The college football season is almost over, so FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL draft scouting reports before the combine in March. Here’s a look at Ben Sinnott.

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2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Ben Sinnott

Ben Sinnott (TE – Kansas St.)

6’4” – 245 lbs.

Background:

Walk-on who redshirted, then played sparingly the next year before stepping into a starting role the following year and going 31-447-4 (14.4). Has been even more productive this year, with 49-676-6 (13.8) as of the time of writing.

Positives:

Has been highly productive over the past two seasons, with escalating output. Lines up all over the field, including taking snaps out of the backfield or even occasionally wide. Over a third of his routes so far this year have come from the slot. Competes as a blocker and shows a good understanding of positioning. Keeps his feet churning after contact and works hard to stay engaged. Able to come across the formation and crack backside pursuers. More integrated into his team’s passing attack than usual for a college tight end. Good route-runner, especially for the tight end position. Not a limited safety valve type; lot of his routes are intermediate patterns, like seams and curls. Has some burst out of his stance to threaten the seams, and can dip his shoulder and slip under defenders’ hands. Sinks his hips into the route stem and has clean footwork and good balance through his breaks. Sells patterns with head-fakes. Offers a reliable pair of hands with good concentration and the ability to bring in throws away from his frame. Has pretty impressive agility and vision after the catch to make defenders miss and pick up extra yardage.

Negatives:

Functional strength looks average at best. Can be jolted on contact by bigger opponents. Falls off of too many attempts by playing outside his frame. Has some tendency to overextend and get off-balance when he’s trying to stalk opponents in space. Hand placement as a blocker can be slightly outside. Rarely retained in pass protection. Hasn’t been highly effective on contested catches, and may lack the big frame to successfully box out pro defenders.

Summary:

A prototypical flex tight end who has the speed, flexibility, and route-running chops to threaten down the seams or even line up in the slot or out wide and give defenders a hard time. Shows competitiveness and some versatility as a blocker, but could struggle to hold the point against bigger, stronger pro defenders, at least early in his career. Might be more of a mid-round pick as teams look for more physically gifted options, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he turned into a nice contributor at the next level.

Projection: Round 4-5