 500 yards and 5 TDs... in 4 years of college football. 

“Yeboah was everything I expected from a pass-catching point of view — natural, fluid, and reliable, with the ability to get downfield. His blocking was better than advertised as he went from not embarrassing himself early in the week to looking real good by Thursday. I believe he cemented himself as a Top 75 selection.”
 

Tony Pauline

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, C Mart said:

A four-star recruit, he was considered the No. 1 center and signed with Notre Dame. After struggling to find the field, Hoge transferred to BYU, where he won the starting right guard job. He missed most of his junior year due to a leg injury, and COVID-19 knocked him out for a month midway through his senior season. Hoge has noticeable core strength to forklift or redirect defenders away from the lane. He isn’t a substandard athlete, but he doesn’t play under control as a pass blocker, leaving his feet and upper half on two different pages. His reaction technique must improve if he wants to hold up vs. NFL defenders. Overall, Hoge is a powerful interior blocker capable of creating movement, but his disorganized play style leaves him off-balanced in his pass sets or on the ground in the run game.
GRADE: Priority Free Agent

But can he jump out of a swimming pool?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They guaranteed $180K of Yeboah's salary along with a $20K signing bonus. They really like him. By comparison the largest UDFA contract they gave out last year was to Bryce Huff, who got a $15K bonus along with $75K guaranteed base and he turned into a meaningful contributor. Barring something crazy like an injury Yeboah is making the roster.

  • Upvote 1
  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Shockwave said:

“Yeboah was everything I expected from a pass-catching point of view — natural, fluid, and reliable, with the ability to get downfield. His blocking was better than advertised as he went from not embarrassing himself early in the week to looking real good by Thursday. I believe he cemented himself as a Top 75 selection.”
 

Tony Pauline

Yeah, but did AJ Brown cry when he signed?  

  • Upvote 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Shockwave said:

“Yeboah was everything I expected from a pass-catching point of view — natural, fluid, and reliable, with the ability to get downfield. His blocking was better than advertised as he went from not embarrassing himself early in the week to looking real good by Thursday. I believe he cemented himself as a Top 75 selection.”
 

Tony Pauline

Tony Pauline did not have a good 2021 draft cycle..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Ken Schroy said:

It's nice to see that we were chosen over other organizations, unlike years past. Is the culture changing in Jetland perhaps?

I think the deciding factor was that we threw a sh*tload of money at him for an UDFA.

If the Jets had a 7th rounder, he probably would’ve been the pick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

I think the deciding factor was that we threw a sh*tload of money at him for an UDFA.

If the Jets had a 7th rounder, he probably would’ve been the pick.

Perhaps, but I don't think that worked in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...