Tight End

Florida Atlantic

6-5 244

Draft board overall prospect rank: #136

Draft board overall tight end rank: #5

Overall rating: 61 (late 4th)

40 time: 4.51

3/29/11: Rob Housler was one of the big surprises of The Combine for me. After being listed at 6-5 215 by ESPN (very small for a tight end), Housler weighed in at 244. Turns out, after further research, ESPN was just wrong. Other sources had him in the 240s the whole time. What surprised everyone was his 4.51 40 and 37 inch vertical. He also impressed in the drills. This has moved him into early day 3 consideration.

Size and speed were his issues going into The Combine and he quelled those with his measurable. There’s never been any questions about his ability to catch the football. He caught 39 balls for 629 yards and 4 touchdowns last year for Florida Atlantic and 32 catches for 529 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2008. He redshirted in 2009, allegedly because the team had enough talent at tight end on the roster and wanted to preserve Housler for 2010. There is some mysterious surrounding that.

His problem is blocking. He’s not a good inline blocker and that’s coming from the tape, not just coming from his size. Part of the reason why I believed he could have been as skinny as he was is because he blocks poorly. However, he is a strong route runner and doesn’t drop a lot of passes. He’s a vertical threat and can move in the seam. He’s best suited to be an h-back, but I wouldn’t have a problem with him as my primary tight end regardless of scheme. He’s a little one dimensional, but that’s what specialty players like blocking tight ends are for.

NFL Comparison: Evan Moore