STRENGTHS
Darnell is a man-child with the potential to be the best Tight End of this solid Tight End class. He catches the ball with ease and grace, snatching the ball in the air as if he had the same 8 Talons Eagles use to capture their prey. When catching the ball, Darnell reminds me a lot of former Charges Tight End Antonio Gates. He shows surprising speed and agility to run routes and because of his long strides and big body, he is impossible to cover at any point on the field against any down and distance. He has those strong hands and yet the same softness that is unique to only receivers who wind up being impact players for their teams. Darnell is a good in-line blocker and looks like a big pulling guard when used on sweeps. He can make the acrobatic catch and the contested catch easily, and the all-important catch when everyone in the stadium knows the ball has to go to Darnell.
CONCERNS
I don’t think Darnell knows how good he can be if he just plays with a little more aggression. He just needs to become more consistent in all areas of his game and when he does, he will be impossible to stop.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.97
Darnell has the “potential” to be an outstanding Tight End in all aspects of the game. That being said, he needs time to continue to develop. Darnell is young and needs “in-game repetitions” to improve and yes, a team will have to put up with him missing a block and dropping a ball until Darnell understands, that this is not college and his new teammates are feeding their families based on their production on the field, and their production is based on how well he does his job. I’m not suggesting that Darnell has character issues or work ethic issues. All I’m saying is that he is young and like many young people coming out of college, he does not yet understand the responsibilities of the next level. The game itself is fun but all the other stuff is work and everything comes easy to Darnell right now with little effort because of his unbelievable athletic ability. I believe he will be a better NFL player than he has been a college player because he will meet the challenge and improve dramatically once it clicks in. I don’t believe Darnell is afraid to work hard I just think he gets frustrated because things come easy for him and that leads to him being inconsistent. Darnell is a player I would target and yes if I’m a playoff team it would be very hard for me to pass on him in the 1st RD. His potential screams for him to be over drafted and rightly so. At least that’s how I see it. The combine will be big for Darnell.
