NFL Draft: Will Mallory Profile and Prediction
The NFL Draft will see several interesting tight ends going on to play pro football.
This year’s crop of tight ends has several players that fit into the evolution of the position with many of the top tight ends being just as good in space like a wide receiver as they are attached to the line of scrimmage.
That trend also fits Miami tight end prospect Will Mallory. Before diving into his NFL Combine testing numbers, here’s a look at his statistics as a Hurricane during the past five seasons.
Career Statistics:
2018: 5 receptions, 37 yards, 7.4 average, and 1 touchdown
2019: 16 receptions, 293 yards, 18.3 average, and 2 touchdowns
2020: 22 receptions, 329 yards, 15 average, and 4 touchdowns
2021: 30 receptions, 347 yards, 11.6 average, and 4 touchdowns
2022: 42 receptions, 538 yards, 12.8 average, and 3 touchdowns
Most notably from his time as a Cane, Mallory was a go-to third down receiver. From the 2022 season, Mallory caught 11 third down passes and averaged 16.7 yards from those receptions.
Here’s a look at his overall NFL prospectus and which tight ends he will compete with to go high in the NFL Draft.
NFL Combine Measurements:
Height: 6-4.5
Weight: 239 pounds
Arm: 32 ¼”
Hand: 9 ⅜”
As a comparison, Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid had bigger a bigger hand and arm at 10 ¼” and 32 ⅝” respectively, just looking at two categories.
How much value do teams place on these categories? Depends on the team, but yes, sometimes they do go with NFL Combine measurables as a way to help differentiate between players.
That stated, the next set of statistics definitely helped Mallory’s opportunity to move up the list of NFL franchises NFL Draft boards.
NFL Combine Testing:
40-Yard Dash: 4.54
10-Yard Split: 1.59
Vertical Jump: 36.5
Broad Jump: 10’1”
From the NFL Combine, Malloy did a fantastic job with several categories including the forty. The above statistics helped his stock and it should help him with teams that want to draft a flex tight end, at the very least.
Another top tight end prospect would be Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, but Mallory beat him in the forty as Mayer ran 4.7, plus he did not match Mallory in the broad jump or 10-split with scores of 1.66 and 9’10”.
Where do other outlets rank Mallory among NFL Draft tight ends? Here’s a look at a few of them.
Tight End Rankings:
Mel Kiper: 9
Draft Kings: 12
CBS Sports: 7
NFLDraftBuzz.com: 11
Walter Football: 10
College Football News: 12
Drafttek: 12
Looking at the various rankings, it’s obvious that there’s a wide gap of opinions on Mallory. He could go to several different teams and in different rounds.
Possible Will Mallory NFL Draft Landing Spots
A few of the teams that will be at least considering taking a tight end will be the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Considering Mallory comes from Jacksonville, Fla., it would be great for him if the Jaguars selected him. Additionally, there’s another team that could go with a pass-catching tight end and improve the tight end position on its roster.
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t ever truly replaced Jason Witten. They have two younger tight ends but neither has established himself. No more Dalton Schultz on the roster either.
So, the Cowboys could be a sleeper pick with Mallory later on in the NFL Draft.
NFL Round Projection: 6th Round
Maybe it’s the Colts or the Chargers or the Lions. With so many possible trade scenarios involved, this becomes a guessing game where which team takes Mallory, but he will be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.
Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.