Falcons player profile: TE Jared Pinkney

We’re in the depths of the offseason here at The Falcoholic, and there has been little to nothing in the way of interesting news in ages. So, we’ll have to make some content of our own in the meantime. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be bringing you a new Player Profile series where we’ll take a look at each of the players on Atlanta’s roster. I’ll break down their measurables, past production, and try to project their 2020 season with the Falcons.

After taking a look at the projected starters, we now turn our attention to the depth on the Falcons’ roster. Today, I’ll be discussing TE Jared Pinkney—an intriguing UDFA addition who has developmental potential as a long-term TE2 due to his size, strength, and physicality.

TE Jared Pinkney

Age: 23

Contract: $610K cap hit in 2020, under contract through 2022 ($761K APY)

Career Production: 39 games played | 114 receptions for 1560 yards (13.7 YPR) and 14 TDs (College)

2019 Production: 8 games played | 20 receptions for 233 yards (11.7 YPR) and 2 TDs (College)

Previous Teams: UDFA signed by the Atlanta Falcons (2020)

Measurables:

The Falcons were looking to retool their TE room in 2020, and made several moves to accomplish that goal. Obviously, the big headline was the addition of former first-rounder Hayden Hurst, but Atlanta made several other under-the-radar moves to sure up the depth chart. One of those moves was signing Jared Pinkney—a TE who once had a fairly high draft stock—as a UDFA following the 2020 NFL Draft.

Pinkney fell out of the draft due to a forgettable senior season that saw him appear in just 8 games and post pedestrian numbers (20 receptions for 233 yards and 2 TDs). Lackluster athletic testing, including a 4.96 40-yard dash time, also hurt his stock. However, his junior season put him on the map as an up-and-comer at TE: 50 receptions for 774 yards (15.5 YPR) and 7 TDs.

Pinkney looks like a potential future TE2 in the NFL—if he can get back to what he was in his junior year. While he’s not fast or particularly athletic, he’s a solid route runner and has enough ability as a receiver to function as a secondary target. Pinkney’s biggest upside is as a blocker, where he has an ideal frame (6’4, 257) and formidable strength for in-line work. He needs development in this area, however, as his technique isn’t reliable enough at this point to be counted upon in the NFL.

Projection: Jared Pinkney has TE2 upside and an NFL-ready frame, but has an uphill battle to make the roster due to the truncated offseason. His long-term potential is intriguing, but he’ll likely have to prove he’s a better blocker than Khari Lee to find his way onto the 53-man roster in 2020. Pinkney could be ticketed for the practice squad for a season as he further develops his technique.