Jack Endries, the next man up and one of the last tight ends drafted back in April, took his place in the spotlight Monday warming up Joe Burrow before practice.
But then, long before Burrow lost one of his absolute faves for the year in tight end Tanner Hudson, Endries had no problem in the spring or summer playing catch with the franchise. The first pick of the 2020s ripping it to the 221st pick of now.
“It’s been like that since day one. He started doing that. He gets out there early, and I guess he figures that somebody’s got to catch him,” says tight ends coach James Casey. “It’s a credit to him because not a lot of guys have the guts to do that. He’s a rookie, late-round pick, and he’s out there because, hey, I’ll catch you.”
It doesn’t surprise Casey, the scouts, and others, such as director of player personnel Duke Tobin, at the center of the drafting of Endries in the seventh round after his one year at Texas.
Mike Potts, the assistant general manager who interviewed him at the East-West All-Star Game. Or scout Tyler Ramsey, who double-teamed with Potts to work Austin. Or Casey, an early convert who felt the same way the scouts did and put him on an early list of the 10 tight ends he wanted to see at their pro days.
“Hardly missed any games at big schools and when I watched the tape,” Casey says, “I liked how his feet were in the run game. He was willing and not backing down.”
Berkeley bright with an economics degree from Cal and a master’s degree in NFL offense from Prof. Steve Sarkisian at Texas.
“Very impressive there. Really smart. Knows football. Good character. Good makeup. Tough kid. A lot to like about him,” says Potts of that interview. “They said at Texas if he wasn’t one of the smartest, he was the smartest guy on the team. He’s got that kind of mind. Good athlete. Really good hands. Impressive at both schools. Impressive in the East-West Game. Had a good pro day. Checked every box.”
When Ramsey went to see him at Texas, it turned his head that Endries had already “walked in the door with 97 catches,” from Cal. Hudson became a Burrow go-to because he always seemed to be in the right place, and Ramsey saw those same qualities from Endries last year.
“He graduated from Cal in three years, and that’s no easy task,” Ramsey says. “So you knew he was going to come in with the intelligence that was above and beyond. And Texas runs a lot of pro style concepts, and asks a lot of their guys mentally, especially at tight end, and so he kind of transitioned seamlessly.
“He’s had a ton of production catching the football, and that’s kind of what Tanner’s role was. Catching the ball, being reliable for the quarterback, being where he’s supposed to be, and that’s what Jack is, too.”