Josh Oliver Has The Tools To Be Our Future TE2

Josh Oliver, TE
School: San Jose State | Conference: Mountain West
College Experience: Senior | Age: 21?
Height / Weight: 6-5 / 246 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 4th -7th Round
NFL Comparison: Vance McDonald

College Statistics

Player Overview

A native of Templeton, CA, Josh Oliver was originally recruited to play as a linebacker out of high school, where he received All State honors. He comes with strong bloodlines in the game, both his father and brother played football for Cal Poly, and his uncle - Clancy Oliver - played in the NFL for the Steelers and Cardinals. Oliver made starts in all four years in college at San Jose State as a tight end, but the vast majority of his production came in his senior season, where he had 59 catches for 709 yards and 4 TDs, and was named first team All Mountain West conference. Additionally, he made his team high catches count, with 67.9% of them resulting in first downs or touchdowns, a percentage second only to UCLA’s Caleb Wilson. Despite playing for a fairly small school, his performance in 2018 - particularly his 16 contested catches, which led the college football ranks - caught the eye of the evaluators at Pro Football Focus, who ranked him the number 5 tight end entering this year’s draft.

Strengths

• Strong vertical threat.
• Good route running ability
• Has big hands and can catch reliably. Good ball skills.
• Can play as a TE, in the slot, or on the outside.
• Decent in pass protection.
• Well liked by his teammates. Voted team captain.
• Strong work ethic.

Weaknesses

• Needs to work on blocking, particularly in the run game.
• Needs to bulk up more.
• Doesn't rack up YAC. Goes down too easily with contact.
• Seems not to play as fast as his clocked time.

Let’s see his work

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

Oliver profiles as a prototypical, modern day TE, with good hands and route-running ability, but room to grow as a blocker. Additionally, given his dramatically improved performance during his senior season, it suggests that his development is continuing and that he still has considerable room to grow as a player. Oliver is a red zone weapon and possesses the capability to use his size and vertical ability to beat defenders when it counts. As a result of a very favorable combine performance, Oliver is rising on draft boards, and would likely need to be targeted with one of the team’s fifth round picks - if he lasts that long. On the Redskins, Oliver would be a great TE2 substitute for Vernon Davis, replicating many of the skills that Davis brings to the table for a fraction of the cost.