NFL Draft Profile: Cole Turner, Tight End, Nevada Wolfpack

NFL draft profile scouting report for Nevada Tight End, Cole Turner

Author:
The NFL Draft Bible
Updated:
Mar 4, 2022 3:01 PM EST
Original:
Jan 10, 2022

In this story:

#19
Pos: TE
Ht: 6064
Wt: 249
Hand: 0968
Arm: 3300
Wing: 7828
40: 4.76
Bench: 17
3-Cone: 7.06
Shuttle: 4.41
Vertical: 27
Broad Jump: 1000
DOB:
Elgibility: 2022
Clackamas, OR
Clackamas High School

Cole Turner Nevada Wolfpack

One-Liner:

Long F tight who is prolific in contested catch situations, Turner possesses average speed and below average route running ability.

Pros:

Long F tight end who lines up in the slot and occasionally out wide and in line. Turner is prolific in contested catch situations where he adjusts to passes out of his frame. Combining his length and strong hands make for a very big catch radius. Turner has a good feel for sitting down in open spaces against zone coverage and making himself available for the quarterback. He is a capable positional blocker when asked to take on linebackers or defensive backs.

Cons:

Displaying just average speed when he opens his long stride, Turner fails to threaten off coverage defenders vertically. Because of his long legs, he lacks explosiveness and short-area agility. As a route runner, Turner does not set up defensive backs and shows sloppy footwork while running most routes at half speed. He struggles to adjust his routes when zone coverage defenders are in his path. Turner blocks with high pads, allowing defenders to win the leverage battle and shows poor strike strength and leg drive.

Summary:

F tight end with great length, average speed and below-average short area agility. Turner has a very big catch radius and is prolific in contested catch situations. He struggles to separate and is just a positional blocker. Turner projects as a red-zone role mismatch who can win in the air. Between the 20’s he is unlikely to make it on the field much due to his limitations as a blocker and separator. Turner would benefit from being paired with a traditional Y tight end.

Background:

Nicholas Turner goes by Cole which is his nickname was also recruited by Oregon State, BYU, Portland State, Air Force, Columbia, Princeton and UC Davis before choosing Nevada. In high School he graduated from Clackamas High School in Clackamas, Oregon where he was a two-sport athlete in football and basketball. He helped lead his team to a state championship in 2017 and three consecutive conference titles and earned a slew of accolades during his high school career including two first team all-league honors and was named first team all-state in 2017 for football He was named first team all-league in basketball his senior year and led the state of Oregon in receiving in 2017 with 76 receptions totaling 1,325 yards and 20 touchdowns. He received MAC Scholar Athlete honors and also played for EForce in football and Elite 24 in basketball.

He played immediately at Nevada. In 2018, his true freshman year, Turner appeared in 12 games for Nevada and caught two passes on the season, including a 24-yard touchdown against UNLV. He was a member of Nevada’s 2018 Arizona Bowl victory team and earned Academic All-MW honors. In 2019, he appeared in all 13 games while catching four balls on the year and made receptions at UTEP, against San Jose State, at Wyoming and vs. Ohio. His season-long reception came in the bowl game against Ohio when he hauled in an 18-yard catch. In 2020, Turner was named to the All-Mountain West First Team and played all nine games, tying for the team and Mountain West lead (with teammate Romeo Doubs) with nine touchdown catches, and finishing second on the team in catches (49), receiving yards (605). He hauled in two scoring passes, finishing with seven catches for 119 yards against Wyoming (Oct. 24) and had six catches for 72 yards against New Mexico (Nov. 14). He made eight grabs for 50 yards and a touchdown against San Diego State (Nov. 21) and added another touchdown grab at Hawai'i, finishing with six catches for 48 yards (Nov. 28). Turner made five catches for 69 yards and two scores against Fresno State (Dec. 5) and had a touchdown catch among his four receptions for 49 yards against San Jose State (Dec. 11). He caught two touchdowns, finishing with five catches for 60 yards against Tulane at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 22). In 2021, Turner was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team and played in 11 games, made 10 touchdown catches to lead all tight ends in the Mountain West and tied for second in the nation among tight ends (1st; Brock Bowers, UGA, 11) He posted 677 receiving yards, most in his career, and eighth in the nation amongst tight ends and made a career-high 12 catches for a career-high 175 yards against Hawaii on Oct. 16. He caught two touchdowns four times over the course of the season. Turner was invited to Reese's Senior Bowl, joining teammates Romeo Doubs and Carson Strong to make up a trio of Nevada football players for the first time in program history.