NFL Draft Profile: How former Wisconsin football tight end Austin Traylor looks heading into the draft
The NFL Draft is fast approaching at the end of April, and former Wisconsin football players are hard at work trying to earn a spot on an NFL team. Among them is tight end Austin Traylor, who hopes to continue his career at the next level.
Trayor was the epitome of a Wisconsin blocking tight end heading into his senior season. As a junior, he caught his first three passes as a Badger, but he always excelled as a blocking tight end.
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He dedicated the 2014-15 offseason to getting better as a receiver, and the work was paying off before injuries last year.
In eight games, Traylor caught 14 passes for 210 yards. He was developing into a red zone target for the Badgers, tying for the team lead with four touchdowns.
Traylor is hoping his blocking prowess, combined with his improvement catching the ball, will land him on an NFL roster.
Here’s how scouts see the former Badgers tight end:
Measurables:
- Height: 6-feet, 2.5 inches
- Weight: 250 pounds
- 40-yard dash: 4.81 seconds
- Vertical jump: 33.5 inches
- Broad jump: 9-feet, 5.5-inches
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.57 seconds
- Three-cone drill: 7.24 seconds
- 60-yard shuttle: 12.33 seconds
- Bench press: 16 reps (225 pounds)
(drills run at UW’s Pro Day)
Strengths: Blocking
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Traylor is one of the best blocking tight ends in the country, as Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted one scout as saying, “He’s the best blocking tight end I saw the entire year.”
That will take Traylor places, but blocking alone is not going to get him to the pass-happy NFL.
Traylor dedicated himself to improving his pass-catching skills ahead of the 2015 season, and the work payed off.
Injuries, though, kept his catch numbers down. Scouts still may notice the hard work was paying off.
Weaknesses: Receiving skill/production
Traylor’s low career catch total might be perceived as a big negative.
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It’s true he didn’t catch a lot of passes, or nearly any, until his senior season. Part of that was scheme, as Sam Arneson was the Badgers receiving tight end earlier in Traylor’s career.
Regardless of the reason, Traylor doesn’t have a lot of catches, or a lot of film catching the ball, and it will hurt his stock.
Last impression:
Traylor returned to the field for the Badgers final game of the season and played a key role in Wisconsin’s Holiday Bowl victory over USC.
Traylor grabbed three passes for 47 yards and a four-yard touchdown, the Badgers only receiving score of the game.
His other catches went for 26 and 17 yards, the final grab coming on a Wisconsin scoring drive to go ahead 23-21 on a Rafael Gaglianone field goal.
The score held to the finish.
Final Thought:
Traylor will be plagued by his lack of production catching the ball. Unfortunately, his untimely injury slowed what was shaping up to be a really nice senior campaign catching the ball.
He still is one of the best blocking tight ends in the country, and a team may take a shot on him in free agency.
Traylor did enough catching the ball to prove at the very least he has the skill set to continue to improve that facet of his game. That, coupled with his blocking abilities, should be enough to make a team give him a chance in free agency.