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Cole Turner NFL Draft Profile
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Cole Turner Scouting ReportTurner is one tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft who passes the requisite athletic threshold. The Nevada TE is a fluid athlete in space, and he covers lots of ground with long, efficient strides. He possesses some long-track explosiveness downfield and poses a challenge as a vertical or seam threat. Turner has the athleticism to line up all across the field, whether in the slot, out wide, or in-line. He also has some vertical-leaping ability. He elevates and adjusts his leverage in midair. Turner is mainly a vertical athlete, but he has shown the necessary lateral spryness to set up defensive backs with his releases and capitalize quickly. Turner’s most eye-catching skill is his ability to use body control and contortion ability to haul in tough passes. He’s incredibly instinctive at the catch point, with great flexibility and feel in the open air. The Nevada TE has smooth body control, and he can quickly contort and adjust to corral low or high passes. He also has great ball-tracking ability. Although Turner occasionally loses track of the football, more often than not, he finds the ball and adjusts accordingly. Turner’s plus traits at the catch point help him all over the field, but he translates especially well as a red-zone threat. The Nevada TE has the wingspan, body control, ball-tracking ability, and solid hands to be a weapon in shorter areas. And with his frame, he can box out defenders and make acrobatic catches in tight spaces. Turner has good hands. He actively looks the ball in with his hands and has shown he can haul in tough catches amidst contact over the middle of the field. The Nevada TE can sit in open zones, secure catches, and fall forward. He also flashes good awareness of blind spots with his ability to sneak past linebackers and find space. He flashes solid releases ahead of his stems. He has the capacity to stagger his feet and cut inside. He’s also not a liability as a blocker. You don’t want to ask him to do too much, but he’s shown he can be assignment sound. |
Areas for ImprovementTurner often gets advertised as an elite athlete. He’s a good athlete — let’s not get it twisted — but he doesn’t show off the same wide receiver-like ability that other prospects have shown in the past. He’s not an elite separator and rounds off his breaks a lot. Furthermore, Turner is not an overly sudden or detailed route runner. He can be lackadaisical, as he just rotates back on a lot of in-breaking routes. Expanding on Turner’s route running, the Nevada TE doesn’t have great short-area burst off the line and doesn’t explode out of breaks. He doesn’t have high-level hip sink, and is more of an upright, vertical tight end. His strides are long and looming in the open field, and he can’t always speed up his feet at breaks or break at sharp angles. Turner’s feet aren’t fast or precise, and his moving style after the catch is a bit lumbering as well. Turner has a fairly thin route tree. He doesn’t have the elite agility or hip sink to suggest high-level potential in that area. With his upright style, Turner can also be exposed to big hits out of breaks. His hands aren’t always strong enough to work through contact, and there are enough drops — both focus and contact — to make a note of it. Turner doesn’t project incredibly well as a blocker. As mentioned earlier, he’s not a liability. He can square up and use his length. But with his upright style and lighter frame, he can be outmuscled fairly easily. |
Cole Turner Career at SchoolTurner came to Nevada as a receiver and stayed there for a couple of years. Although he saw playing time as a true freshman, he had trouble getting onto the field consistently. Over the course of 2018 and 2019, Turner caught just 6 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. By 2019, Turner had worked his way up to 225 pounds. After that season, a decision was made to officially switch him to tight end. He bulked up to 240 and began taking on a hybrid WR/TE role. It was a successful move — one that fully unearthed Turner’s raw talent. In 2020, Turner broke out as one of the Wolf Pack’s top receiving options. He caught 49 passes for 605 yards and 9 touchdowns, earning All-Mountain West first-team honors. In 2021, he once again logged career highs in all categories. This time, the Nevada TE cruised to a season total of 62 catches, 677 yards, and 10 touchdowns. After his career-defining senior campaign, Turner announced that he would opt-out of the team’s bowl game against Western Michigan and start his preparation for the 2022 NFL Draft. |
Cole Turner NFL Draft Player ProfileTurner has an intriguing combination of size and athleticism — enough where he can be a versatile piece in a modern NFL offense. He has the athleticism to get out into space, along with the size, length, and catching instincts to convert on opportunities and provide utility as a contested-catch threat. There’s a definite role for Turner’s style in the NFL. But his ceiling might not be quite as high as other tight ends. Turner’s more of a vertical route runner. He can run seam routes, wheels, and drag routes, and has experience with hitches. But Turner’s not as proficient with more detailed routes, and he can’t create space for himself consistently. Nevertheless, while Turner can’t create space, he does create opportunities at the catch point with his vertical athleticism, body control, and wingspan. Hee also has the athleticism to be a decent run-after-catch threat on drags up the middle of the field. Turner fits best as a move tight end in a scheme that grants him artificial separation with spacing and overlapping route concepts. In such a scheme, he can be a versatile catcher with great utility up the seam, down the sideline, and in the red zone. Day 2 may be a bit too rich for Turner, but he’s a great addition early on Day 3. |
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