Buffalo Bills Draft Prospects: Devin Funchess
By Dennis Amo
The Buffalo Bills could use another tight end in their depth at the position. The draft will most likely be the place to find that tight end, if not you may see them take a shot at Jermaine Gresham, after he comes back from surgery this offseason.
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Devin Funchess is the next player that we will take a look at. He is listed as being a tight end, but he switched to wide receiver this past year while at Michigan. He came away with 62 catches and 4 touchdowns this past year in 11 of 12 games. He did miss one due to a leg injury.
Funchess might be a good fit in Greg Roman’s offense, especially when he likes to use tight ends in all sorts of combination on the field. He would be a nice compliment to Charles Clay and Marquise Gray in an offensive weapon type way.
Some strengths and weaknesses on Devin Funchess are…
"Big receiver with the ability to mismatch corners in the red zone. Long legs that can cover ground in a straight line. Transitions smoothly from catch to run. Has build-up speed to factor on run-after-catch crossers. Fluid hips for size. Uses size to defeat press coverage. Good body control and length to go get high throws that few can snag. Physical with “separating hands” at the top of the route.Pass-catching is labored. Allows throws into his frame and catches back half of football at times. Tagged with 20 drops over last three seasons. Isn’t a lock to high-point a throw and doesn’t attack throws. Won’t win enough 50/50 throws. Stifled by inconsistent passing attack. Tends to show monotone, one-note play speed. Hard to find a second gear on tape.– NFL.com"
Devin Funchess is being projected to be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round, similar to Maxx Williams. He is also compared to Gavin Escobar, a Dallas Cowboy, having 18 receptions in 2 years for 239 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Bottom line on Devin Funchess is…
"Has mismatch-caliber size, but lack of vertical talent and below-average hands might negate the size to an extent. Funchess was used outside and inside at Michigan and had success from the slot. He has the feel of a hybrid player who can be a big guy at wide receiver or a mismatch nightmare as a move tight end with more weight on his rangy frame.– NFL.com"
He is projected to go higher than his draft grade suggests. Sitting with a 5.48 would signal a late 3rd round option for some teams, but his versatility as a bigger wide receiver or a smaller tight end, could intrigue some teams to draft him earlier in the 3rd or even late in the 2nd. Some of his weaknesses do point to more of a tight end type player so it will be interesting to see where he is drafted this year.
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