2012 NFL Draft: Michael Egnew Is Missouri Tigers' Best NFL Prospect

The Missouri Tigers football program has pushed out some outstanding professional players in recent years. Pros like Sean Weatherspoon, Jeremy Maclin, Blaine Gabbert and Aldon Smith are only a few examples. 

It seems as if the best NFL prospects for the Tigers have been either quarterbacks or linebackers, but what many people don't realize is that Missouri has had some outstanding tight ends come through their program as well. 

Through 2006-08, tight ends Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman were some of quarterback Chase Daniel's favorite targets, and both were All-Americans at some point during their time in Columbia. Rucker currently plays alongside Gabbert for the Jacksonville Jaguars while Coffman plays for the Cincinnati Bengals.

However, neither Rucker nor Coffman is Missouri's best end of the past five years.

Current senior Michael Egnew holds that title. He is an outstanding pro prospect with tremendous upside.

Egnew was a finalist for the 2010 John Mackey award, which is handed out every year to the nation's top tight end. Although the award was won by Arkansas' D.J. Williams, Egnew was still a First Team All-American.

Egnew was also chosen as his team's most valuable player in 2010 after leading the Tigers in receptions with 90 for 762 yards and five touchdowns. He also set a Missouri school record for receptions in a game with 13 against San Diego State the same year.

After Quarterback Blaine Gabbert left for the NFL, the Tigers were left with unproven sophomore James Franklin to run the offense. Franklin is a terrific young talent, but he is by no means the passer that Gabbert was for Missouri, and that affected the entire receiving corps' numbers, including Egnew.

Egnew is an excellent red-zone target for quarterbacks, standing at 6'5'' and weighing around 245 lbs. Yet for a player of his size, he has outstanding body control and athleticism. He's got good speed for a tight end too, and runs crisp, smooth routes like no other tight end in today's college game.

NFL coaches will need to teach him to be effective out of a three-point stance, as Missouri coach Gary Pinkel often had him lined up as a slot receiver the past couple of seasons. However, his ability to run out in open space will by no means be frowned upon, as Egnew is great at creating mismatches for nickel backs and other smaller defensive backs.

Egnew has great hands, but he's been prone to look upfield before securing the football, which has resulted in a few ugly drops over the years.

With limited blocking ability, Egnew will take some coaching if he wants to become a solid, all-around tight end. Teams should still pursue him though, because in today's NFL every team needs a fast, sure-handed big man like him.

If Egnew would have entered last year's draft with his teammates Gabbert and Aldon Smith, he may have been a second, possibly even first-round pick. However, after a year in which his numbers saw a sharp decline with James Franklin at the helm, Egnew can now be expected to be picked up somewhere in the third or fourth rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft. 

There should be a multitude of teams in search for young, pass-catching ends this offseason, so it will be interesting to see where Egnew ends up.