2017 NFL draft: The Buccaneers could target this small-school tight end

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been focusing on two positions, judging by their pre-draft workouts so far. One is safety, the other one is tight end. According to Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon, the Bucs worked out Ashland’s Adam Shaheen on Thursday.

Shaheen is a very small-school prospect, but the Bucs tend to like those. They drafted Ali Marpet out of tiny Hobart College in the second round two years ago, and went with Ryan Smith out of North Carolina Central in the fourth round last season.

Shaheen is a pretty good athlete, running a 4.79-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine after measuring and weighing in at 6’6”, 278 lbs. That’s really fast for a tight end that massive — and that size almost makes him a tackle rather than a tight end.

For a tight end that big, he’s surprisingly useful as a receiver. He lined up all over the formation in college, and caught 57 passes for 896 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final season at Ashland. Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said of him:

The jump in competition will be substantial and teams will expect him to become a more consistent blocker, but he's a pass catching tight end in a Y-tight end's body. Shaheen has starting potential with an ability to impact a passing game early in his career.

All of that sounds pretty intriguing, and he’s the kind of prospect that could seduce Jason Licht: athletic, talented, small-school, underdeveloped technically, and with the potential to be one of the best at his position if everything goes right.

Of course, odds are the Bucs don’t end up picking him. But having brought in David Njoku for a visit earlier this week, too, we can say one thing for certain: the Bucs sure do seem focused on adding a big, athletic tight end to their roster.