2018 NFL Draft: Falcons reported to have interest in TE Jake Roh

So, Thursday’s the kickoff to the 2018 NFL Draft, and we’re about to have a flurry of Falcons news hit as to what new guys the team will bring into the Brotherhood.

NFL Draft Diamonds is a good resource to hear about those latter-round draft talents that don’t get all the attention in the world, and they’ve given a hint as to what guy the Falcons might be circling in on at the tight end position (via Falcfans).

So, Jake Roh from Boise State, eh?

From the looks of it, Roh’s not really one of the hot names around the fire for the tight end position, but we’ve got a good rundown of his senior season with the Broncos from the school’s website.

BOISE STATE CAREERRS SENIOR (2017): Hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass, finishing with two catches for 14 yards against Troy (Sept. 2)...scored three times against New Mexico, catching two, and rushing six yards for another...finished the game with three catches for 25 yards (Sept. 14)...rushed for a two-yard touchdown, and caught five passes for 42 yards against Virginia (Sept. 22)...caught three passes for 34 yards and rushed thrice for 15 yards at BYU (Oct. 6)...hauled in his fourth scoring catch of the season at San Diego State, this one from three yards out, while finishing the game with six catches for 27 yards (Oct. 14)...was tied for the team-high with five receptions, collected 44 yards vs. Wyoming (Oct. 21)...Made four catches for a career-high 87 receiving yards and hauled in two touchdown passes in the victory at Utah State (Oct. 28)...Made four catches for 67 yards and one touchdown vs. Nevada (Nov. 4)...Caught two touchdown passes and finished the game with five total catches for 62 yards with a game-long of 22 at Colorado State (Nov. 11). Caught the game-tying touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter as the Broncos made the comeback at CSU...Made one catch for 2 yards and rushed once for a gain of three yards vs. Air Force (Nov. 18).

So, per ESPN, that’s 9 touchdowns for 410 yards. Quite impressive for a guy who’s not getting as much draft love as the other folks, but keep in mind the Mountain West’s competition. One source told us the Falcons have shown a keen interest in him, and given that they’re unlikely to be sniffing around tight end super early in the draft, he’s a name to watch.

The Falcons have looked at tight ends in all stages of the draft, and they look poised to add to the position at some stage in the process. Whether it’s an early-round guy like Hayden Hurst or Ian Thomas, or a possible seventh-round pick/priority UDFA like Roh is yet to be seen.

Roh had some really sound red zone production his senior season, so perhaps he could be a sneaky surprise for the NFL when it comes to being active in scoring. The Falcons have a good tight end in Austin Hooper when it comes to moving the chains, but the 2016 draft pick has yet to materialize as a consistent red zone option. FA addition Logan Paulsen is going to primarily be a blocker, and 2017 pick Eric Saubert is still a big ole question mark.

Roh’s enticing, and could come into the process right at the end if Atlanta’s interest really is that serious. We’ll see if he could be one of the next low-level draft options who turns in a solid NFL career. He could be a nice TE2 option for scoring if all translates like it could to the big leagues.

We’re so close, and like all of our reported players, we’ll see if the Roe interest is real very, very soon.