According to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider, the Carolina Panthers recently met with Harvard TE/FB Kyle Juszczyk.
Kyle Juszczyk/FB-HBack/Harvard has been on 12 official visits the past few weeks including the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. I am told he could be off the board very early in round four.
Juszczyk is the second tight end the Panthers have met with, the first being Gavin Escobar. Juszczyk is an intriguing prospect because of his versatility. At Harvard, he lined up all over the field, as an inline tight end, slot receiver, fullback and halfback. He led Harvard in receiving yards last season. Here are his stats:
Year
|
Team
|
G
|
Rush
|
Yds
|
Yd/Rush
|
TDs
|
Rec
|
Yds
|
Yd/Rec
|
TDs
|
2009
|
Harv
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
0
|
11
|
124
|
11.3
|
3
|
2010
|
Harv
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
0
|
25
|
234
|
9.4
|
4
|
2011
|
Harv
|
10
|
1
|
14
|
14.0
|
0
|
37
|
512
|
13.8
|
7
|
2012
|
Harv
|
10
|
2
|
5
|
2.5
|
0
|
52
|
706
|
13.6
|
8
|
Career
|
|
40
|
3
|
19
|
6.3
|
0
|
125
|
1576
|
12.6
|
22
|
Juszczyk was not invited to the NFL Combine, but he did work out at Harvard’s Pro Day. Here are his workout numbers:
Height: 6-1
Weight: 248
40 yard dash: 4.72
Bench Press: 24
Vertical: 37
Broad Jump: 10-1
3 cone drill: 6.93
Here’s his game tape against Princeton:
Here’s Juszczyk during the Senior Bowl practices:
On tape, Juszczyk looks like an upgraded version of Mike Tolbert. Like Tolbert, he is big, but has deceptive speed and is very agile in small spaces. Against Princeton, you can see him doing a little bit of everything – he’s lined up as in inline tight end, but he’s running routes you’d normally associate with a wide receiver. He also shows excellent ability as a run and pass blocker from the inline tight end position, and as the fullback.
Here’s what CBS Sports’ Pat Kirwan has to say about Juszczyk:
Kyle Juszczyk from Harvard is an ideal H-back/fullback candidate. He has been impressive as a lead blocker on the inside run game and has decleated a number of linebackers in the run drills. He is a fine receiver out of the backfield or as a wing has been excellent all week. He has soft hands, runs good routes and is physical after the catch. The 49ers run a lot of two- and three-tight sets and a number of teams are studying that offense. Juszczyk would be a great fit for that type of offense. - Pat Kirwan, CBSSports.com
Juszczyk is currently being projected to go in the fourth or fifth round of the Draft. If he's there in the fifth round, don't be surprised if Gettleman pulls the trigger on the intriguing do-it-all player. Not only would he be an excellent inline blocking tight end, he has the potential to be a match-up nightmare due to his ability to play multiple positions on offense.