I think Jelani Woods is my favorite long-term sleeper of the 2022 draft. He’s an unusual physical specimen, with the potential to turn into something special if the Colts can get him dialed in.
He stands out on the field, looking like a high-school kid who snuck into a peewee game. He’s just a lot bigger than anyone else. They’ve got him listed at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds, but he looks even bigger. If I didn’t have the numbers, I would guess he were 6-foot-8 and 290. His arms and his wingspan are 2-3 inches longer than the other tight end prospects.
Rob Gronkowski has some of that size mismatch thing going on. Eric Green had it in the early ‘90s. I get some of that same vibe with Woods.
With tight ends, more so than other positions, traits are key. That’s why we see teams looking at converting basketball players – Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham. And Woods jumps out as looking like a lottery ticket who might turn into one of those guys.
He’ll need substantial work. I’m not sure if he’ll get on the field much at all this year. But I want to see how things unfold. And he’s not as raw as some of the other tight ends of this ilk. He caught 44 passes for 598 yards and 8 TDs last year at Virginia.
Admittedly, we’re talking about a roll-of-the-dice type guy here. A fourth-round pick. But as I look at the stats of the last 20 years, I see plenty of cases of lightly regarded tight end prospects becoming really good players.
In the 32-team era (since 2002), 79 different tight ends have put together a top-10 season using PPR scoring. (That number may seem low, but there have been 200 such seasons in the last 20 years, and many tight ends have cracked the top 10 more than once.) Of the 79 players, 30 of them (more than a third) were authored by players who originally weren’t selected in the first three rounds of the draft.
I can’t promise that Woods will be one of those guys, but I think it’s possible.
For the Colts, I’m guessing both Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson (a fourth-round pick last year) will be more productive in 2022, but I think I would select Woods before either of them in a dynasty league. If I were in a dynasty league, I think Woods would make a lot of sense as a third tight end.
In the chart below, you’re looking at the best seasons (one per player) of tight ends selected after the first three rounds. Active players tagged with black dots (most notably, Darren Waller, George Kittle and Dalton Schultz).
| LIGHTLY REGARDED TIGHT ENDS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rd | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2006 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | FA | 71 | 924 | 9 | 217.4 | 1 |
| 2020 | • Darren Waller, L.V. | 6 | 107 | 1,196 | 9 | 282.6 | 2 |
| 2003 | Shannon Sharpe, Den. | 7 | 62 | 770 | 8 | 187.0 | 2 |
| 2015 | Delanie Walker, Ten. | 6 | 94 | 1,088 | 6 | 244.4 | 3 |
| 2019 | • George Kittle, S.F. | 5 | 85 | 1,053 | 5 | 222.5 | 3 |
| 2011 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 4 | 79 | 910 | 7 | 216.5 | 3 |
| 2013 | Julius Thomas, Den. | 4 | 65 | 788 | 12 | 215.8 | 3 |
| 2021 | • Dalton Schultz, Dall. | 4 | 78 | 808 | 8 | 208.8 | 3 |
| 2015 | Gary Barnidge, Cle. | 5 | 79 | 1,043 | 9 | 237.3 | 4 |
| 2009 | Brent Celek, Phil. | 5 | 76 | 971 | 8 | 221.1 | 4 |
| 2004 | Randy McMichael, Mia. | 4 | 73 | 791 | 4 | 178.1 | 4 |
| 2020 | • Logan Thomas, Was. | 4 | 72 | 670 | 6 | 176.9 | 4 |
| 2013 | Jordan Cameron, Cle. | 4 | 80 | 917 | 7 | 213.7 | 5 |
| 2020 | • Robert Tonyan, G.B. | FA | 52 | 586 | 11 | 176.6 | 5 |
| 2004 | Eric Johnson, S.F. | 7 | 82 | 825 | 2 | 176.5 | 5 |
| 2012 | Brandon Myers, Oak. | 6 | 79 | 806 | 4 | 183.6 | 6 |
| 2017 | Jack Doyle, Ind. | FA | 80 | 690 | 4 | 173.0 | 6 |
| 2008 | Owen Daniels, Hou. | 4 | 70 | 862 | 2 | 168.2 | 6 |
| 2004 | Jermaine Wiggins, Min. | FA | 71 | 705 | 4 | 165.5 | 6 |
| 2002 | Billy Miller, Hou. | 7 | 51 | 613 | 3 | 130.3 | 6 |
| 2003 | Itula Mili, Sea. | 6 | 46 | 492 | 4 | 119.2 | 6 |
| 2016 | • Cameron Brate, T.B. | FA | 57 | 660 | 8 | 171.0 | 7 |
| 2002 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | FA | 43 | 478 | 6 | 128.8 | 7 |
| 2013 | Charles Clay, Mia. | 6 | 69 | 759 | 6 | 188.4 | 8 |
| 2016 | Dennis Pitta, Balt. | 4 | 86 | 729 | 2 | 170.9 | 8 |
| 2019 | • Tyler Higbee, LAR | 4 | 69 | 734 | 3 | 160.4 | 8 |
| 2018 | Trey Burton, Chi. | FA | 54 | 569 | 6 | 149.1 | 8 |
| 2003 | Boo Williams, N.O. | FA | 41 | 436 | 5 | 114.6 | 8 |
| 2007 | Donald Lee, G.B. | 5 | 48 | 575 | 6 | 141.5 | 9 |
| 2006 | Desmond Clark, Chi. | 6 | 45 | 626 | 6 | 143.6 | 10 |
—Ian Allan