Tommy Stevens Has a New Position in New Orleans

Former Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens is playing a new position in the NFL. Sort of.

Stevens is listed at tight end for the New Orleans Saints, who selected him in the seventh round of this year's draft. Fellow tight end Jared Cook described the transition as "pretty tough."

"Tight ends are all about the mindset," Cook said. "It is about what you bring to the table."

It's an intriguing switch for the 6-5, 235-pound Stevens, who left Penn State in order to define a clearer path as a starting quarterback. He played one season for Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State, where injuries and competition limited him to nine games, all of which he started.

Still, New Orleans coach Sean Payton had his eye on Stevens, trading away a future draft pick to select Stevens before the Carolina Panthers signed him as an undrafted free agent. Prior to drafting Stevens, the Saints asked him to send some route-running film. That came from his days at Penn State.

Coach James Franklin introduced Stevens as the starting "Lion" prior to the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. It was a hybrid H-back, tight-end role, a nod to the many ways Stevens had contributed that season. In 2017, Stevens and Saquon Barkley were the only Penn State players to run, throw and catch touchdowns.

In 2018, Stevens carried the ball 28 times, nearly three times as often as he threw it (11). Injuries limited Stevens to seven games that season and he transferred after spring practice in 2019.

"I did some of the similar things at Penn State in my time there and I've kind of grown up playing multiple positions," Stevens said after being drafted. "It wasn't totally foreign to me, but obviously it's going to need some fine-tuning to have success in the NFL."

Cook reiterated that in New Orleans this week. Stevens spent the first week of camp with the quarterbacks before transitioning to practice with the tight ends.

The difference, Cook said, is the position's mindset.

"How dirty you want to get your nose?" Cook said. "And I think that's one of the biggest things he has to get used to as playing tight end. And then just technique stuff.

"He catches the ball really well. It's just all about blocking technique. It is about how you come out of your stance. It is about his releases off the line that he has to get used to. And they have been working on him, working with him. ... And he actually had a lot of improvement. So hopefully, he continues to improve."

Saints News Network, SI's New Orleans site, projects Stevens on the practice squad, where he'll be "given time to develop his versatile skills."

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