Blake Whiteheart NFL Draft Scouting Report

TE, Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Blake Whiteheart is a former 3-star high school athlete and was a top-70 ranked tight end recruit. He was a team captain on his high school team. Initially, he redshirted as a freshman before becoming the starter to finish out his career. 

Whiteheart is an efficient tight end that does whatever the team asks of him. His game is predicated on quickness more than speed. He is a reliable target in the flats, across the middle of the field, and attacking vertically up the seams. Whiteheart has showcased good tracking ability with the ball in flight. His ball skills to attack passes at its highest point caught my eye. He’s a surehanded receiving option that does not look to cradle the football into his frame—Whitehart plucks the ball nicely away from his frame. He is competitive making plays on the football in traffic. Between multiple defenders driving on the ball, he is confident to make the catch and protect his body. As a route-runner, he has some nuance to manipulate leverage and stem his routes to move defenders out of his intended path. He understands and embraces the contact enough to work through it and to the football.

Whiteheart is a movement and wash-down style blocker. He does a better job of using defenders’ momentum against them to work them in their predetermined direction. Also, he is a reliable and effective blocker in space on screens. 

Whitheart does not possess the speed to generate consistent explosive plays downfield. This issue creates limitations after the catch—he is not a threat to generate yards after the catch. He is a get-what-is-there type of receiving option. His run blocking lacks the power to displace defenders in the vertical run game. This could limit the running schemes that he will fit into. The lack of production is concerning coming out of that deep mesh RPO offense. 

In all, Whiteheart is a solid tight end prospect. He combines decent size, movement skills, and ball skills. I project Whiteheart as a TE3 at best that plays valuable snaps on special teams. There is potential for him to become the TE2 of his offense. 

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Spatial awareness
• Route-running
• Ball skills

Top Reasons For Concern:

• Lack of production
• Overall athleticism
• Blocking

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 247 lbs

Arm Length: 32 1/8”

Hand Size: 8 3/4”

Athletic Testing (NFL Combine):

40-yard Dash: 4.70s

Vertical Jump: 35.5”

Broad Jump: 9′ 7”

Short-Shuttle: TBD

Three-Cone: TBD

Bench Reps: 20 reps

Ideal Role: Backup tight end

Scheme Fit: RPO and play-action passing concepts

TDN Consensus Grade: 70.50/100 (Fifth-Round Value)

• Parson Grade: 70.50/100

Written By: Damian Parson

Exposures: VMI (2022), Louisville (2022), Clemson (2022), Duke (2022)

Blake Whiteheart NFL Draft Scouting Report. Add him to your big board here.