I started this reply in the Royer thread but decided to move it over since I covered the entire TE room.
Royer feels like he’s in a similar position to Ruckert throughout his career; where his biggest strength is as a pass catcher and he will need to continue to focus on adding strength to be an effective blocker at the point of attack.
That’s not to say he’s bad at it, just that it’s the area that needs continuous focus for him. Hopefully he can put it together this season; it is definitely his time to shine if he can (see: the latest post on his thread which inspired this post).
It’s an interesting dynamic in the TE room this year with guys who can contribute different things.
Gee Scott is on one end as the most dynamic/dangerous offensive weapon but with the least experience being physical at the line of scrimmage.
Royer is right in the middle in terms of pass catching and ability to be an impactful blocker.
And Stover can be a force at the line but is the least dangerous down the field.
Then you have Rossi who can do it all but not at a level that would worry a defense… at least not that we’ve seen yet.
Throw in Sam Hart, who seems like another Royer-type who will likely need another year to continue developing physically before he can see significant playing time, and Bennett Christian, who is unlikely to get on the field much in his first year, but is one of the only guys in the room who has the ideal build, at 6’6” 245, to be effective at the line and to create mismatch problems down the field. Birm has alluded to this possibly resulting in Christian getting on the field sooner than you would expect.
Hopefully the coaches can utilize the room in ways that highlight each player’s strengths while not completely tipping off defenses; i.e. Stover = run play, Scott = pass play.
