Jaguars Working Out a Tight End

With the injuries to tight ends George Wrighster and Greg Estandia last season, the Jaguars may be looking for another pass catching target to team up with former first-round pick Marcedes Lewis in offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s dual tight end sets. Find out which tight end the Jaguars worked out and have taken a keen interest in...

The Jaguars were one of a few teams in attendance at the University of Maryland’s Pro Day, and they appeared to show a good amount of interest in former Terrapins tight end Joey Haynos. Haynos’ agent, Josh Bernstein had this to say, according to the Rockville Gazette– “There is definite interest in Joey,” said Bernstein, whose client met with personnel from the Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions at the NFL combine and was worked out by the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Pro Day. ‘‘But a lot of times, it’s the team that you don’t hear much from that ends up drafting you. Right now, it looks like he’ll go in the middle rounds.”

Haynos is a 6'8", 260 lb. tight end who caught 27 passes for 287 yards as a senior, which was good for second on the team. Haynos made the team as a freshman walk-on, despite having scholarships to play basketball, a sport in which he was a high school standout. At Joey’s pro day, he ran the 40 in 4.79 seconds, and registered a 31.5" vertical leap. His broad jump was better than 10 feet, and the only workout that was subpar was his bench press, as he only put up 225 lbs., 19 times. Both his 40 time and his vertical leap were improvements over the 4.87 (40) and 30.5" (vertical) he recorded at the combine. Joey commented on his combine stats--

"I expected to run a little faster. I'm not sure if I was nervous or if my form was bad."

On the field, Haynos has a nice, lean frame that can take about 15 more pounds of muscle on it without it affecting his speed. He has nice initial quickness and great straight ahead speed to get open in seam routes. He’s a very accomplished route runner despite his usage in a mostly run-oriented offense in college. Haynos is also a more than adequate blocker. At the combine, Joey caught passes from Marshall quarterback Bernard Morris and Miami quarterback Kyle Wright. Haynos discussed his combine experience--

"I think I did really well, I caught every ball clean and ran good routes."

"It really is one big interview. These teams are investing a lot of money in players and want to be as thorough as possible. I think I did well. Hopefully I showed some scouts I'm more athletic than they might have thought," Haynos told the Baltimore Sun.

So why is Joey Haynos a middle round pick instead of a first round pick? Occasionally he is too tall in his stance and occasionally has problems keeping his pad level down, like most 6'8" athletes. Joey also needs to add more strength to keep from getting bull rushed. Haynos’ stats were mediocre thanks mostly to the offense he was playing in.

Scout.com has Haynos ranked as the 15th best tight end in this years draft, and NFL Draft Scout has him ranked as the 12th best tight end. Both sources figure him to be a fifth to sixth-round selection. Jack Del Rio likes his offensive players big, and Joey Haynos certainly fits that bill. It may be worth a late round pick to possibly add some more depth and competition at tight end for the Jaguars.