Washington selects TE John Bates in Round 4
May 1, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Washington selected Boise St. tight end John Bates with the 19th pick in round 4 of the NFL Draft, 124th overall. Bates, who stands 6’5” and weighs 250 pounds and is originally from Lebanon, Oregon, spent a full five years at Boise St. He redshirted his freshman year in 2016, then played a total of 44 games between 2017 and 2020, with 26 starts, and made 47 receptions for 579 yards, 12.3 yards per reception, and 2 touchdowns. In 2020, Bates only played three games due to a hamstring injury and other undisclosed injuries, and made 12 receptions for 117 yards and 9.8 yards per reception, with no touchdowns. He earned All Mountain West Honorable Mention honors in both 2019 and 2020.
Bates ran the 40 yard dash in 4.8 seconds and jumped 31.5” in the vertical leap at Boise St.’s pro day. He was the Oregon state champion at the 110 meter hurdles in high school, but isn’t known to be a great athlete by NFL standards. Bates’ best trait is prototypical NFL inline tight end size, and scouts observed good blocking skills in the run game and good hands as a pass catcher. His lack of agility and speed won’t allow him to separate much as a receiver at the NFL level, but he can be a solid, traditional “Y” tight end who is able to operate in traffic in limited routes. The Redskins’ Washington’s coaching staff likely views Bates as the quality blocking tight end the team has been missing for years. Most draft analysts predicted that he would be drafted somewhere in back end of the draft, so it seems likely that Bates may have been available lower than round 4.
Washington’s current tight end group consists of starter Logan Thomas, plus little used 2020 holdovers Marcus Baugh and Temarrick Hemingway, practice squad-level players Dylan Cantrell and Tyrone Swoopes, and fan favorite Sammis Reyes, who is an athletic marvel from Chile who came to Washington through the International Pathway Program. Thomas is engrained in #1 slot, but is only signed through 2021. The team was in desperate need for a competent backup and an inline blocking tight end, and Bates has the physical profile for that role. If Bates can live up to his collegiate reputation as a blocker, he a chance to carve out an immediate role as a backup and as the team’s principal inline tight end in the run game and in pass protection.