Payne Durham NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Purdue TE

HEIGHT: 6'5 5/8"

WEIGHT: 253

HAND: 9 3/4"

ARM: 33 3/8"

WINGSPAN:

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40-YARD DASH: 4.87

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: N/A

VERTICAL: 34.5"

BROAD: 9'9"

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POSITIVES

— Above-average acceleration. Can cover good ground in short bursts.

— Above-average hands and ball skills. Flashes the ability to make top-shelf catches.

— Good blocker. Strong, high-effort player. Even showed quality pass pro reps.

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NEGATIVES

— Poor change of direction. Takes too many steps at route breaks, lacks explosion.

— Long speed isn't there, despite good initial burst and acceleration.

— Doesn't play well through contact as a pass-catcher. Lets himself get moved and overwhelmed.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 56 REC, 560 REC (10.0 AVG), 8 TD

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NOTES

— DOB: June 15, 2000

— 3-star recruit in 2018, per 247 Sports' composite ranking

— 33 career starts

— 2022 second-team All-Big Ten

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OVERALL

Payne Durham is a throwback tight end with the hands and blocking skills to stick, but he may lack the pop to emerge as an eventual TE1.

Durham's selling point is his hands. He's a reliable pass-catcher over the middle, flashing the ability to snag throws outside his frame and bring them in comfortably. Durham also has just enough vertical ability and length to play the ball high in the air, especially in the red zone.

Durham also has nice acceleration, which shows itself most when he transitions from receiver to ball carrier. He does well to quickly eat up ground with his first few steps and get moving out of the way of the initial tackler. It's a good trait to have at his size.

Additionally, Durham brings it as a blocker. He's tough and plays to finish blocks in the run game. Durham was even asked to pass protect a fair amount at Purdue and handled that well, showing off nice movement skills and anchor.

However, Durham lacks juice as a receiver. Despite some nice acceleration to start, Durham isn't a good mover in other facets. He doesn't have good long speed, for one. He's also too heavy-footed getting in and out of breaks, as well as off the line of scrimmage.

Durham also doesn't handle contact the way his frame suggests. When pressed at the line or rerouted later in his route, Durham often ends up off balance and loses all his speed. That's likely going to be an even bigger problem in the NFL.

Durham has enough to stick around. His combination of size, ball skills and blocking ability make him a solid depth tight end from the start. It's hard to envision an exciting ceiling with Durham, however, and that's why he's a Day 3 target.

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GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect/Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 188

POSITION RANK: TE12

PRO COMPARISON: Zach Miller

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen