Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

I had a good chat with a friend who knows a lot of people in the league. The subject? Safety valves for quarterbacks.

The importance of having a reliable tight end is undervalued, especially with a young quarterback. Long gone are the days of a tight end's duty consisting of lining up next to a tackle and sending a running back his way. Teams are looking for guys who can run a 12-yard in on a critical third down and convert with a high success rate.

And there may not be a better guy at doing this than Purdue's Dustin Keller. He showed it at the Combine with a 4.53 40 and 38" vertical, both tops at his position.

Coming into the Combine, scouts were a little thrown by Keller's size (6'2, 242), but that's the whole give-and-take of the new tight end. While I'm sure every GM wants a Jason Witten (6'5, 265, 96 catches) or an Antonio Gates (6'4, 260, 75 catches), there just isn't a stockpile of humans that size who can move like Witten and Gates do.

But Keller's size isn't going to hurt him terribly in the NFL. Chris Cooley and Kellen Winslow, both Pro Bowl selections, aren't much bigger. And with legit 4.5 speed, he's moving faster than some wide receivers.

Watch the video. The first thing you will notice is the speed at the snap. He gets into his routes at a breakneck rate.

The more I look at this class, the more I begin to like the offensive side of things. Again, I see a lot of depth at the front end of this position. Looking over the list, I see 10 guys that I would draft as a GM. I'm sure there are a few surprises here and there, as well.

The last four years of the Draft have 54 tight ends drafted. In 2007, 13 had their name called (Greg Olsen being the only first rounder at 31). 2006 had 16 (two first rounders), 2005 had nine (one first rounder) and 2004 also had 16 (two in the first round).

But this isn't an essay about where all tight ends should be drafted, just where Dustin Keller should be drafted. I believe the Combine backed up what we all saw in college: The dude can get it done when he has the ball in his hands. Why did I know this before the Combine? Well, in Joe Tiller's pass-happy offense, Keller had 68 catches for 881 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Keller is right in the mix with names like Fred Davis (USC), Martellus Bennett (Texas A&M, athletic freak) and Brad Cottam (Tennessee, 6'8, 270). Teams with solid wide receiving corps might look to take a Bennett or Cottam before Keller, but if you're a team like Buffalo, Cincinnati or Denver, Keller might be a good option in the second round. Or if the Jets can snag him early in the third, you would be getting a steal.

He's exactly what a young quarterback (like Losman, Cutler or Clemens) needs.

Also, draft these guys:
Marcus Monk
Joe Flacco
Jeremy Zuttah
Ryan Mundy
Chevis Jackson