10. Cheyenne O’Grady, TE, Arkansas
Height: 6’4″ Weight: 253
40-Yard Dash: 4.81 seconds
Bench Press: 16 reps
Vertical Jump: 34 inches
Broad Jump: 9 feet 11 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.3 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.34
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Cheyenne “C.J.” O’Grady came to Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine with more questions surrounding him than answers. He was a four-star recruit coming out of Fayetteville High School and turned down several offers to stay home and attend his home town school, Arkansas. His time on campus was marked by an arrest as a freshman for suspicion of DWI and possession of alcohol, suspensions from two different coaching staffs, and he eventually left the team midway through his senior campaign.
When he was on the field O’Grady looked the part of an early-round tight end. He was a focal part of the Razorbacks’ offense this season – before leaving the squad – and he caught 33 passes (a career-high) for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He did this on just seven games. But in early November he was suspended by the team and decided to “step away” from the program.
I know. Your “Spidey Sense” is tingling too.
Stat to Know: During his career O’Grady broke 17 tackles on just 87 career receptions. That is an impressive percentage.
Strengths: O’Grady could be a top tight end in this class if it were not for the off field issues. He has the route-running ability to separate consistently from man coverage, and the ability to secure the football almost perfectly at the catch point. Pro Football Focus charted him with just four drops on 89 career catchable passes, and impressive percentage. He is very physical at the catch point, and plays like this are going to keep him on the radar of many NFL clubs:
…and he hung on to this how? 🥴 pic.twitter.com/tJh5WImxyd
— EJ Snyder (@thedraftsmanFB) April 5, 2020
Not only does he absorb the shot here and hang onto the football, O’Grady maintains his contact balance and fights for additional yardage after the catch. Converting a third-and-long in this fashion? That will put you on NFL radars, and earn the trust of your future pro passer.
Weaknesses: Beyond the character red flags – and there certainly are many – there is also a question of effort. At times O’Grady seems to take routes off, and there are blocking assignments when he somehow manages to avoid hitting a single soul over the course of a play. He lacks consistent finishing with his blocks, and there times that he does not even attempt to catch throws outside of his catch radius.
Then there is the effort he put on the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium. For players with character red flags, a massive showing at the Combine can help to ease fears in NFL front offices. For example, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. turned heads with his Combine performance, and that might make it easier for a General Manager to turn in a card with his name on it. O’Grady turned in an average Combine, in terms of his 40-yard dash time (4.81 seconds) and his three-cone drill (7.3 seconds, 39th percentile).
To his credit, he took ownership of his mistakes at Arkansas, and even admitted under questioning from Arif Hasan from The Athletic – Minnesota that he was finally in shape for the first time in a long time:
Myself and @ArifHasanNFL had fun talking to Arkansas TE CJ O’Grady, who admitted he wasn’t in good shape in college. #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/0zaAXpp5VO
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) February 26, 2020
But one has to wonder – especially in a global climate when teams cannot take extra meetings with prospects due to the COVID-19 crisis – is a team going to feel comfortable drafting a player with this background?
Conclusion: There is a famous quote about the draft process attributable to Arizona Cardinals’ General Manager Steve Keim: “If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we’d probably diagnose it as an eating disorder.” O’Grady, even with his off-field issues, still might attract a draft pick in a weak tight end class. He had a chance to run the TE equivalent of that 4.3 at the Combine, but failed to take advantage of the opportunity. The team that takes a chance on his is getting a potential mismatch player in the receiving game, but is it worth the risk? Especially for a prospect on the older side, set to turn 24 as a rookie? The negatives might outweigh the potential positives.
Comparison: PFF compared him to Lance Kendricks in their Draft Guide, and if O’Grady manages to put it all together, he has that kind of ceiling. The question is, how confident are you – and NFL teams – that he will meet that ceiling?