Texas A&M Football: This stat proves Jalen Wydermyer should be a first-rounder

The Texas A&M football team has some of the nation’s most elite talent ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Aggies’ roster hoists four players who could land in the first round this summer though, in all likelihood, only two of them will actually be selected in that range.

The two players who feel like first-round locks are Kenyon Green and DeMarvin Leal, both of whom were elite linemen on opposite sides of the ball. One Aggie, however, could sneak his way into the club.

That Aggie is Jalen Wydermyer, the Texas A&M football team’s starting tight end since 2019. While Wydermyer never had a jaw-dropping season statistically, his career numbers will impress scouts around the league. Here’s a good example from PFF.

Former Texas A&M football TE Jalen Wydermyer’s consistency should bounce him up to the first round

I was very careful with the phrasing that I used in the headline above. NFL scouts SHOULD see a stat like that above and select Wydermyer in the first round of the draft. Should.

Unfortunately, NFL scouts can be… for lack of a better term, stupid. Oftentimes, front offices don’t like to see consistency on a player’s resume before picking them up and committing to them as a franchise piece moving forward. In reality, consistency should be a much more important factor.

While Wydermyer’s ceiling may not feel as high as some of his counterparts’, he has an extremely high floor as a player. You know what you’ll get out of him. He’s a disciplined blocker and has consistently been one of the SEC’s best pass-catchers for three seasons. His 1,468 receiving yards attests to that.

It’s not just the number itself — it’s the way he got there. Wydermyer accumulated nearly 1,500 yards without ever surpassing 515 in any single season. As a freshman, he pulled in 447 yards and six touchdowns while his sophomore campaign saw him accumulate 506 receiving yards and six touchdowns once again. His third season would see a slight drop-off with just four touchdowns, but his 515 yards with a backup quarterback throwing him the ball was impressive.

To put it more plainly, Wydemyer was top three on the team in receiving yards in each of his seasons with the Aggies. As a freshman, he was third. As a sophomore, he was second. As a junior, he was first. The improvement is there without a worryingly low floor.

What I’m trying to say is simple — NFL scouts should not overthink their pick at the tight end spot. Wydermyer has been good and has proven that it wasn’t a fluke. Instead of picking a guy with one strong season under his belt, go with the one who has three consecutive big years.