Player Information:
- Jake Stoneburner, TE Ohio State
- 6’4”/252 lbs
- Hometown – Dublin, Ohio
Pro Day:
- 40 yard: 4.62
- 20 yard: 2.65
- 10 yard: 1.63
- Bench: 18
- Vertical: 34.5
- Broad: 116”
- Shuttle: 4.27
- 3-cone: 7.12
Introduction:
Outside of Jermichael Finley, the Packers like their tight ends to be versatile. Whether it be playing special teams, in the slot, inline, in motion, or even behind the line of scrimmage as a fullback, if the Packers want a jack-of-all-trades, they are going to go with a tight end. However jack-of-all-trades usually means master of none, and with the Packers, they have a ton of tight ends that all sort of fit the same mold. Jake Stoneburner is another, a former wide receiver turned tight end from Ohio State, he can do a little bit of everything, but doesn’t shine in any particular spot. Add to that his arrest for urinating on a building and then hiding from the police (which in light of the recent news Aaron Hernandez has made can be considered a “boys will be boys” mistake) and Stoneburner surprising fell out of the draft after being predicted a late round pick. Will Stoneburner be another diamond in the rough that Thompson digs up or another tight end who is never good enough at one thing to warrant seeing the field?
Outside Analysis:
CBS: Stoneburner is a tall athlete with good length and catching radius. He plays with excellent body control to adjust and come down with the catch, showing very good field awareness. Stoneburner has usually strong hands and focus to snatch the ball out of the air and make some tough catches look easy. He makes plays after the catch, showing good effort and power to pick up tough yards. Stoneburner has smooth footwork in his routes and straight-line speed to make plays downfield. He displays some tenacity as a blocker and does a nice job on the perimeter. Stoneburner did a nice job finding the end zone with 13 career touchdowns, scoring once every 4.1 times he touched the ball.
National Football Post: Experienced lining up in a variety of alignments, Stoneburner brings versatility to the tight end / h-back position that NFL teams love. From both an in-line alignment and when he goes in motion, Jake does a good job of seal blocking defender inside to help running back get the corner. Able to get through the LOS to the second level quickly, Jake can be a good blocker out in space when he stays over feet and under control. When he keeps his knees bent and stays over feet he does a good job of pass blocking; primarily from a wing-back alignment. While not a blazer, he has good straight line speed for a tight end. He has soft hands and does an excellent job of getting the ball tucked away fast so that he can hold onto the ball when he gets hit right after the catch. He is a strong and competitive runner after the catch who can run through arm/grab tackles.
Video:
Analysis:
- Go ahead and mute the video, you’ll thank me later
- His background as a former wide receiver is apparent, he looks like a wide receiver playing in a tight end body
- Not going to dominate anyone when blocking, but good enough to move his assignment out of the way or at least stalemate them
- More a smooth athlete than a quick one.
- Does use his body well to shield defenders away from the ball
- Lined up in multiple positions, seems most at home from the slot
- Appears to be a pretty natural ball catcher, doesn’t fight the ball or let it hit his chest.
Packers rationale: Stoneburner appears to almost be the doppelganger of former Packers tight end Tom Crabtree; while Crabtree was known for his blocking prowess and ended up being a sneaky receiver, Stoneburner is known for his receiving prowess but ended up being a sneaky blocker. Either way, the Packers are likely going to use Stoneburner in a similar fashion; he’ll be moved all around the field, from fullback, inline as a tight end and in the slot as a possession receiver. If teams pay as little attention to Stoneburner as they did Crabtree, I could see Stoneburner making a similar impact on the offense. There however is a numbers game at tight end; outside of Jermichael Finley, there are a lot of Packers tight ends that are sort of lumped together in terms of ability, in fact everything I said about Stoneburner could be applied to both Ryan Taylor and DJ Williams. Also keep in mind the Packers are high on Brandon Bostick, a hold over from the practice squad last year. In my opinion, Taylor and Williams probably have the advantage in terms of experience and being drafted by the Packers, so Stoneburner’s best shot is probably on the practice squad. The Packers do like to keep multiple receivers stashed away on the practice squad and Stoneburner probably has the ability and talent to at least be considered later on.
——————Thomas Hobbes is a staff writer for Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com.
——————
Thank you for this great analysis Thomas. Hopefully he’ll show some solid blocking in training camp, he seams to have great pass catching ability and good route running. It would be good if any of the reserve TE (DJ, Taylor, Bostick, Mulligan, Stoneburner) steps up and plays an important part in this team offense. Maybe that is a tall order for Stoneburner as an undrafted rookie and your prediction as a practice squad member is more accurate. We’ll see.
Again great analysis, I’m loving this articles about Packers undrafted rookies!
Thanks. I think the biggest story among the reserve tight ends is that they all share very similar skill sets and playing styles. I think the tight end that shows the most during training camp will likely make it onto the team, regardless of whether or not they were drafted.
I would say they have vastly different skill sets. Quarless is the best combination of receiver, blocker and ST guy, so he’s a lock. Mulligan is easily the best blocker and mostly non-existent receiver. Williams is, allegedly a great receiver, tho he never shows up in real games, and is at best a decent blocker (most like Finley in that regard). Bostic is another receiver in a TE’s body that has to develop. Taylor is a demon on ST and limited on offense. Stoneburner is probably like Bostic and Williams in that he’s more receiver than anything else.
I agree draft position won’t matter a bit in determining who makes the roster. Only Quarless seems a lock, along w/ maybe Mulligan. Of the rest one or 2 will have to start to stand out in one way or another to make it. In that way Taylor probably has an advantage due to his outstanding ST play.
Finley is the unquestioned receiver, Quarless is the combo guy, Mulligan is the blocker. Those are different traits that will appeal to the Packers and compliment one another. Any other TE that makes it better stand out in some way, hence Taylor on ST.
Those 4 make it and Bostic, Williams, Stoneburner will figure out who’s the best among them for a possible roster spot and for sure PS spot.
I would say that Williams, Bostick, Taylor and Stoneburner are all receiver first type tight ends with some ability to block and I don’t really see much of a difference between any of them. I’ll with hold judgement on Mulligan because we have yet to see him play with the Packers and Quarless because I have no idea what type of player he’s going to be after the injury.
I will also say that Bostic is running out of time on the practice squad and Williams is most likely ineligible so the Packers need to take that into consideration as well.
My point is there is a lot of different skills among the top 3, which is where the playing time rests. After that someone will have to step up to claim a spot. The rest of them are similar but none is going to be a blocker w/ Quarless and Mulligan around.
I would classify Taylor as a ST player, not really a TE, he’s unlikely to see the field on offense IMO.
Bostic and Stoneburner both have PS eligibility. I don’t think Williams does, which is why I mentioned possible roster spot or PS. One of them will be somewhere, but only one of them, IMO.
If I remember correctly Bostic has been on the PS for at least one year, maybe even a little more than that(I think they signed him mid-season, but I can’t find anything on his signing at all). Williams might actually be eligible for the practice squad since he was inactive for so many games, but I’d still bet that he’s ineligible
Bostic has one year on PS that I know of. That means he has another full year or more. Stoneburner obviously has PS elig. Williams I don’t think does. Unless some technicality allows for it, that I don’t know of. Depends how many games he was active as far as I know and it only takes about 5 active games to not be elig.
1) vs. Akron? Sorry, so what.
2) All the passes hit his body. He did not catch with his hands.
3) I wish him well, but this highlight reel showed me nothing.
1) Yes vs Akron, that’s the best I could find, if you know of any better tape of him, send it my way and I’ll watch it
2) I’d disagree, he’s not fully extending for the catch, but he’s definitely not letting it hit his body, especially for the three touchdown passes. Also, he’s probably using his size to block defenders which typically means less extension for catching balls
3) He has more tape than Ryan Taylor and is probably a more refined tight end at this point, so he has a chance.
I dont know I would classfy Taylor as a TE. Like Bush just all him a ST player. That’s really all he was drafted for and is used as.
I’d tend to agree, but he still is called a tight end and plays tight end when he’s on the field. He’s certainly not a linebacker for the Packers like he was in college.
Anyone care to rank 1-5 each one on receiving; blocking; special teams and overall offensive impact?
Finley = 5-1-0-5
Quarless = 4-3-2-3
Williams = 2-2-3-2
Taylor = 0-2-5-1
Mulligan = 2-5-3-3
Bostick = 3-2-2-3
Stoneburner = 4-2-2-4
Comments?
That’s a pretty hard call; who knows what Quarless looks like after his injury, we haven’t seen anything from Stoneburner or Mulligan. Williams and Taylor looks like he should be a lot better but always disappears during the regular season.
It would be great to know but most of the Packers TE are a big question mark (at least for us fans).