Will Gray be NFL WR/TE or out of the league?

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csom_1991

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I think Gray being an NFL QB is an impossibility at this point of his career. Perhaps if he had better coaching from the start, he would have had a chance - but at this point - there are much better prospects than him playing college ball. With that said, I don't think he has the speed to play WR in the NFL given he seems a touch slow this year. However, he has the current size/speed combination to make a tremendous TE in the NFL. If you look at Tony Gonzales or Antonio Gates, he is a pretty good match for the new NFL prototypical TE body/athleticism/hands. Further, former QB's tend to make really good WR/TE as they understand the QB progression and routes. The only concern I would have is his strength/physical ability to block. What do you guys think?
 

Gray is graduating at the right time because he is a perfect fit for the hybrid TE/WR that is becoming very common in the NFL. Even if he had played QB from day 1 I doubt he ever would have shown NFL ability at that position.
 


I think he could fill into a very athletic tight end who would be a mismatch for LBs and DBs. Hes already 240 and he still looks like he could afford to put on another 10 to 20 pounds
 

I would say either; if he were to lose 15-30 lbs he would gain the suddenness to play WR...IMO.
 



I could see him at TE, maybe H-back. He'd have to lose some weight to make it at WR, although I wouldn't put it past him.
 

He will get a shot at the NFL, and will find his way onto a roster or practice squad for maybe 3-4 years, then, I see him out of the league. Its unfortunate that an athlete like him never had consistent coaching.
 

^^What - Practice squad???

Definitely a WR - not sure what his blocking ability would be for a TE.
 



He could fill a Vernon Davis type role. A Tight End who can also move out in the slot, but big and athletic enough to block.
- I think he's way to tall to play HB.
 

Parski1 said:
^^What - Practice squad???

Definitely a WR - not sure what his blocking ability would be for a TE.
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Some of the more receiver oriented TE's don't really do much blocking anymore. That being said Gray is physically big enough that if he were to get some solid coaching on the fundamentals of blocking he would probably be decent at it. If he dropped weight he could probably make it at receiver because he is already fast and would only get faster. He will never be a burner but he could be a big possession receiver for someone.
 

Parski1 said:
^^What - Practice squad???

Definitely a WR - not sure what his blocking ability would be for a TE.
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what, you think he will be drafted high and make a roster at a position that he hasnt played in a couple years? If he makes a roster, he will have quite a bit of inactive games.
 

skauma said:
what, you think he will be drafted high and make a roster at a position that he hasnt played in a couple years? If he makes a roster, he will have quite a bit of inactive games.
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My man, there have been several TE's in the NFL who never played college FOOTBALL let alone TE.
 



skauma said:
what, you think he will be drafted high and make a roster at a position that he hasnt played in a couple years? If he makes a roster, he will have quite a bit of inactive games.
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He will get drafted in the middle rounds and his learning curve will be steep. If he is smart (and I think he is) he will surround himself with good people after he is done playing for the Gophers that can identify where he would fit best in the NFL and start prepping him for the next level. The only thing that is certain in terms of Gray is that he will not be a QB in the NFL, beyond that it is really up in the air.
 

He's too fat and too slow. His only chance is to go the Rashede Hageman route and end at DT. But I don't see it. Gray will not be drafted and will not be invited to any camps. Maybe he'll get a chance in Canada.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
My man, there have been several TE's in the NFL who never played college FOOTBALL let alone TE.
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And all of them were better athletes than Gray with better leaping ability.

All that said, I still want him as QB against Northwestern. Gray has a better chance of seeing an NFL paycheck than Shortell does.
 

Sparlimb said:
He's too fat and too slow. His only chance is to go the Rashede Hageman route and end at DT. But I don't see it. Gray will not be drafted and will not be invited to any camps. Maybe he'll get a chance in Canada.
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Badger or Hawkeye Troll.
 


Sparlimb said:
And all of them were better athletes than Gray with better leaping ability.

All that said, I still want him as QB against Northwestern. Gray has a better chance of seeing an NFL paycheck than Shortell does.
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I don't think Antonio Gates is a better athlete than Gray and he certainly isn't faster or in better shape. I have seen Gray In person out of uniform dozens of times and he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.

I have been one of the biggest criticizers of Gray as a QB, but I honestly believe that were he properly developed as a QB he may have been very special

6'5 250lb dynamic offensive players always get a chance in the NFL. The only question is will he
stick? I say at the least he will make a practice squad and be given time and coaching to develop.
 

Sparlimb said:
Or season ticket holder. But don't worry, I'm used to folks not debating opinions and jumping straight to name calling.
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Tough to take someone seriously when they call Gray fat and slow. That's like saying Mbakwe is not very strong.
 

Sparlimb said:
Or season ticket holder. But don't worry, I'm used to folks not debating opinions and jumping straight to name calling.
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Having an opinion and being an idiot are two different things. So there is a reason no-one wants to "debate" with you.
 

How many passes has he caught as a Gopher? Might be fun to see him as a FL/HB/WR for a few plays.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
I don't think Antonio Gates is a better athlete than Gray and he certainly isn't faster or in better shape. I have seen Gray In person out of uniform dozens of times and he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.

I have been one of the biggest criticizers of Gray as a QB, but I honestly believe that were he properly developed as a QB he may have been very special

6'5 250lb dynamic offensive players always get a chance in the NFL. The only question is will he
stick? I say at the least he will make a practice squad and be given time and coaching to develop.
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Well it is possible. The only reason I said Gray was slow was after watching some of the better quarterbacks yesterday (Taylor Martinez, Braxton Miller, Geno Smith, etc), they all seemed faster than Gray. It is possible it is just my perception, but he seems slow to me. Is he fast enough to be a tight end? That also would depend on whether he could learn to block to as that is a staple of tight ends. I guess we'll just see.
 

Sparlimb said:
Well it is possible. The only reason I said Gray was slow was after watching some of the better quarterbacks yesterday (Taylor Martinez, Braxton Miller, Geno Smith, etc), they all seemed faster than Gray. It is possible it is just my perception, but he seems slow to me. Is he fast enough to be a tight end? That also would depend on whether he could learn to block to as that is a staple of tight ends. I guess we'll just see.
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So what about your comment about Gray being fat! Fat? Are you serious????? If you're a season ticket holder you must have spent all your time in the Beer Garden because he's also nowhere close to slow.
 

Sparlimb said:
Well it is possible. The only reason I said Gray was slow was after watching some of the better quarterbacks yesterday (Taylor Martinez, Braxton Miller, Geno Smith, etc), they all seemed faster than Gray. It is possible it is just my perception, but he seems slow to me. Is he fast enough to be a tight end? That also would depend on whether he could learn to block to as that is a staple of tight ends. I guess we'll just see.
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All those guys are much smaller and would have zero chance of playing TE or H-back at the next level. For a man his size, Gray is fast.
 

GophersInIowa said:
All those guys are much smaller and would have zero chance of playing TE or H-back at the next level. For a man his size, Gray is fast.
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True, although Miller and Smith could possibly play WR at the next level (although I doubt they will). As I said, the trick to TE is could he learn to block? I agree he's plenty fast enough to be a TE.
 

Sparlimb said:
True, although Miller and Smith could possibly play WR at the next level (although I doubt they will). As I said, the trick to TE is could he learn to block? I agree he's plenty fast enough to be a TE.
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Watch Aaron Hernandez of the Patriots. 6'1" 240. Splits out most of the time, spends very little time blocking. He is still considered a TE.
 

Although Gray has a chance to be drafted in the middle rounds, I don't think the odds are any better than 50/50.

I think a lot of it will depend on if he's invited to the combine. If he is, he'll have to perform well there to convince a team that his athletic ability is too special to hope that he falls to the 6th or 7th round. If not, it's going to be hard for him to get a ton of attention at the Minnesota pro day because he's probably the only serious senior NFL prospect on this team (Stoudermire, Wilhite and maybe Carter will likely get camp invites, but are probably longshots to be drafted at this point).

And yes, I think he's going to have to be a hybrid TE. I don't think he's quick enough to play NFL WR, even if he loses weight.
 

Sparlimb said:
Well it is possible. The only reason I said Gray was slow was after watching some of the better quarterbacks yesterday (Taylor Martinez, Braxton Miller, Geno Smith, etc), they all seemed faster than Gray. It is possible it is just my perception, but he seems slow to me. Is he fast enough to be a tight end? That also would depend on whether he could learn to block to as that is a staple of tight ends. I guess we'll just see.
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I agree he doesn't look fast; I think it's because when he runs his turn over (how fast he's taking steps) is slow. However; because he's so tall it doesn't have to be. His stride is long so he's eating up a lot of yardage on each step.

If I had to guess, I would say Gray at his current weight runs in the 4'6 o 4'7 range and that's faster than 90 percent of NFL te's. I think what would make him special is the same thing that makes Gonzalez and Gates special....they are extremely athletic and nifty. I would bet neither of them ever ran faster than a mid 4'6.
 

He's been a good football player and I appreciate his contributions, but I don't see him projecting at the next level. You need to be able to block to play TE...I can't see him being fast enough to play WR. Hopefully he's getting a solid degree in something that will give him a chance at a career away from sports.
 

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