Top 10 tight-ends in the 2021 NFL Draft

#5 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Tommy Tremble (Notre Dame)

6' 4", 250 pounds; RS SO

Tommy Tremble

Right around the top-500 recruits in the nation, Tommy Tremble didn’t play in any games in his first season.

In the next two years, he combined for 35 catches worth 401 yards and four touchdowns and was an honorable All-ACC selection. Despite his limited production, his athleticism – which was recently illustrated by an outstanding pro day performance – and work as a blocker, has intrigued NFL scouts.

Tremble enjoys the physical part of the game and gets after it in the run game. You see him constantly try to re-fit his hands and keep his legs driving, to create big holes to blast through. Tremble Routinely caves in defensive ends to create a lane off-tackle or to cut backside, as well as allowing pullers to wrap around and lead the way on outside stuffs.

The Fighting Irish actually put him in as a true fullback and had him execute ISO blocks or lead up into the hole as a wing on counter plays, where he becomes a battering ram at the second level. When linebackers try to crash into Tremble, at best they can create stalemates, but usually they will move backwards, and if those guys wait for him, they will get popped straight up.

Moreover, when he catches somebody trying to shoot downhill from the side, he can use their momentum against them and take those guys for a ride. Tremble can create some torque, to get defenders to the outside on running blocks and create lanes to cut upfield for the ball-carrier, which makes speed sweeps his way highly effective.

Defensive backs don’t want to see him get to the edge, because they know they might end up in the stands. No matter the assignment in the run game, Tremble never seems uncomfortable executing it and gives you 100 percent.

While the production as a receiver wasn’t really there, Tremble was only targeted 52 times in his career (35 catches) and made most of them, averaging 7.7 yards ever time quarterback Ian Book went his way. He did most of his work in the passing game off play-action, where he finds ways to get clean releases and has some elusive ability to get around second-level defenders as a route-runner overall.

When he operates from the slot, Tremble shows explosiveness off the line and the ankle flexibility to plant and make hard cuts off one foot, to where defenders can’t undercut the throw. The former Irish all-rounder was highly underutilized in the pass game overall, because they wanted to use him as the add-on to the line or behind it.

But he is routinely seen free in space on hook routes over the middle or with great yards-after-catch opportunities on slide routes into the flat, when the quarterback looked elsewhere. When he does get the ball in space, he can eat up ground with those strides, runs into awaiting defenders without hesitation. and had a couple of impressive in-game hurdles.

Tremble also keeps working his way free when plays are extended and he shows good awareness for the sideline, including an outstanding toe-tape grab in the ACC Championship game against Clemson at the end of last season.

With that in mind, the production is still highly underwhelming for a potential top-100 overall pick, barely cracking the 400-yard mark and labelled as the TE2 or TE3 in his two years of play. Tremble received 31 fewer targets than Notre Dame’s freshman tight-end Michael Meyer, who was more of the designated receiver, detached from the line, and doubled his output.

As more of the blocking option, with a lot of underneath routes, Tremble had only one grab of 20+ air yards. There’s a couple of double-catches on tape and he dropped five of 40 catchable passes in his career with the Irish. As a blocker he is very aggressive,but also takes his eyes down quite a bit and could be side-stepped by more savvy NFL linebackers, who know how to use their hands to 'make him miss'.

The joy Tremble has burying defenders into the ground and the versatility he brings as a blocker, in tight areas as well as on the move, is highly appealing to me. Just watch the Boston College tape from last season, where he didn’t catch a single pass but was putting defenders on skates all the game long and lead the way for a 274-yard rushing day.

Now, the lack of receiving production makes me hesitate from putting him even higher, but he just ran an unofficial 4.59 at the Irish pro day, there is no stiffness to speak of as a route-runner and I think he will be a specialist off play-action, sneaking out into the flats or running crossers and being able to turn them into chunk plays potentially.