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2014 NFL Draft
Former UMass tight end Rob Blanchflower is the newest member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They Steelers took him with the 230th pick in the seventh round, and he joins fellow former MAC player, RB Dri Archer, in Pittsburgh's draft class.
The 6-foot-4, 260 pound TE leaves UMass as the career receiving leader at tight end with 27 receptions, 313 yards, 11.6 average per catch, long of 55, 3 touchdowns in just this last year.
A four year starter for the Minutemen and a two time team captain, Blanchflower is a smart TE who has seen it all in his 4 years at UMass from having a good year (junior year 43 receptions, 463 yards, 10.8 average per catch, 2 touchdowns, a long of 27 yards) to a disappointing year his senior year. Blanchflower was injured this year and missed six games due to a sports hernia.
He has shown that he can dive for balls and make a crazy catch here and there. Also a good pass protector when asked to stay in and block.
COMBINE / PRO DAY RESULTS
(Did not participate in either the NFL Combine or the UMass Pro Day due to injury.)
Blanchflower is not the most athletic TE, and needs to improve beating the jam off the line to make space and get loose. Needs to improve as route runner, and not drop as many balls as he did in college. Doesn't break a lot of tackles after catching the ball. Another key note is that he will be 24 year old rookie for the Steelers.