Ole Miss tight end Kenny Yeboah enjoyed a breakout season for the Running Rebels after spending four seasons at Temple in a role that didn’t take full advantage of his pass-catching skill set. The 22-year-old grad transfer will participate in the 2021 Senior Bowl in an attempt to boost his stock in a draft class that has some talented tight ends at the top of the position’s rankings.
Yeboah finished the 2020 season with 27 catches for 524 yards and six touchdowns in seven games. He set career-highs across the board at Ole Miss and finished his college career with 74 catches for 1,062 yards and 12 touchdowns. He nearly matched his four years of production at Temple during his only season as a Running Rebel.
Yeboah was a two-star prospect at wide receiver coming out of high school and was soft-recruited by big programs like Penn State and Michigan State. He settled on Temple after receiving offers from schools like Albany, New Hampshire, and Lafayette. He transitioned to playing tight end after Temple’s then-head coach (and current Carolina Panthers coach) Matt Rhule suggested he had an NFL future at the position.
Physically, Yeboah looks more like a wide receiver than a tight end. He’s a lean 6’4, 240 pounds. Yeboah’s lower-half is especially lean; there isn’t much sand in the pants. He’s stronger than his frame suggests he’d be, but there are legitimate concerns about his ability to hold up as an in-line player in the NFL. He’ll be limited as a detached/joker player on the next level.
Athletically, Yeboah moves liked you’d expect from a player with his measurables. He’s more fluid and faster than tight ends who are 10-15 pounds heavier, but he isn’t a special athlete. He has the potential to be a mismatch against slower linebackers in the NFL, but he doesn’t have the kind of juice to profile as a guy who can run away from second-level defenders.
In the run game, Yeboah is more of a step-and-seal player than an in-line power guy. He’s big enough to wall off the edge and he has the baseline strength to maintain his ground long enough for the running back to turn the corner, but if you’re asking him to drive a defender off the ball, you’re going to be disappointed. He just isn’t that guy. At least, not yet. He’ll have to commit to an NFL strength program to develop into that type of player.
As a receiver, Yeboah has promising traits as an intermediate target and seam-buster. He’s tight-hipped and isn’t nuanced enough as a route-runner to be an early read in a quarterback’s progressions, but he’ll offer value in the red zone and in jump-ball situations. Yeboah has reliable hands and is physical enough to out-muscle a smaller defender for the ball, but he won’t be mistaken for any of the NFL’s top-tier pass-catchers anytime soon. He just isn’t smooth or athletic enough.
Overall, Yeboah is a late-round prospect who may need a year or two on the practice squad to get stronger and fill out his frame. Modern NFL offenses value tight ends who can play a mismatch role in the passing game, but Yeboah isn’t quite there yet. He’ll be a Day-3 pick who could emerge a year or two down the line as a player that battles for a spot on the active roster.
GRADE: 5.1 (7th round)
