2019 NFL Combine Results: Iowa tight ends dominate the position workouts

If the two Iowa Hawkeyes tight ends are not the first two players at their position off the board in the 2019 NFL Draft, it will be a major surprise. Both Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson staked their claim as the top two tight ends on Saturday at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, with each player living up to the hype that has been coming their way since the conclusion of the college football season.

Hockenson is currently seen as the better overall prospect, due to superior blocking abilities. Still, his athletic ability left nothing to be desired. At 6-foot-4 ³⁄₄ and 251 pounds, Hockenson’s 4.70-second time in the 40-yard dash is very good. The same goes for his 37.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-3 broad jump. However, his agility numbers are the equal of many of the better wide receivers in this year’s draft class, with a 7.02-second time in the 3-cone drill and a short shuttle time of 4.18.

Fant, meanwhile, is drawing praise as a move tight end who will primarily contribute in the passing game. And for as impressive as Hockenson’s workout was, Fant’s testing numbers were simply absurd. 6-foot-4, 250-pounders rarely run a 4.50-second 40, and they almost never put up a 3-cone time of 6.81 seconds. Both of those numbers are in the 95th percentile or above for tight ends, as were his numbers in the vertical (39 ¹⁄₂ inches) and broad jump (10-foot-7).

Meanwhile, LSU’s Foster Moreau and Alabama’s Irv Smith both had solid workouts as well, though not quite as impressive as the two Iowa players’. There should be plenty of intriguing options for the Green Bay Packers if they choose to go draft a tight end early in the 2019 NFL Draft.