2012 NFL Draft Oregon Player Profile: David Paulson
By Ricky Widmer
One of the most over-looked positions in the 2012 NFL Draft is the tight end position. The reason why many tight ends are being over-looked going into the draft is mostly because of the hype surrounding the first two picks in the draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. One of the tight ends in the 2012 NFL Draft is David Paulson. David Paulson was a senior for Oregon, last season with 31 receptions for 438 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Paulson was a steady pass-catching tight end for the Oregon Ducks during his years with the team and will hope to carry this into his NFL career. I will go over what I feel Paulson’s strengths and weaknesses are going into the 2012 NFL Draft and what NFL team I feel can benefit the most from Paulson being on their team.
At Oregon, David Paulson was a very steady tight end for Darron Thomas to throw to. One of the most important reasons why Paulson was able to be so steady is because of how athletic he is. Paulson is 6-foot 3-inches and weights 245 pounds. This is a similar body structure as ex-Wisconsin tight end and current Houston Texans tight end, Garrett Graham. Paulson knows that his athleticism is a strength and he knows how to play to it. For example, while running his route, Paulson would either lean on linebackers or throw a quick jab in order to get free to make a catch. Paulson can also block fairly well. At Oregon, he was called on to block for LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, and De’Anthony Thomas often. Even though Paulson was able to get free in college, this does not mean that it will happen as easily in the NFL. In the NFL, linebackers are going to be more athletic than the linebackers in college. Paulson will not be able to lean on the linebackers in the NFL or jab them like he could do in college. Also, he is not the quickest tight end when it comes to changing directions. This could favor NFL linebackers because his slow changes in direction can help opposing linebackers to recover and undercut the route.
Many are projecting that David Paulson will get draft in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. One team I could see bagging Paulson in the sixth round is the Indianapolis Colts. The reason I see David Paulson fitting with the Indianapolis Colts is because of two reasons. First off, the Colts are in need of a tight end, especially after losing Dallas Clark. Dallas Clark was mostly a pass-catching tight end during his time in Indianpolis. If he can work on getting open at the next level, I could see Paulson doing the same thing with the Colts with the only difference between them is that Paulson can block better. Also, the Indianapolis Colts will need a tight end for Andrew Luck to throw to, much like Peyton Manning did to Dallas Clark. With a lesser recieving core, Luck will need more to throw to than Reggie Wayne. David Paulson could be the guy to grow and mature along side Anrew Luck.
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