News: BTB: Cowboys Select Baylor Basketball Player Rico Gathers As A Tight End

[NewsBot]

Rico Gathers was a star forward for four years at Baylor, and is now looking to make his mark in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys have used their final pick of the 2016 NFL draft on tight end Rico Gathers. With Gavin Escobar likely out for at least parts of the 2016 season with a torn Achilles, the Cowboys were bit short at tight end, so this pick doesn't surprise much, though Gathers may be one of the most intriguing draft prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Gathers hasn't played football since he was 13 years old, is a standout basketball player from Baylor and is trying to follow the likes of Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham by making it to the NFL at tight end despite his lack of football experience.

Gathers is 6'6, 273lbs with an incredible 11% body fat . He ran a 4.75 40-yard dash, which would have placed him seventh among tight ends at the NFL combine in February. He had a 9-foot-7 broad jump and a short shuttle of 4.56 seconds.

"If you compare his numbers to tight ends at the combine, he was top 10," ttrainer Mack Chuilli saidd "The only difference is he’s 3 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than most of those guys."
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For the Cowboys, this is a high ceiling, low risk player. And with your last pick in the draft, why not take a flier on a guy that is 6'6, 273lbs and who can run and jump. The Cowboys worked him out prior to the draft, so they know what they are getting, and they saw enough to invest their last pick in this prospect.

When asked what he hopes NFL teams will see that they can't resist, Gathers said,

"A big body, a nice physical body who hasn't been beaten up, who hasn't took as many nicks as some of the players in this draft. A good character guy who can blend in any locker room. And most importantly, a dude who's freakishly athletic and can really do some things if some teams take some time out to really believe in him and hopefully mold him into a Pro Bowl tight end."
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With this pick, the Cowboys have selected four guys on offense, and five guys on defense.

Cowboys draft picks:


(Round-pick in the round-overall pick)
1- 4- 4 Dallas - RB Ezekiel Elliott
2- 3-34 Dallas - LB Jaylon Smith
3- 4-67 Dallas - DT Maliek Collins
4- 3-101 Dallas - DE Charles Tapper
4-37-135 Dallas (Compensatory Selection) - QB Dak Prescott
6-14-189 Dallas from Oakland - CB Anthony Brown
6-37-212 Dallas (Compensatory Selection) - SS Kavon Frazier
6-41-216 Dallas (Compensatory Selection) - RB Darius Jackson
6-42-217 Dallas (Compensatory Selection) - TE Rico Gathers

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