Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa
Size:
Height: 6056
Weight: 251
Arm: 32 ⅛”
Hand: 10”
Accomplishments:
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2022)
“Luke Lachey is a smooth-moving and athletic pass-catcher with NFL height/weight, plus-level route-running, and the requisite ball skills to be a mismatch receiving weapon.”
Strengths:
Vertical seam runner
Alignment versatility can play both Y and F positions
Ball skills to win contested-catch opportunities
Plus-level zone run blocker
Grass-finder against zone defenses
Concerns:
Coming back off an ankle injury that ended the 2023 season
Could stand to improve lower-body strength as a vertical run blocker
Explosiveness and twitch
Film Analysis:
Luke Lachey is a former three-sport athlete, adding basketball and track and field to football. He is the starting tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes offense. He brings NFL size/build and catch radius to a passing attack. His size and strength show up in both facets of the offense. Lachey brings toughness and effort to the run game to create and seal the edges for his RB.
Lachey is a smooth and fluid route-runner. He gets in and out of his breaks well to create ample separation and a throwing lane for his QB. Lachey uses little nuanced details to separate as a route-runner, like leaning on his defender before breaking in the opposite direction. He has fluid hips to rotate with little restrictions. Lachey plays with good strength and physicality as a route-runner to fight through tough man coverage. He understands how to subtly use his frame and limbs to move defenders off his body. Lachey’s strength shows up as he breaks tackles for yards after the catch. He runs a variety of routes in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field, from in-breakers, corners, hitches, out-breakers, and seam routes.
With the football in the air, Lachey uses his basketball background to position himself to post up and box out defenders at the catch point. He attacks the ball at its highest point, similar to how he attacked rebounds in the paint on the hardwood. Lachey has strong, reliable hands to pluck the ball out of the air and away from his frame. He routinely reels in tough contested catches. Lachey is reliable working within high-traffic areas on the field.
Lachey is a good in-line run blocker. At best, he collapses the edges horizontally on zone run calls. He can wash defenders down the line of scrimmage using their momentum and weight against them. On pin-and-pull run concepts, Lachey is an ideal fit for offenses with those concepts.
Lachey is a good athlete but do not expect elite explosiveness and suddenness at the start of his routes after the snap. As a result, Lachey can get stuck fighting through physical press coverage from defenders. Throughout Lachey’s career, he has not produced at a high level. Hopes for this change in 2024 as the unquestioned best offensive player. Lachey can potentially be a high-volume pass catcher but we need to see it on the field. He is coming off a season-ending ankle injury. Getting back to playing at 100% will be important for him this season.
Despite his listed weight, Lachey can benefit from adding more muscle mass and functional strength to his game. He can be shed fairly quickly in the vertical run game. If he is ineffective on those run calls as an in-line blocker, it can make the offensive run game predictable.
Overall, Lachey is an outstanding offensive talent. He projects as a productive starting tight end with the ability to own the real estate in the middle of the field for 17 games in the NFL. He can be a mismatch-creating weapon due to his alignment versatility. Lachey has impact playmaker written all over his game.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Winning Starter
Written By: Damian Parson
Exposures: Utah State (2023), Iowa State (2023), Michigan (2022), Minnesota (2022), Nebraska (2022), Kentucky (2022)
