2018 Rookie Class: An Early Look at Mark Andrews

Ryan Finley Posted On January 1, 2018

Editor’s note: ahead of a huge day of college football action, make sure you check out today’s early Bowl Game Previews, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl Previews, and all of our 2018 Rookie Profiles. Before you know it, it will be NFL draft day!

On this first day of 2018, it’s time for that old college championship to really get going. Number two Oklahoma will take on number three Georgia in the Rose Bowl, and many dynasty owners will be closely watching the Sooner’s receptions leader, tight end Mark Andrews.

AS A RECRUIT

Mark Andrews didn’t even start out with Football as his top sport. He played soccer as a youngster, and didn’t start playing football until high school. But once he was there, he didn’t waste any time. In his high school years, Andrews put up 207 receptions for 3,770 yards and 49 touchdowns. He also kicked and punted for his team just to round out his resumé. Not too shabby.

With those numbers, Andrews was a four star recruit coming out of Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2014. He was the fourth-rated prospect coming out of Arizona that year, and was rated as the number 19 wide receiver prospect. He also reached number 131 in the national prospect rankings. Andrews received offers to a number of top programs, including the likes of Alabama and Wisconsin, but ultimately signed with the Sooners.

COLLEGE PRODUCTION

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Did those big high school numbers translate to the college game? Let’s take a look:

screen shot 2018 01 01 at 17.33.08

Statistics from Sports-Reference.

Andrews didn’t get the starting job until 2016, his sophomore season. In that year, Andrews was second on the team with his seven touchdown catches. He showed amazingly consistent touchdown production with seven, seven and eight touchdowns in his three seasons.

Andrews is currently Oklahoma’s all-time leader in receiving yards for a tight end. He’s also top ten all-time at OU for both touchdown receptions and 100-yard games. And with 22 touchdowns on 108 receptions, he scores on over 20% of his catches. This level of production led to his spot as a first team all american, as well as the Mackey award for the top tight end in the country.

FILM

Watching Andrews, he shows all the traits I like to see in an NFL tight end. He’s a ready and willing blocker, though he will likely need more work to truly succeed in this area in the pro game. (Although to be fair, most tight ends do.)

He plays like a true tight end mismatch. He uses his size to beat corners and can use decent speed and elusiveness to beat linebackers.

Andrews reminds me a bit of Hunter Henry. What I liked about Henry was how he played the game, and I see similar traits in Andrews. He blocks even when the play is away from him, and I never see him give up on a play. He does a great job of finding soft spots in the defense, and also shows the ability to set up more advanced moves.

No, he’s not a wide receiver in a tight end’s body like Evan Engram, but he can definitely get the big play in his own way. He’s a great target in the red zone due to his ability to win with his size and with his ability to win 50-50 balls. He played basketball in high school, and it really shows when Baker Mayfield puts the ball up for grabs.

My first complaint is that he does need to get stronger, but as I said before this is almost always the case. Another problem is that Andrews suffers the occasional focus drop. He also doesn’t possess blazing speed or explosive cut-back ability. But despite these issues, he fully utilizes the talents he does have.

DRAFT PROJECTION

I believe Andrews has the kind of skill set that will appeal to NFL scouts. As I said before, he isn’t explosive, but he’s very well-rounded and can get the job done. Given that three tight ends went in the first round last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrews landed in the top 32 picks as well. I could also see him falling to the second round, as he isn’t quite as athletic as some of those first round prospects from last year. I don’t see any way he goes beyond the third round in the April draft.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really like what I saw I’ve seen from Andrews, and I look forward to the Rose Bowl game to see what he can do there. The 6’5” 254 pound tight end looks like a strong NFL prospect. I love the way the man plays, and he reminds me a lot of other tight ends who have had success like Hunter Henry.

I also want to add what I think is a very important point about Andrews that can’t be overlooked. Andrews is a type one diabetic. He wears an insulin pump and has to monitor his blood sugar levels during every game. I think it’s absolutely amazing when a player has extra hurdles like this and still shows up on the field on a big stage like Oklahoma. Jay Cutler is also a T1 diabetic, and though I know not everyone loves him, I highly respect him for what he does while managing his condition.

Still, this isn’t about diabetes, it’s about talent, and Andrews has that in spades. I expect him to be drafted fairly early, and I expect he’ll see a lot of playing time quickly. You can’t succeed as a football player with type one diabetes coasting by on talent – you have to work at it. And I think that work ethic and effort will translate very well to an NFL field in the near future.

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