Photo: Joseph Cress, USA Today Sports

One of the most infuriating parts of the NFL Draft process for me is the outlandish player comparisons. Don't get me wrong, these player comps have a place, and they're necessary to try to understand how a player wins and how they'll succeed at the next level. However, there are way too many comparisons that are made with no foundation in the data.

For example, comparing a 5-foot-11 and 180-pound wide receiver to a 6-foot-3 and 220-pounder doesn't help anyone. Those are two drastically different body types, and they're not going to be asked to do the same types of things on the NFL field. With that in mind, I sat down a couple of years ago to build out a database that could help me make the best - and most accurate - player comparisons out there.

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With that being said, here are my player comparisons for the 2023 rookie tight end class.

Introduction

Before we get to the specific players, what you'll find in this article are comparisons that are built off of NFL Combine data going back to 1999. Every player that has ever been at the NFL Combine has their height and weight stored in my database, along with their testing numbers for individual drills - assuming that they participated in them.

With this information, I set up these parameters to eliminate wild comparisons.

Height: Within 3 inches shorter and taller.
Weight: Within 3 pounds lighter and heavier.

The search parameters then eliminate any players that fall outside of those two requirements. For example, a player may be two inches taller than the player we're trying to compare, which would fall in line with the parameters, but they're 10 pounds heavier. They then would fall off of our search and not meet the criteria for a player comparison. Again, this is all being done with the intention to eliminate wild comparisons and try to find the most accurate available.

After that, the search results are then sorted and filtered to find the closest testing matches.

2023 TE Comparisons

Blake Whiteheart (Wake Forest)

• Height: 6'4
• Weight: 247
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.7
• Vertical Jump: 35.5"
• Broad Jump: 115"

Closest Comparisons: Tyler Kroft, Dennis Pitta, Josiah Deguara

Brayden Willis (Oklahoma)

• Height: 6'3 1/2
• Weight: 241
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• Vertical Jump: 32"
• Broad Jump: 117"

Closest Comparisons: Jermichael Finley, Gary Barnidge, Quintin Morris

Cameron Latu (Alabama)

• Height: 6'4
• Weight: 242
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• Vertical Jump: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A

Closest Comparisons: N/A

Dalton Kincaid (Utah)

• Height: 6'3 1/2
• Weight: 246
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• Vertical Jump: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A

Closest Comparisons: N/A

There might not be a prospect I’m higher on than#Utah TE Dalton Kincaid
6’3 1/2 - 246lbs

It’s rare to find a TE who is such a natural route runner. Watching his film compared to other TEs of the class, you notice the fluidity of his routes, soft pic.twitter.com/lTGNto9Hn6… https://t.co/DST93uD69P

— Jared Tokarz (@JaredNFLDraft) March 9, 2023

Darnell Washington (Georgia)

• Height: 6'7
• Weight: 264
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.64
• Vertical Jump: 31"
• Broad Jump: 122"

Closest Comparisons: Jason Witten, C.J. Uzomah, Kellen Davis

Davis Allen (Clemson)

• Height: 6'6
• Weight: 245
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.84
• Vertical Jump: 38.5"
• Broad Jump: 125"

Closest Comparisons: Mitchell Wilcox, Cole Turner, Jean Sifrin

Josh Whyle (Cincinnati)

• Height: 6'6 1/2
• Weight: 248
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.69
• Vertical Jump: 33.5"
• Broad Jump: 115"

Closest Comparisons: Tyler Eifert, Cole Kmet, Hayden Hurst

Kyle Patterson (Air Force)

• Height: 6'5
• Weight: 260
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• Vertical Jump: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A

Closest Comparisons: N/A

Leonard Taylor (Miami)

• Height: 6'5
• Weight: 250
• 40-Yard Dash: N/A
• Vertical Jump: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A

Closest Comparisons: N/A

Luke Musgrave (Oregon State)

• Height: 6'6
• Weight: 253
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.61
• Vertical Jump: 36"
• Broad Jump: 125"

Closest Comparisons: Jordan Cameron, Hunter Long, Kellen Winslow

Luke Musgrave. TD! pic.twitter.com/Hq6PFsiMFy

— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) February 27, 2023

Luke Schoonmaker (Michigan)

• Height: 6'5
• Weight: 251
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.63
• Vertical Jump: 33.5"
• Broad Jump: 127"

Closest Comparisons: Daniel Bellinger, Foster Moreau, Owen Daniels