RD3 #27/#91: TE Devin Asiasi, UCLA
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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I’ll say this—he was considered a big get out of HS for Michigan. People thought this kid was headed for big things when he signed and production is usually going to suffer with any transfer—let alone to UCLA (I kid, I don’t follow the pac12). Seems like a toolsy guy with upside that fits a bit awkwardly on the TE spectrum. Not quite huge enough to be a consistent mismatch in-line nor quite athletic enough as a notable pass catcher. But have to hope he could be a real asset in 2 TE sets plus potentially on ST.
Jedd Fisch coached him too and he’s currently an offensive assistant for the Patriots.
There wasn’t a ton of cut up tape on Asiasi. I only watched 2 games. Dalton Keene had the same issue (had to watch full games to see additional tape on both players). I wish college conferences would make the All-22 public after the season. As an amateur I’d pay a small fee for it.
Here’s what stood out to me with Asiasi and why he’s been one of my top 3 tight ends in this class. He plays with such intensity no matter what he is asked to do. He is the most ready to contribute out of the box. The rumor was UCLA was loyal to Caleb Wilson last year and gave him playing time his senior year but talent-wise Asiasi was beating him on the practice field. Asiasi is the best inline blocker right now in the class. He has the power and size to move defensive linemen. Asiasi is a monster with the ball in his hand. He has power as a runner, elusiveness, and big boy can hurdle defenders. He has great awareness vs zones. He is a natural salesman as a route runner. Devin Asiasi can be your “TE1” or if he underwhelms you there can be your utility man. I saw him execute every tight end role and responsibility. I don’t think he has a worst role because he’s good/solid in everything that he does. And that’s rare - most of these guys in this class had glaring holes in their game but not Asiasi. Put some polish on his route running and blocking and you have a solid tight end. Patriots like guys who have a sub 4.7 40 but a 4.73 at his weight is impressive (I think their bar is a 4.75 40 for starting TEs) . And when you get to pick 90 your standards drop a bit.
Side note: the Patriots went in two directions for guys this year. They went with home-run swings with Uche, Dugger, and Keene and they went with super high floor picks with Asiasi and Jennings.
Here’s what stood out to me with Asiasi and why he’s been one of my top 3 tight ends in this class. He plays with such intensity no matter what he is asked to do. He is the most ready to contribute out of the box. The rumor was UCLA was loyal to Caleb Wilson last year and gave him playing time his senior year but talent-wise Asiasi was beating him on the practice field. Asiasi is the best inline blocker right now in the class. He has the power and size to move defensive linemen. Asiasi is a monster with the ball in his hand. He has power as a runner, elusiveness, and big boy can hurdle defenders. He has great awareness vs zones. He is a natural salesman as a route runner. Devin Asiasi can be your “TE1” or if he underwhelms you there can be your utility man. I saw him execute every tight end role and responsibility. I don’t think he has a worst role because he’s good/solid in everything that he does. And that’s rare - most of these guys in this class had glaring holes in their game but not Asiasi. Put some polish on his route running and blocking and you have a solid tight end. Patriots like guys who have a sub 4.7 40 but a 4.73 at his weight is impressive (I think their bar is a 4.75 40 for starting TEs) . And when you get to pick 90 your standards drop a bit.
Side note: the Patriots went in two directions for guys this year. They went with home-run swings with Uche, Dugger, and Keene and they went with super high floor picks with Asiasi and Jennings.
Is "ball-playing Jesse" a phrase in human usage?
"He scored 25 on the Wonderlic and has had weight problems in the past" is a weird sentence because weight problems are bad and a 25 on the Wonderlic is good; general average is about 20, TE average is 22.
I really liked Asiasi; I think he's the TE in this class most ready to contribute in a major role on day one: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lLo9ULqTBRHiVt4ETg62nbA5YX9V7xkb8P3cJisi_QA/edit?usp=sharing
I also ranked him as the best in-line blocker I saw and honorable mention for "best prospect (traditional)" behind only Cole Kmet, who went about 50 picks earlier. I even think he's more polished than Kmet.
Ha, I had never heard it either, though I was able to find a couple other football coaches and scouts using the phrase. Apparently it's a compliment.
That's just the way McGinn writes these up. Quotes from scouts interspersed with data points about the player. I'm used to it by now, but I guess they probably do read weirdly if one isn't familiar with him.
I generally don't follow college football, so I do that NFL-fan thing where I spend the two weeks leading up to the draft trying to learn about this year's crop of players. Even more so in years where the NFL Draft is the only sports that we have. McGinn is a plugged in guy with good sources, and he's been doing this forever, so I pay attention to his draft reports. I get value out of them. YMMV.
Also watched him at Michigan. I can’t remember the specifics of the “off-field” issues. I seem to recall the story around the transfer was about him going home to family. I don‘t know if he was in trouble unless that was a smoke screen for something else. I was bummed when he transferred because he flashed as a true freshman. I actually thought his off-field issues were at UCLA and he got in Kelly’s doghouse somehow.
In any event, he’s pretty talented. If he’s got his head screwed on right, I think Pats fans will be pleased.
