Winning the NFL draft is all about maximizing value and finding key contributors outside the first few rounds. If your favorite NFL team is looking for a steal at tight end, Missouri’s Kendall Blanton might just be their guy.
A versatile prospect with a well-rounded skill set, Blanton recently spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about his career at Missouri, which NFL tight ends he models his game after, and what he brings to the next level as a prospect.
ZH: Before we get into the football questions, just how was your overall experience at Missouri?
KB: I loved it. Wouldn’t have traded it for the world. I met a lot of lifelong friends, some guys that I don’t know where I’d be if I never met them, and the overall experience I loved it and it was just great.
ZH: What was it like playing with a QB like Drew Lock the last few seasons?
KB: I actually just got done running some routes with him, and me and Damarea Crockett were just kind of saying the same thing, there’s not a lot of quarterbacks that are equal to who he is and just how easily and effortless it is for him to just throw the ball. Kind of gotta be ready for it every time he throws it. Not too long ago, he was throwing and I was like, “Man, let me get my mind right.” It was a great experience though, man. He was a great quarterback and I wouldn’t have asked for anybody else.
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ZH: After your final season at Missouri in 2018, you were invited to play in the Shrine Game. How was that experience for you?
KB: Another blessing. Another great opportunity. I really took pride in just having an opportunity to huddle up (laughs). We didn’t huddle up a lot at Mizzou. I mean, I was fortunate enough this last season to run a pro-style offense, so being able to huddle up in the Shrine practices and in the Shrine Game, that was something new, and getting our plays from the QB instead from the sidelines was all new. I took pride in playing in all the special teams, as well, so that was just a good experience getting that under my belt, as well.
ZH: I read that you have a bit of a basketball background. How does that translate to playing tight end?
KB: Just knowing how to use your body. In basketball, you gotta be good at knowing how to use your body in small spaces when boxing out opponents or things like going up and getting a rebound. I actually took pride on the defensive end. I think I had the shot-block record in Missouri (high school state record), and I know I have the shot-block record at my school, so I took pride in the defensive end, just knowing how to go up and read shots and go up and block them.
Translating that to football, going up and getting the ball in the air and using your body in tight windows or to shed off a defender. I think it just helped me out footwork wise. I think stuff like that just translated over.
ZH: You only caught 44 passes in your career. Was that because you are more of a blocking tight end, or just how the offense was run at Mizzou?
KB: We got a lot of good tight ends that come through here. I’m more of a traditional Y tight end. I feel like I can do both, block and catch, but we had a lot of good tight ends coming in. I think it was the best tight end group in the last six years or so at any college program, Albert Okwuegbunam was basically our receiving tight end, as we would spread him out and do things with that. It was just what the team needed from me though, a guy who could block and wasn’t afraid to stick his nose in with the big guys we were facing in the SEC and go toe-to-toe with them. I’d do that everyday, and I was fortunate enough to play in the SEC, as a lot of those guys you are going to see on Sundays, so I got to block them. That’s just what they wanted me to do, though, and I’m not going to argue with the coaches.
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ZH: For people unfamiliar with your game, what is your biggest strength going to the NFL?
KB: I can do both, I can block and I can catch. I’m a complete tight end, and I’m not afraid to put my hand in the dirt, and I’m not afraid to stand up and go toe-to-toe with anyone across from me. From my basketball background, I know how to use my body and go up and get a ball, just like I did in basketball.
ZH: Which NFL players do you compare your game to the most?
KB: I’m really just me. I watch a lot of NFL guys, and if you want to be good, you have to watch the guys before you, and you got to take pieces of their game that you like and make it your own. I’ve watched a lot of guys like Rob Gronkowski, Marcedes Lewis, Martellus Bennett, Jason Witten. Tony Gonzalez is my favorite tight end by far, though. The GOAT in my opinion; the greatest tight end to ever play. So, I watch a lot of those guys. Guys that like to put their hand in the ground and have the capability to be spread out wide and be used in the passing game. I kind of watch all of those guys and take bits and pieces and implement it into my game.
ZH: What is my team getting if I draft Kendall Blanton?
KB: A guy that is going to work harder than anybody. I’m gonna come in and be a sponge from whoever. I want to learn how to be a pro, that is my first goal like how to watch film, how to study a playbook, how to practice. Then, after I’ve accomplished all of that, I’m gonna take somebody’s spot and try to help the team to the best of my ability to win a championship. That is the ultimate goal, win a championship and be the best player I can be. Everybody has their own goals, I have my own, but I want to help the team win, and that is the biggest goal.
