Tyrone Swoopes to Enter 2017 NFL Draft as Tight End

Tyrone Swoopes will be moving onto the NFL, but not at the position he was mostly known for.

Tyrone Swoopes had been Texas’ starting quarterback for most of the 2014 season, Charlie Strong’s first in Austin. He ended up producing 2,409 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on the 6-7 season. 262 rushing yards were added to his total too.

However, by the 2015 season, Swoopes would lose his starting job after one week to freshmen Jerrod Heard. He would end up racking up over 450 yards rushing with the coaching staff looking for different ways to utilize him against the Big 12. This would carry into 2016, as Shane Buechele took over as the quarterback and limited Swoopes to just nine passing attempts. He also ran for 174 yards before ending his four years for the Longhorns.

Well, it looks like the Whitewright, TX native looks like he’s going to try his hand in the NFL, but not as a quarterback. According to Orangebloods.com, he will enter the 2017 draft as a tight end. Swoopes then commented on this:

“After the season, I spoke with some agents,” Swoopes said, “They all said that (moving to tight end) was the right move based on everything they were hearing (from scouts and league sources).

Swoopes stands at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, so he has the build to play the position at the NFL level. Whether he can make the transition to consistent routes and becoming a reliable pass catcher remains to be seen. In the Orangebloods.com article, Swoopes did note that he feels he has the big hands to play along with the basics of route running down. This could come from him playing wide receiver in high school, which he said in the same piece that he was “hurt the whole time anyway.”

Tyrone Swoopes is set to play in the College Gridiron Showcase in January, so this will be his first step at showing NFL scouts what he can do at tight end. Will he be able to make the transition?