Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: TE Zach Sudfeld
Player Information:
Zach Sudfeld, TE Nevada
6-7, 253 pounds
Hometown: Modesto, Cal.
NFL Combine:
40 time: 4.78
225-pound bench: 11 reps
20-yard shuttle: 4.41
Broad jump: 9′ 5″
Vertical jump: 37″
News and Notes:
One-year starter who caught 45 passes for 598 yards and eight touchdowns as a sixth-year senior … Redshirted as a true freshman at Nevada, before sitting out his redshirt freshman season with an injury … Played in every game in 2010 behind current Denver Broncos backup tight end Virgil Green … Started the 2011 season opener before suffering a broken leg which ended his season … Received a medical redshirt for the 2012 season … Wasn’t invited to the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine after being one of eight semifinalists for the Mackey Award in 2012.
What they’re saying about him:
- CBSSports.com: “Excellent size/strength combo for the position. At 6-7 and 255 pounds, he is a large target, shows natural receiving skills and the ability to watch the ball into his hands. shows his athleticism once he gets going, accelerating in-and-out of his breaks and creating some separation from linebackers or safeties.”
Video:
Video Analysis:
- Big. Excellent blocker.
- Not a “burner” but smooth in and out of his breaks. He’s a former basketball player, and he plays like it.
- Natural catching the football.
- Effective as a downfield blocker as well, going low to take defenders out of the play.
- For a guy his size, he’s a fluid athlete.
- Has a natural feel for getting open and finding the soft spots in zone coverage.
If drafted by the Packers:
After losing tight end Tom Crabtree to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers could be in the market for a late-round replacement. And in the sixth or seventh round, Zach Sudfeld makes a lot of sense.
It makes no sense whatsoever why Sudfeld wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Sure, he had plenty of injury problems during his time at Nevada, but there are not 19 tight ends in this draft that are better than Sudfeld. You can write that in ink.
Matthew Mulligan should be able to fill Crabtree’s shoes for a certain extent as a reserve blocking tight end, but Sudfeld has a higher ceiling moving forward. In his first full season as the starter, Sudfeld exploded for 598 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He earned the nickname “Flint” from his teammates for being the spark that ignites the offense. We’ll see if the Packers are hot or cold on Sudfeld this weekend.
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Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.
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This is a guy I’ve been interested in as the draft approaches. If the intent of the Packers is to try to retain Finley long-term, this guy could make an excellent complement…there’s something vaguely Gronk-ish in his measurables, and a true, in-line TE could be a boon for the running game.
This is a perfect replacement for Crabtree. There is no risk in 7th round picks. You don’t expect all draft picks to make the team, so if a 7th rounder makes it, it’s all positive. Even if they spend some time on the practice squad.
I already know he is faster and taller than Crabby. He probably can hold on to passes too. With his long arms and ability to jump over 3′ I suspect he will be excellent on 3rd down, and in the red zone. He would also be able to help block on the edge as well as share time at the H-Back position, I suspect.
I don’t see any wasted pick in the 7th round for this prospect.