Final Report

The UConn transfer is a completely different player than the oversized WR who arrived in college. Justin Joly has been one of the most productive pass-catchers at TE in the college game over the last few seasons. After a breakout sophomore year at UConn that saw him eclipse 500 yards, Joly transferred to NC State and kept ascending. Heading into his final year, he continued to put on weight to become more sustainable at his position. He stayed productive, but did not look quite as fluid and athletic as previously. In general, I just don't think he can maintain true TE weight naturally. The 241-245 he lives at now is a bit above his natural frame and at this point brings up questions of route-running and separation at the next level. He's a receiving-first guy in essence, so those skills are critical even if he were to be able to block in-line serviceably. When at his best, he snaps off horizontal routes as well as anyone in this class. He gets a lot of power when he puts his foot in the ground and this leads to some eye-popping separation on routes like digs and corners. Even as he has lost some speed and fluidity going into them, he still generated that power out of breaks in his final year and popped from time to time as a result. He also has terrific ball skills and some quiet ability after the catch. He's improved a lot as a blocker with increases in weight, but it's still an uphill battle to imagine in-line translation. Between that and relatively questionable athleticism, he may simply not have the natural frame to play TE in the NFL in any major role. In general, he's a flex guy that's not freaky enough to play even a high-end move TE rotational role. In many ways, he just feels like a very good TE for the college game. I do, however, think he'll have his place on rosters as a depth piece.

Recommended Position

TE

Round Grade

5th

Player Comp

Brevin Jordan

Scheme Fits