STRENGTHS
Cade has the size and athletic talents needed to become a very good tight end for the team that selects him. He is smart and will become a quarterback’s best friend on the field. He shows on film enough foot speed needed to run the typical Tight End routes. Cade has the agility to adjust to the ball in the air and the eye/hand coordination to catch most everything thrown to him. He has the ability and overall strength to break tackles and gain the needed yardage to move the chains. He is one of the best inline blockers in this draft. Because of his sure hands and inline blocking skills, these 2 factors will make Cade the type of player teams will target if they are using a play-action offense. In that style of offense, Cade should become a fan favorite and core player for the team that selects him.
CONCERNS
Cade is smart and runs excellent routes against zone coverages but he struggles to get open when up against single coverage. He will have to learn how to better “Sell” his routes and use his body to his advantage. He is an excellent in-line blocker but struggles when asked to block in the open field. He needs to be more aggressive and use better techniques when lining up off the line of scrimmage. I’m sure this will not be an issue for long.
BOTTOM LINE 3.22
Cade will need some time to refine his techniques and improve his overall strength but when he does he will be one of the core players for a play-action style of offense. He has the ability in the passing game, to be in the right place at the right time because he has a great feel for the game. Cade is dependable and that means everything to a quarterback on the field. He’s not fast but he will catch the ball and make the “chunk yardage” when you need it the most. He will make your red zone offense dangerous. He reminds me a lot of former Cowboys Jason Whitten because of his high football IQ and blocking ability. Jason Whitten was a 3rd round pick and ran a 4.65 in the 40. My guess is, that’s about where Cade will fall in this process because like Jason was, Cade is a match for a play-action offense. Cade’s draft status will be affected because a lot of teams are running spread offenses and looking for more pass-catching speed than Cade has but that will not affect how well Cade will play on the field.
