The Cincinnati Bengals brought back Drew Sample in free agency and hope the former second-round pick can keep ascending.
Bengals tight ends coach James Casey, also a fifth-round pick (2009), recently explained why the fifth year is often a critical point for tight ends in the NFL.
“Ascending players,” Casey said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “From personal experience (his fifth season), that’s when I felt like, ‘I’ve got the confidence. I’ve got the understanding. Now I can really cut it loose.’ Tight end is so hard to learn. The pass game. The run game. Special teams. So many nuances. When you know the basics, you can now focus on the things you need to be really good.”
It’s no secret tight end is one of the tougher positions to learn in the NFL (just look at the track record of first-round TEs over the last decade).
What’s interesting is whether Sample will get a chance to blossom out of his block-heavy role. The team added Irv Smith Jr. in free agency and could draft the position as high as the first round.
Even so, Casey’s comments are interesting and worth keeping in mind should Sample play a bigger role in the offense than expected in 2023.
