2023 NFL Draft prospect profile: Brenton Strange, Tight End

Penn State has put some players in the NFL at the tight end position during recent years. Jesse James was the first notable Penn State tight end drafted. Then Mike Gesicki and Pat Freiermuth followed suit and both went in the second rounds of their draft year.

While Brenton Strange doesn’t have the draft hype surrounding him like the other Penn State tight ends who entered the draft, he’s still a good prospect. He fits the mold of what the NFL is looking for at the position. He is a good blocker, catches the ball and can make plays with the ball in his hand.

Strange is definitely not a day one player, but there are rumors that he could sneak into the second day of the draft. If that happens, it increases the likelihood that Strange will make an NFL roster his rookie season. Even if he goes day three like many are projecting, he possesses a skill set that could make him stick in the league for a while.

Here is a look at Brenton Strange with updated measurables following the NFL combine and Penn State’s pro day.

Vitals

Career Stats

Overview

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Coming into college, Strange was a four-star prospect out of West Virginia and ranked 344th in the 2019 class according to 247Sports. He received over 15 scholarship offers from different programs before ultimately deciding to come to Penn State. Other notable players in that class were Brandon Smith, Joey Porter Jr., Jaquan Brisker, Caeden Wallace and Adisa Isaac.

Strange didn’t see much playing time his freshman season, appearing in two games. He was able redshirt and got more time on the field in his redshirt freshman season, appearing in nine games. Strange was the backup for Freiermuth who was fully an offensive star for Penn State. 2021 was when Strange moved into the starting role.

Even when being the main guy at tight end, Strange never really popped in the passing game. A lot of that has to do with how he was utilized on the field in the blocking game. He showed that he can put up yards when he was targeted, averaging over 11 yards per catch the past two seasons.

Strengths

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The biggest strength of Brenton Strange is his playmaking with the ball in his hands. He’s one of the hardest players to tackle in the open field because of his combination of strength and athleticism. Because of his relatively low number of career receptions, he wasn’t always able to show that ability, but it’s something that is desired in the yards after catch NFL era.

Another strength of Strange is his blocking ability. He is a plus blocker in the run game when on the line of scrimmage. He is also a very effective blocker down the field against linebacker and secondary players due to his size and strength.

The overall package that Strange has should be enticing to NFL front offices and coaches. He’s not quite a fully polished player yet so there is some room for improvement to unlock his full potential when he gets to the next level.

Weaknesses

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Brenton Strange’s weaknesses are something that could be an issue for him at the NFL level. His main weakness is his lack of separation in coverage. He has a hard time creating separation when running his routes. That can be seen in his average number of receptions the past two seasons as the starting tight end. If Strange struggled creating separation against Big Ten teams, it’s concerning to think what that will look like against NFL talent.

Another weakness of Strange is his sloppy route running. He gets in and out of his breaks slowly and doesn’t run precise routes like they’re designed to be. Again, this weakness can be directly seen in his lack of receptions. Not being at an exact spot when the quarterback is expecting him causes the quarterback to look elsewhere. With his lack of separation concerns as they are, Strange will need to become a better route runner if he wants to be impactful in the passing game at the NFL level.

Best NFL player comparison

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In no way is Brenton Strange the same level of prospect as George Kittle, but this is about looking at skill sets and seeing who a player compares to in the NFL. Kittle is used heavily in the blocking game because of his elite blocking skill set. He also is one of the best yards after the catch guys in the league because of his ability to break tackles. Strange plays a very similar style that Kittle does. He’s heavily used in the blocking game and is a big play threat with the ball in his hands.

NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein has his player comparison for Strange with Tyler Conklin of the New York Jets. That is probably more likely considering Strange’s ceiling doesn’t reach the level of Kittle.

Where Strange sits among draft prospects

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Among the other tight ends in this class, Brenton Strange ranks anywhere from the eighth to 10th best prospect. He isn’t considered among the high end prospects in this class. There isn’t a singular consensus best tight end, with many analysts having different guys at the top. This is a very deep tight end class which hurts Strange’s ability to go in the early rounds.

However, there are some rumors that he could find his way into a day two pick instead of day three where it was originally thought he would be drafted. Where he will be drafted is yet to be determined. Drafting a player in the later rounds mainly comes down to fit within the scheme and within the organization. It will be interesting to see if those rumors about him sneaking into the earlier rounds become accurate, but right now it looks like Strange is a lock to be drafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire