DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns 2019 training camp preview: Analyzing the tight ends

That's the dude. Thanks YTown for making sense out of my mistake.

Thanks Pit, but I was thinking of Escobar. Not sure why I got them mixed up other than they both have a Hispanic name.

Btw....before I get called a racist, I married a Hispanic woman. LOL

Escobar, that was last year I think, wasn't it?

The one TE experiment I remember from years ago was Marqueis Gray. He was a QB turned TE.

Seth DeValve is mixing in some fullback as he fights for Browns roster spot

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/08...oster-spot.html

BEREA, Ohio -- Seth DeValve, who has been dabbling at fullback lately, might have taken offense when it was brought up on Tuesday that guys that play that position are just different dudes.

“I'm not one of those dudes?” he asked.

OK, he wasn’t really offended. But there was a bigger point here.

“Look, I can hit somebody,” he said, “and I'll do it full speed and, hey, man, I'll let you guys be the judge.”

The four snaps that DeValve took at fullback didn’t mark the first time he lined up there. He filled in for former Browns fullback Orson Charles in 2018 when Charles was injured and has been working there, along with others, during camp.

The reason those snaps might matter is simple roster math. There are 53 spots. DeValve, for the second year in a row, is fighting for one of those 53 spots. He managed to get one last season, even with a quad injury keeping him sidelined in training camp. This year, he suffered a concussion early on and missed the first two preseason games.

DeValve is very much on the bubble and, when you’re in that position, versatility helps. Charles was waived on August 11. Joe Kerridge, the lone fullback on the roster, has been sidelined with a concussion. That created an opportunity for DeValve.

“It's one of those things where the more you can do, the better your chances are,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “I think he's recognized that, and he's worked on that aspect of his game.”

Kitchens said the Browns plan to have a tight end who can fill both roles and DeValve’s advantage comes in the fact that he, as Kitchens put it, looks the part.

“He's got the body type,” Kitchens said. “He's got the athletic ability to get through the hole, and sometimes when guys are 6-5, 6-6, they struggle to get down low enough to get their pads up under somebody else.”

DeValve, for the record, measures in at 6-foot-3.

Still, doesn’t fullback come with a little bit of a different mentality?

“To hit somebody in the face? Yeah. It’s something I’ve been doing my whole career, even when I was playing wideout at college in Princeton,” DeValve said. “It’s football, man. It kind of comes with it.”

For DeValve, it dates back to when he was playing quarterback in high school, running a spread that involved read option plays. He says he had as many rushing yards as passing yards his senior season.

“Our coaches didn't care in high school,” he said. “We'd line up in practice in full speed tackling drills, running back, linebacker meet in the hole between the two cones, I was doing that back then.”

Yes, even as a quarterback.

“Coaches want to find out who really wants to tackle,” DeValve said. “I played quarterback doing this kind of stuff. It's what got me here.”

As did his versatility. He wanted to play quarterback at Princeton. Nope. He played receiver. Then he got to the NFL, where he became a tight end.

Now? He’s adding a little fullback to his repertoire.

“I think it's just being a good teammate,” DeValve said. “This team isn't necessarily about me, it's about the team and what the team needs as long as I'm on this team. It's expected of me to be flexible.”

And when he’s called upon to lead the way for a running back, it’s pretty simple.

“I just buckle up my chinstrap,” he said, “get angry and go downhill and hit somebody.”

If I had to put money on it, I'd say Devalve sticks on the roster. All the other tight ends have been bad and they could have cut Devalve a while ago if they didn't like him (they also carried him through camp last year despite an injury).

The TE unit might be the weakest unit on the entire football team.

Reading that does not give me encouragement.

Could be. Njoku is the only one in our camp right now that is a lock for the final roster. No one else has shown up to claim a spot.

It might be true, but I was just sharing a joke cfrs. Not sure if he got it or not? LOL

This is the first time the word weak has ever been associated, even tangentially, with David Njoku.

If only he could catch.

Since this video has been made there has been noise about Harris not even making the team.

Consider the source. I rest my case.

This is kind of where I’m trending as well ... we have zero reliable depth at this position (and Njoku still hasn’t proven to be totally consistent yet either)

That actually adds to my point that the TE group might be the weakest unit on the team.

Njoku is a freak athlete who flashes w/some jaw-dropping plays. On the other hand, his hands have always been an issue, he is a terrible blocker, and he is not a good route runner. The guys behind him have been bad. DeValve is hurt a lot and is inconsistent. Harris has bad hands. P. Brown has dropped multiple passes in preseason and Gathers recently got cut by Dallas.

It's not a very good group.

So you are saying in the OL thread that you are on a crusade to convince people they shouldn't worry about the line and not to freak out about a sack or a bit of pressure on the QB during preseason. Then, in this thread you question if the TE unit is the worst unit on the team and say it isn't a very good group because a pass or two was dropped and a block was missed in preseason. Isn't that the same thing that people are worried about with the missed assignments on the OL?

For the record, Njoku is young...this is his statement year and it should come with the defense's focus on Landry/OBJ. Pharoah Brown was king of kings a few weeks back and caught multiple TDs and 1st downs from Baker. I agree, however, on DeValve...I will be shocked if he is still a Brown come opening weekend.

No, that is not what I'm saying. Goodbye.

Didn't explain it well because that's how it reads. But keep on keepin' on.

j/c,

I am not going out on a limb by staying that Harris replacing Fells was likened to trying to reinvent the wheel.

I understand the loyalty and all, and his athleticism, but in practice it seemed unnecessary imo.

I have not been impressed by anything that Harris has done.

DeVale is always injured and does not help the club.

I would be looking for a better player.

I think we will after the cuts. Dorsey was quoted as saying he really like Indy's TEs after the teams had those joint practices. The Colts won't be able to keep them all, so I look for us to maybe snag one of them. If not, I'm sure we'll bring a TE or two from other teams.

People have been doggin' our TE unit, yet yesterday in Baltimore it was our TEs who stepped up big. Ricky Seals-Jones gets the big press coverage, but Pharoah Brown was superb as a blocker, especially on Chubb's runs.

Good point PDX ... Pharoah was a great blocker for us, especially on CHubb’s impact plays

That's great. It is still the weakest room in the building.

Njoku is the #1 guy, and he is WAY overrated. He's just a guy.

Not a knock or anything like that, but watching the highlight of RSJ catch and run was hilarious. Dude looks absolutely enormous.

OBJ is demanding so much attention that it has opened people up like RSJ. However, I was really impressed w/Brown. I rewatched all of our TDs and he was great. Our line too balled out this week.