Kivon Cartwright, possible NFL Draft sleeper.
After our in-house film study, we were interested to hear what analysts around the web are saying.
Unlike with Cory James, who didn’t necessarily have many features in magazines or draft previews online, Cartwright is quite present in the national media’s rankings at his position. He also has some definite fans amongst the Draft community none bigger then the folks at Athlon Sports.
Athlon’s Draft guide ranked Cartwright as the 10th best tight end in this Draft class.
They had this to say about the Rams tight end:
“STRONG POINTS: An athletic hand catcher. Athletic after the catch. Has good stop-and-go quickness. Good body control. Gained separation in college with his athletic ability. Equally skilled catching a screen, crosser or vertical wheel route. Spent most of 2015 refining his blocking skills. Has big hands (107/8) and long arms (333/4) for the position.
WEAK POINTS: Can improve all the nuances of tight end play, including route running, separation, ball reactions and sustaining blocks inline.
SUMMARY: An H-back moved tight end who has speed to go vertical down the field and disrupt the secondary. Had a breakout year in 2013 in Jim McElwain’s tight end-friendly offense. He caught 27 passes for 462 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 17.1 yards per catch in a time share. Caught NFL scouts’ attention at the East-West Shrine practices, where he was smooth and athletic in his routes and caught the ball in his soft hands. He caught two passes in Shrine game, one for an 11-yard score. A draft sleeper.”
Athlon went on to give Cartwright a 6th/7th round grade. Their analysis about Cartwright’s success in McElwain’s offense and at the Shrine Game were very insightful.
NFL.com and their draft analyst Lance Zierlein have written a scouting report for all the potential “Next Level Rams” we’ve talked about so far, and Cartwright saw some praise.
Here’s what’ Zierlien had to say:
“OVERVIEW
Cartwright was named honorable mention All-Mountain West in both 2013 and 2015. He missed the 2014 season — and was granted a redshirt — due to an injury. He finished his Colorado State career with 75 receptions for 1,136 yards and 11 touchdowns.
STRENGTHS Angular tight end with long arms and huge hands. Hands look natural. Can use long arms to reach and pluck a sailing throw. Best when routes take him down the field. Long strider who has adequate buildup speed when challenging intermediate to deep. Allowed to run variety of routes and caught passes from all spots on the field. Saw seven of his 18 catches go for 20 yards or more.
WEAKNESSES Stiffness in his lower body creates mechanical movement. Not very fluid into his breaks and shows no wiggle to make defenders miss in the open field. Plays too upright into his routes. Can go high to catch a throw but not as effective adjusting to throws wide or behind him. Not very strong at the point of attack. Strong edge defenders can rag doll him around. Unable to handle NFL bull rush in pass protection.
BOTTOM LINE Cartwright missed his entire 2014 season due to injury issues, but came back and was relatively productive for Colorado State. His lack of mass and aggressiveness as a blocker are big strikes against him, while his stiffness when asked to venture outside of a straight line will limit his effectiveness getting open underneath.”
Certainly Zerlien isn’t as high on Cartwright as Athlon sports is, especially due to the injury concerns and worries over lower body stiffness. Though, Zierlien certainly recognizes the ability and upside in Cartwright, and saw some promise in his production while in the green and gold.
The others to give a scouting report of Cartwright was the 2016 Pro Football Draft® Guide.
They ranked Cartwright as the 19th best player at his position and also gave the most negative report of the former CSU tight end (of the reports that we found). Especially the limits on his future upside were surprising.
Here is Pro Football Draft® Guide’s scouting report:
“Upside A supersize wideout who lines up as a tight end, Cartwright has good height, long arms and enough speed to get up the seam. He tracks the ball well and consistently makes plays down the middle of the field. Downside Durability is an issue, as Cartwright missed most of 2014, with a major ankle injury and didn’t seem to be 100% healthy last season. His speed is good but not great. He’s more of a straight-line athlete who doesn’t have the flexibility or suddenness to shake defenders underneath. Bottom Line Cartwright has some field stretching ability, as well as special-teams value. If he earns a roster spot this summer, he could eventually develop into a No. 2 tight end.”
Maybe more than any other player we’ve looked at so far, Cartwright seems to have a pretty solid consensus from the national media on his strengths and weaknesses. There are certainly diverging opinions on how good these skills might ultimately lead him to be as a pro but there certainly seems to be more of a consensus on him then the other “Next Level Rams,” not to mention people already seem to know him pretty well in national circles, that’s already a start.
For a more positive look at Cartwright, read our Draft profile of him here.
