After a solid 2023 campaign, Ohio State’s Cade Stover is a strong TE prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Stover is a high-utility and productive TE. In 2022, he caught 36 passes for 406 yards and six TDs. In 2023, even after losing quarterback C.J. Stroud to the NFL, Stover notched career-high numbers with 41 catches for 576 yards and five TDs.
Let’s take a look at how Stover performed at the NFL Combine and what his scouting report looks like.
Cade Stover’s NFL Combine Performance
At the NFL Combine, Stover verified his functional athleticism and put up an impressive performance.
Stover stands at 6’3 7/8″, which puts him in the 28th percentile at the position in direct comparison to his positional counterparts. He weighed in at 247 pounds, which falls in the 25th percentile.
Stover has a strong, well-proportioned frame with box-out utility and solid length.
How Fast Is Stover?
At the Combine, Stover ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash with a 1.61-second 10-yard split near the 90th percentile.
Cade Stover 4.65 unofficial 40 pic.twitter.com/q0vXW3hXL6
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) March 2, 2024
He does lack speed to maintain space, and can be run down by faster athletes.
Ohio State tight end coach Keenan Bailey said NFL teams want to know about Stover’s route running, and he’s happy to talk about every facet of the receiving skills.
“He catches everything to begin with,” Bailey said. “He uses his size and his speed to get open.
“I think it’s kind of cheap for some people to say he’s not a great route runner. He was our second-leading receiver at Ohio State with the best receiver room in the country. So I kind of get defensive when I hear that. He was our leading receiver in several games and Marvin Harrison’s on the other side of him. So I love his ball skills, but I love that he uses route-running tools.”
How Old Is Stover?
Stover was born June 12, 2000, and is 23 years old. He will turn 24 ahead of his rookie season.
Stover grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, and later attended Lexington High School in Lexington, Ohio. He was named Ohio’s Mr. Football and the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior after rushing for 1,477 yards and 17 touchdowns on offense and recording 163 tackles and four interceptions on defense.
Stover was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Ohio State over offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Stover’s Latest Scouting Report
Stover is one of the top tight ends in the draft and has the size, play strength, and passable athleticism to be a quality NFL tight end. He also has two of the most important operational traits for a TE: elite catching instincts and hands.
In Stover’s scouting report, Pro Football Network draft analyst Ian Cummings said he is a clutch pass catcher with a steely focus on third-down and red-zone opportunities, and has the control, composure, timing, and strength to make him a tough assignment up the seam, too.
“Stover’s ability to make high-difficulty adjustments — high- and low-point balls and get to passes behind him — is almost unrivaled in the 2024 class,” Cummings wrote. “He also has incredibly strong hands with great coordination and timing. Stover is a constant threat in contested situations and a clutch receiver on important downs.”
While Stover possesses good-not-great athleticism and falls short of the elite mark, he can be a quality NFL starter early, with utility on all three downs.
KEEP READING: Ian Cummings’ Full Scouting Report of Cade Stover
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