Tommy Bohanon to Jets: How Does FB Fit in New York?

With their final selection in the 2013 NFL draft, the Jets added yet another power blocker to further beef up their interior blocking presence. 

Looking at Tommy Bohanon as a player, this pick looks like it has Rex Ryan's hands all over it. Bohanon is an old-school H-back with horse-like strength. He is well known for his spectacular performance at the combine:

Another big reason why Bohanon was brought to the Jets is that John Idzik's son Brad plays with him at Wake Forest. 

Bohanon spent most of his time at Wake Forest blocking, but he also brings some value to the table as a receiver. He was fourth on his team in receptions as a sophomore and scored five touchdowns through the air last season. In Marty Mornhinweg's West Coast offense, the fullback is often used as a check-down receiver as defenses tend to forget to account for him, especially around the red zone. 

Unlike the incumbent Lex Hilliard, who had a slew of costly drops for the Jets in 2012, Bohanon has soft hands and waits until he catches the ball before turning upfield—which is the exact opposite of what Hilliard does when a ball comes his way. 

However, Bohanon is much less used as a running back, as he only had two carries in 2012 (one went for a touchdown). 

Bohanon has great size (6'1") for a fullback and tremendous strength to back it up, but he does not always get the most out of his ability when blocking. He has a tendency to stay too upright when blocking head-on, causing him to fall backwards. He also has been known to lunge at blockers and abandon his technique. 

Bohanon is not going to blow up defenders in the hole, but he does seal off edges and get to his assignment.

The Jets clearly think Bohanon can improve as a blocker with some NFL coaching, and he certainly could. You cannot teach brute strength and size, but you can teach a player how to use proper technique to get the most out of physical gifts. 

Ultimately, the Jets drafted Bohanon more for his skills as a receiver than his ability as a blocker. His size and strength gives him the tools to succeed as a blocker, but it will take some coaching to get the most out of his combination of size and strength. Once again, the Jets have added competition to a "power" position at fullback that will help set the kind of competitive atmosphere John Idzik is looking for on his team.