MVN - Most Valuable Network

Better Know A Draft Pick… Martin Rucker

Name: Martin Rucker

Position: Tight-end

School: Missouri

Awards/Accolades: AFCA amd AP first-team All-American at tight-end. Missouri’s all-time leader in receptions.

2007 season: Played in all 14 games for the Tigers, caught 84 passes for 834 yards and eight touchdowns.

Strengths: Quite possibly the best tight-end in this year’s draft (at least top two), Rucker’s size, speed, and ability to run solid routes made him a prime target for Chase Daniel at Missouri. Routinely put up good numbers in many of Missouri’s big games throughout his career.

Weaknesses: The common theme with Rucker is that he’s not a very good blocker for a tight-end. The good news is, the Browns already have a pretty good offensive line, and playing along with K2 will hopefully steer him in the right direction. Many people have compared Rucker to Winslow.

How he projects with the Browns: Martin Rucker intrigues me more-so than any other draft pick. Until recently, Kellen Winslow Jr. wasn’t working out in Berea, and apparently his knee could still be an issue. All of us want to see a healthy K2 on the field this season, but in case something happens, Rucker seems like he’d be a good fit, or at least a good back-up to Steve Heiden. He’s Missouri’s all-time leader in receptions, ahead of the likes of Justin Smith and Kellen Winslow Sr.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.