Colts Camp-TE Battles Part 2

Mo Alie-Cox, Ross Travis, and Hale Hentges Edition

The next tight end on the depth chart is Mo Alie-Cox. Believe it or not, it might be safe to say that Cox is a lock to make the roster as the No. 3 tight end. It’s a pretty bold assessment for a player that’s only caught six passes his entire NFL career. He’s a guy that’s still learning how to play football at the game’s highest level. Going into his third season, the complexities of an NFL offense haven’t been too much for him.

Before being signed by the Colts in 2017, Cox hadn’t played football since his freshman year of high school. Cox elected to play basketball in high school and went on to be a four year standout at VCU where he holds the all time field goal percentage record. Coming out of school, he was on a handful of team’s radars. After some impressive combine style workouts, he was the one picking where he wanted to learn and develop. Going into his third year with Indianapolis, he continues to develop and learn the game.

So how can a player with such little football experience be a lock to make the roster? Making an insane one-handed TD catch like he did last year against Oakland certainly helps. And so does having 11.75 inch hands (measured from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinkie finger) which would be an NFL combine record if he’d been invited. Imagine your hand being (just shy of) the size of a ruler from thumb to pinkie. That’s insane. Those mitts are not only good for catching, but for blocking.

Going back to how Frank Reich used his TE’s in Philly, I can see him playing a similar role that Brent Celek played for the 2017 Super Bowl Champion Eagles. He was primarily a blocker in his final season in the league catching a career low 13 balls despite appearing in all 16 games. Cox’s 6’5 265 lb. frame is more than capable of playing that role. He’s still a raw talent beaming with potential and has been one of the Colts most hyped players this off-season.

Hopefully he can contribute more in the passing game than in the last two seasons. Although he’s probably a better blocker than a receiver at this point in his career; despite his highlight reel, one-handed catch. The next areas in need of improvement would be his route running which correlates directly to creating separation. This shouldn’t be an issue considering he’s been willing to learn and improve his craft. This is probably which is why the coaches love him and have been patient enough to allow him a spot to develop. Unfortunately, that may not be said about the next TE on the roster that also played college hoops instead of football.

Despite the basketball background and not having played football since his freshman year of HS as well, Ross Travis’ game is quite contrasting. Chris Ballard likely played a role in bringing him to Kansas City in 2015. He undoubtedly played a role when the Colts claimed him off waivers in November 2017.

The former Penn State forward is quicker (4.6 vs. 4.75 40 time by Cox) and a little lankier producing only 7 bench press reps at his pro-day workout. Standing at 6’7 245 lbs. puts him in the ‘tweener’ category with his receiving abilities being his biggest strengths. Along with his frame, his game is just different from Cox’s while also being a multi-year project. If Travis wants to carve out a niche in the NFL, he’ll need to maximize his receiving strengths.

Ever since he was picked up after being cut by the Chiefs, I’ve looked for him to make plays. An ACL tear in the pre-season prematurely ended any chances of him making the roster last season. He was still re-signed in February which says a lot about how the team feels about him. After Ryan Hewitt wasn’t re-signed, I thought the No. 4 TE spot was Travis’ for the taking. Unfortunately, I don’t think his skill-set matches what they want from that spot such as lining up in the backfield as a lead blocker. In addition, this next rookie player is currently challenging Travis for that spot and may be the perfect upgrade over Hewitt.

For the past 20 seasons, an undrafted rookie free agent has managed to make the Colts final 53-man roster. Last year, George Odum kept that streak alive and this year Hale Hentges has the best chance of making it 21 straight seasons. The former Alabama tight end has drawn rave reviews from coaches during training camp. They knew his strength was run blocking when they signed him in April giving him a $15,000 signing bonus.

Considering he only caught 15 passes in 4 years in Tuscaloosa, most coaches thought his game was predicated upon blocking not receiving; including Nick Saban apparently. But of all the tight ends this training camp, Hentges has been the one giving defensive backs the most fits. Just this Sunday, we saw Hentges “moss” Matthias Farley (one of the Colts most intelligent veterans) sparking plenty of excited reactions from Colts fans in the bleachers. The ball looked under-thrown and Hentges adjusted to make the difficult, contested catch over Farley.

Even without his unknown (and formerly underutilized) receiving skill set, I still think he has a spot on this roster possibly playing the role Ryan Hewitt did last season. He’d be an upgrade from a versatility standpoint considering Hewitt only caught one pass the entire season. Look for Hentges and Travis to get plenty of game action during the pre-season as they battle it out for a possible fourth tight end spot.