TE, Coastal Carolina
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 245 lbs
Class: Senior
A high school wide receiver, Likely was an unranked prospect in the 2018 recruiting class. He earned eight offers, with three of these coming from FBS schools. He eventually committed to Coastal Carolina, where he became a starter as a sophomore. Likely has been a key part of their offense ever since and enters the draft with 133 career receptions for 2,048 yards and 27 touchdowns.
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Strengths
Likely is one of the more athletic tight ends in this year’s class, helping to make him a dynamic option in the passing game. He has good short area quickness to win on underneath routes, whilst also showing the second gear necessary to win off the vertical tree. This big play potential showed up throughout his time at Coastal Carolina. Likely had five 50+ yard touchdowns in his career and averaged a very impressive 15.4 yards per reception. His ability to stretch the seam should translate well to the NFL.
Likely has also shown this dynamism after the catch. He was utilised much more heavily in the short passing game in 2021, with over 60% of his targets coming within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. This allowed him to use his quickness and vision as a ball carrier to create his own yardage in the open field. He averaged a very impressive 6.9 yards after the catch and forced 20 missed tackles on his 89 receptions over the last two years.
In addition to his ability as a pass catcher, Likely also showed some potential as a blocker. Coastal Carolina run a triple option offense, which asks a lot of their tight ends in the running game. Likely was therefore used across the formation, aligning inline, flexed out, or as a H-back. He is at his best when asked to block on the move, either as a lead blocker or on slice blocks across the formation.
This ability to function in both phases of the game will go down well with NFL teams, as will Likely’s outstanding competitive toughness. He showcases consistently great effort, regardless of the situation. His effort as a blocker is excellent and he plays with a mean streak to finish his opponents and get them on the deck. His ability to haul in catches in high leverage situations was also very impressive.
Weaknesses
The main concern with Likely will be his size. At 6’4″ and 245, he is undersized by NFL standards. This showed up on drive blocks, where his lack of length led to issues with sustaining contact. This will limit his ability to play consistently as an inline tight end at the next level. It was also a big issue at the catch point. Whilst Likely rarely drops anything within the strike zone, he has a noticeably limited catch radius and is not comfortable working outside his frame.
In addition to concerns about his size, Likely also presents a lack of refinement as a route runner. Coastal Carolina operate plenty of simple passing concepts and he was tasked with running a fairly basic route tree as a result. He also lacks nuance to his routes, with no noticeable variations to pacing or utilisation of misdirection to manipulate defensive backs. This will inhibit his ability to create consistent separation at the NFL level.
Bottom Line
Likely has the athletic profile to be a solid receiving tight end. He just needs to add some more refinement to his route running to win there consistently at the next level. His ability and tenacity as a blocker are also intriguing and mean that his best fit may well be as a H-back.
Ideal role: Can play H-back or F tight end
Round projection: 3rd round
