Tight end Drew Sample was the Bengals surprise second-round pick of 2019. What have we learned about Sample in his first two seasons other than he was an extreme reach? Let’s disregard the pick since some fans think he Is a bust even though he wasn’t even projected to be picked until two rounds later.
Drew Sample hasn’t been disappointing for Bengals
In Sample’s draft profile it says he is great at space blocking. He has not disappointed the Bengals offense in this regard. He shoots the gap with force and he has always excelled in blocking. He is a real good extension of the offensive line but his downfall is his receiving game Sample has heavy feet for today’s typical TE.
Sample will not beat many man-to-man coverages and will not win many high points to the ball. Even though Sample isn’t an explosive target he does have an extremely high target to catch ratio. With that said Sample can easily be a short-yardage and red-zone target due to his sure hands.
Could Drew Sample be a first Tight End on the depth chart?
Sample did an excellent job being the first string TE when C.J. Uzomah was lost with a season-ending injury in September. Uzomah was one of quarterback Joe Burrow’s go-to guys when he needed a few easy passes to work on the linebackers.
Sample had the best target to catch ratio on the receiving core and averaged a little over ten yards a catch. He caught 50 passes out of 63 targets. That is almost at an 80 percent clip. When we ask the question, is Sample an everyday starter in this league all you can say is he has the potential to be one.
Sample is not close to an everyday starter now, but his ceiling is a lot higher than thought out If college. With Burrow always loving the TE target, Sharpe should get better as a receiver every season.
Drew Sample and his future
It is always bad to see a player go down due to injury. Sample took every opportunity he had this season to up his stock value. If Uzomah never got injured we never would have seen the fast progress of the so-called fluke second round Tight End.
With Sample’s ceiling still pretty low, he could make a decent career in Cincinnati. He should not be an expensive re-sign when the time comes and he is still developing into a solid Tight End.