With the 224th pick in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions have selected tight end Isaac Nauta from Georgia.
Nauta bombed the NFL Combine and left a bad taste in most analysts mouths, but there appears to be a bit of an overcorrection in how much his stock has fallen.
Nauta is an inline tight end option and will be in direct competition with Michael Roberts, Logan Thomas and Jerome Cunningham for third — and maybe fourth — options at tight end.
While he did test very poorly athletically, he was incredibly efficient on the field. He had an 86-percent completion percentage (2nd best in tight end class), average 12.3-yards per target (2nd), average 2-yards per route run (7th), a 3.2-percent drop rate (3rd best) and a 76.3 run blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (2nd).
The only other tight end to finish in the Top-7 in all five of these categories — T.J. Hockenson, the Lions first-round pick in the draft.
