2018 NFL Draft: UCLA TE Austin Roberts scouting report

Tight end Austin Roberts was a minimal talent in quarterback Josh Rosen’s offense. Now, the tight end looks to take his talents to the 2018 NFL Draft.

After graduating from UCLA, tight end Austin Roberts declared for the 2018 NFL Draft, joining quarterback Josh Rosen in the process. UCLA has some great prospects in the 2018 Draft, however, Roberts has a long way to go if he wants to see himself consistently on an NFL field.

Roberts, well, had a very lackluster season, to say the least. The backup tight end only made 19 receptions for just 220 yards. Many expected Roberts’ production to pick up after Caleb Wilson injured his foot against Colorado early in the season.

However, that was not the case. Austin Roberts played in five games following Wilson’s injury, only having one significant performance. That performance came on November 18 against rival USC, where Roberts caught six passes for 70 yards.

Overall, it is hard to get excited about Roberts if you are an NFL team and it is entirely possible that he is not selected at all in the 2018 NFL Draft. Walter Football has Roberts as the 22nd best tight end in this year’s draft class, even going as far as saying, “Roberts probably should not have entered the 2018 NFL Draft.”

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Roberts does have athleticism on his side as he was a former wide receiver. At the college level, Roberts showed a decent blocking ability both inline and out wide. However, Roberts’ hovers around 235 pounds, far too small to make an effective impact blocking against NFL linebackers

Roberts runs routes pretty well and shows that he does indeed have good football IQ. However, his hands are not sure enough to bank on his good route running and his speed is not enough to blow NFL defenders away.

With proper coaching Roberts can be a good option in the passing game; he needs to be taken by a team that wants to coach him up, though.

With Chip Kelly coming to UCLA Roberts best choice may have been to stay at UCLA, play in an explosive offense, and pad his stat line to at least get a role on an NFL team. Right now, unless he impresses at the combine, it is hard to see Roberts as more than a practice team member.

But hey, you never know. Austin Roberts has the New England Patriots written all over him; a guy that is not highly touted that Bill Belichick coaches up to be a superstar. All you need is athleticism and the foundation; Roberts at least has that.

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