Juszczyk Draws Praise from Talent Evaluators

With senior tight end Kyle Juszczyk playing in the Senior Bowl this week and entering his name into the NFL Draft pool, The Back Page takes a look at what scouts have been saying about the Crimson’s best prospect.

CBS Sports:

Like many other drafting websites, CBS has forecasted Juszczyk as playing fullback in the pros. The Harvard tight end is bigger than all the other fullbacks on the rankings and is fifth overall, trailing four Division-I prospects—three of which are from Big Six conference schools. Their experts project five drafted fullbacks, with another five that could possibly go late in the seventh round.

Yahoo Sports:

Like CBS, Yahoo lists the former Crimson star as a fullback and has him ranked in the same spot. Yahoo expects him to be drafted in the seventh round, which is typical for the fullback position. Also of note here: Juszczyk runs a faster 40 than the top two tight ends on the board, Stanford’s Zach Ertz and Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert.

ESPN Sports:

Seen here, ESPN does not have much information on Juszczyk. Since neither the NFL Combine nor any ‘pro days’ for seniors have started, the lack of information is not surprising. The website’s Insider scouting profiles have him listed as the tenth-ranked fullback with a grade of 30 that is similar to the five players above him. The grade of 30 describes a ‘borderline draft prospect’ that “certainly do not have the full package in terms of NFL talent…will usually rate in the bottom third of players at his position and will be considered a later round draft choice or un-drafted free agent.”

Detroit Lions Draft:

This website, dedicated to the drafting process of the Detroit Lions, had writers on hand to attend each Senior Bowl practice and make notes on the players involved. It noted that Juszczyk “has some Vonta Leach in him” and that the “one thing that stands out with Juszczyk is his genuine love of contact and his aggressiveness.”

Others of Note:

College Sports Journal, a scouting website, has Juszczyk as its 100th rated pro prospect from the Football Championship Subdivision. Juszczyk is joined on the list, which was created in advance of the 2012 season, by three other Ivy League players: then-Cornell junior Jeff Mathews, then-Princeton senior Caraun Reid, and then-Cornell senior Shane Savage, who were ranked 10th, 39th, and 71th on the list, respectively.

NFL Future, a website dedicated to discussing draft prospects, has Juszczyk currently as its 14th ranked tight end, ranked immediately ahead of Nebraska senior Ben Cotton. Juszczyk is expected, according to the website, to go somewhere in the fifth or sixth round.

Optimum Scouting, another drafting website, sat down with each player for interviews. The writer was surprised that Juszczyk, who predominantly played the slot receiver position, hasn’t gotten an invitation to the NFL Combine and noted that “he should end up one.” He added that he thought Juszczyk was more in the 4.5 range than the 4.73 listed on other sites when discussing his 40-yard dash times, “which would be really impressive for the H-back/slot TE prospect”

NFL Draft 101 scouted drills and wrote this about Juszczyk: “Shown soft hands with the ability to make tough catches, a definite H-back type. Blocking is a concern and he will need to develop his techniques.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: Jan. 31, 2013

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that tight end Kyle Juszczyk was the only Ivy League player to make scouting website College Sports Journal's pre-2012 season list of 100 top-rated prospects. In fact, Juszczyk was one of four Ivy League players ranked in the list.