STRENGTHS
Matt is a magician catching the ball. His hand/eye coordination is excellent and his ability to catch the contested pass is right up there with the best receivers in this draft. Matt is quick off the line and quick in and out of his breaks in spite of his lack of pure receiver speed. Matt is a pure pass-catching Tight End and that is how he can impact. He will move the chains and inside the 50-yard line, he will break the big play. He does and will gain some yardage after the contested catch because of his size and the fact that he keeps his feet moving until he is brought down. The truth is, Matt does 2 things and only 2 things very well and those are, getting off the line quickly into his routes, with the ability to catch the ball blindfolded. He is a pass-catching weapon.
CONCERNS
Matt has the size and athletic talent and long arms, to be a solid blocker but the truth is, he isn’t a solid blocker now so, suggesting you are going to turn him into a solid blocker is foolish. Matt is what he is, a true pure pass-catching Tight End who runs the typical Tight End routes. Some teams will nit-pick about his age, but for me personally, as long as I see on film the potential to impact, I don’t believe that age should be a negative factor. But that’s just me.
BOTTOM LINE 3.31
If you’re looking for the next Gronk then I suggest, selecting Matt is not the answer in spite of his pass-catching skills and run after the catchability. If you’re looking for an impact pass-catching Tight End than Matt is your man. He is not fast but his ability to get off the line and quickly into his routes is the key to his ability to impact. Don’t get me wrong he has good, overall speed to get down the field but that quickness is the key along with his magical hands to catch the ball with a big catch radius. Matt can make impact plays in the passing game, all over the field, and in the red zone because of that quickness. Teams early in the draft, are looking for complete players who have the potential to impact so I don’t expect Matt to be selected as early as his talents suggest. Once again Matt doesn’t seem to be on any team’s radar right now so I guess you can consider him as a sleeper impact player for the team that selects him
