2021 NFL Draft Profile: TE John Bates, Boise State

TE JOHN BATES

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 259 lbs.
Class: Senior (red shirt)
School: Boise State

A fifth-year senior who was a three-star recruit out of Lebanon, Oregon. Bates was the 13th rank Oregon prospect in the 2016 recruiting cycle. He was a three-sport star at Lebanon and Nyssa High School (spent first two years at the latter high school), where he thrived with football, was all-state in basketball, and performed several events on the track and field team.

More of a blocking tight end in college; fits the Y-mold but was used as an H-Back off the line as well. Totaled 47 receptions for 547 yards and two touchdowns in his college career. Due to his blocking ability, he earned an honorable mention on the All-Mountain West team in 2019 while being on the Mackey Award Watch List before 2018 and 2019.

Notables

Suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined up for a couple of games in 2020 and missed games down the end of the season. The missed games at the end of the season were deemed as “undisclosed” injuries.

Traits

Good size and weight with thick limbs and a solid build. He possesses adequate athletic ability in space and good athletic ability in a phone booth, which is highlighted by his short-area quickness and lateral movement skills on the line of scrimmage. He lacks ideal burst, agility, and speed in space.

He does well playing with leverage, firing off the line of scrimmage, and aggressively blocking defenders. Effectively down blocks well on pin-pull concepts and can seal the edge by quickly getting his hands inside and adjusting his body position to maximize offensive runs. He has good footwork and exceptional lower leg drive to win at the point of attack.

Active hands and mirroring ability--he frames blocks well and doesn’t get caught lunging too often. He has a mauler mentality and has excellent competitive toughness. Solid foot quickness and good lateral movement skills to flow outside and acquire outside leverage against 6-Techniques.

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Can step in and be a really good tight end two or a Y tight end in obvious running situations. Showed the ability to mirror and anchor in pass protection against EDGE rushers--pass pro wasn’t an issue in college.

His blocking skills were on display at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl, and it prompted me to dive into his tape - it didn’t disappoint. While he shows quality receiving skills, he lacks the athletic ability in space to complement those skills.

He has little burst off the line of scrimmage, he significantly decelerates into breaks, and he has very little wiggle. Lacks the necessary quickness to separate in and out of breaks--he relied on subtle push-offs for space.

The ability to create separation with burst and foot quickness is marginal in space for an NFL prospect. However, Bates shows very good hands, an impressive amount of body control at the catch point, and he’s solid in contested catch situations. Became a reliable target at the Senior Bowl and showed solid short to intermediate receiving skills - especially on-chip blocks and release situations.

He won’t make many miss in space with the football in his hands. Showed an ability to lower his shoulder and embrace contact. Overall, a backup tight end in the NFL who can work really well as a blocker.

He would be an interesting fit for the Giants in the later rounds due to his blocking ability and physical toughness. He has interesting receiving traits, but the upside is capped by the lack of NFL quality athleticism when in space.

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