Is Isaiah Likely Detroit Lions Tight End of Future?

Read more on whether the Detroit Lions should pursue Coastal Carolina tight end Isaiah Likely in the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the Lions’ coaching staff attending this year’s Senior Bowl, it gives Detroit a closer look at some of the prospects for the 2022 NFL Draft.

One of those prospects is Coastal Carolina tight end Isaiah Likely.

Detroit is set at tight end with the team’s second-leading receiver, T.J. Hockenson. However, after him, there is opportunity to be had, and that is what Lions head coach Dan Campbell and company will be evaluating.

Premier tight ends in the NFL, like Hockenson, create mismatches. Having two would create even more mismatches and give Detroit a distinct gameday advantage on offense.

Is Likely a premier tight end prospect, though? 

CBS Sports went so far as calling Likely "a poor man’s Kyle Pitts.”

I evaluated Pitts coming out of Florida, and after evaluating Likely, I am not seeing it. 

Pitts was a dynamic hybrid coming out of college. He was a top-shelf wide receiver, trapped in the body of a tight end. Pitts’ big frame and alpha personality dominated smaller defensive backs. His agility was too much for stiffer linebackers and safeties to handle.

Other than the fact they have similar sized frames (Pitts is two inches taller), there is no real validity to the Pitts and Likely comparison.

Likely did not show any dominant traits in the games I reviewed. He looked evenly matched against a lower level of collegiate competition. 

In other words, he looked like he had just enough juice to produce where he was playing.

If Likely looks fairly evenly matched going up against Arkansas State and Appalachian State, how will he look against the Packers and the Vikings?

The only times he looked dominant was on broken coverages.

That is not a good sign. It is great for stat padding, but it is not a good sign for projecting Likely to perform at a much higher level of competition.

The small school factor does not scare me as an evaluator, either. A lot of good players in the NFL have come from small schools.

However, if a prospect is coming out of a smaller school, he needs to really stand out. He needs to dominate. 

The prospect needs to look like a man amongst boys, and I am not seeing that with Likely. 

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

#4 Isaiah Likely - 6-foot-4, 240 pounds

40-yard dash time: 4.75

2021 game film reviewed: Kansas, Arkansas State and Appalachian State

2021 stats: 59 receptions, 912 yards, 12 touchdowns, 15.5 YPC average

Grade: UFA (undrafted free agent)

Scouting Report

Receiving tight end with average hip flexibility and average playing speed. Average get off from the line of scrimmage in getting into routes. Routes do not look crisp or well defined. Rounds off routes at the break points, and did not show any burst to the ball. 

One-gear, methodical strider, who will struggle to create separation at the next level. Soft, dependable hands. Decent catcher, but uses his body to catch and tends to jump unnecessarily. Takes what a defense gives him after catches. Very average YAC (yards after catch) when contested. Got a lot of garbage, extra yardage after some catches (wide open/broken coverage). Speed accelerates over a long distance. Would need to run straight-line, vertical seam routes to have the best chance in the pros. 

Works at it as a blocker. Competitive and active run blocker. Lacks strength to sustain much head-on, but did a good job in positional blocking and in sealing off with side leverage.

Good college tight end whose production benefited greatly from playing against lower-level competition. Lacks the polish, athletic ability and playing speed to make a real difference in the NFL.

There is hype surrounding Likely, but in my eyes, it is very unlikely that he’ll make it at the next level.

Likely is going to struggle getting open at the NFL level, and as a receiving tight end, that is a surefire prerequisite.