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Breakdown of Braxton Deaver

Duke TE Braxton Deaver was picked up by the Panthers after the draft as a UDFA to add to the Panthers already crowded TE depth chart. As a Duke fan, I was excited by this move. Deaver may be the size and weight of Cam Newton (6' 5", 245 pounds), but he plays like a big tight end. He's not afraid to drop his shoulder and run somebody over like a monster truck.

My favorite play from Deaver came in 2013 against Virginia. It was 4th and 1, Duke was down by 5 in the 4th quarter. Deaver is lined up in the backfield. He runs straight to his right and get hit, wide open at the line of scrimmage. Deaver takes off! He runs 47 yards into the endzone for the TD.Braxton Deaver's 47-yard TD

Deaver has speed, as he ran a 4.72 40-yard dash. He has strength, getting 26 reps at 225 pounds. And he even has some hops, landing a 31 1/2' vertical, and a 9' 2" broad jump. However, Deaver does have some issues. "My health. That's the bottom line. I think my tape speaks for itself. I can catch the ball. I can hit people in the mouth." Deaver said, "I think I'm one of the biggest tight ends in the draft. My injuries have blackballed me a little bit."

Deaver's career has beeen a roller coaster, that's for sure. He starred in high school and went to Duke in 2010. He was redshirted his first year, but showed promise in his 2011 year. Then, he tore his ACL in 2012. But Braxton Deaver came back swinging in 2013, racking up 43 passes for 600 yards. It looked as if he would be a star in 2014, but, once again he tore his ACL. His 2nd attempt at coming off an ACL injury didn't go as well a the 1st one. Deaver caught just 21 passes for 183 yards in 2015.

It's good that Deaver wound up for the Panthers, as he had reached out to Panthers starting TE Greg Olsen through Olsen's HEARTest Yard Foundation. Deaver lists Olsen as a role model. "We texted a little bit. I wanted to know how he, throughout his college career, prepared and what he did to sharpen his skills as a tight end." Deaver said.

Overall, Deaver probably won't turn out as well as his role model, but he may be able to find a way to climb the extremely tall Carolina Panthers TE Depth Chart ladder and eventually find his way in the 53 in a couple of years.

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