{"id":161275,"date":"2024-02-07T15:55:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T20:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=161275"},"modified":"2024-02-07T20:51:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T01:51:17","slug":"zach-heins-2024-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/02\/07\/zach-heins-2024-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Heins 2024 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zach Heins NFL Draft Overview<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Position<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: Tight End<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Height<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: 6\u20326\u2033<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Weight<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: 264 pounds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">School<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sdstate.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">South Dakota State<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">More 2024 NFL Draft Profiles<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2024 NFL Draft: Zach Heins Scouting Report<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zach Heins formed one of the top tight-end tandems in the country with Green Bay&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/04\/10\/tucker-kraft-2023-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Tucker Kraft<\/a> in 2022 as they looked to continue what is now becoming known as the tight-end university at South Dakota State. Heins received the team&#8217;s Effort Award in several games and was named to the 2023 All-Missouri Valley Football Second Team. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite lacking pure athleticism, he compensates for it with his size and physicality. As a blocker, he is strong at the point of attack and keeps driving defenders downfield. Heins&#8217; presence on the field provides quarterbacks with an elite catch radius and an underneath threat while working as an extension off the line of scrimmage. He excels in high-jumping situations and offers some raw value as a run blocker and in the red zone. Heins participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl and impressed evaluators with his size and fluidity putting himself on the map as a player who will be drafted in April.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Strengths<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zach Heins is a long strider who gains ground quickly. He can create some separation against linebackers;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Heins is adept at finding soft spots in zone. He finds the space between the defense&#8217;s second and third levels;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Heins has fluid hips for his size. There&#8217;s some hip sink in his route stems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He navigates the middle of the field well. He provides a great catch radius between the hashes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Heins is a willing pass protector and run blocker. He&#8217;s strong at the point of attack and drives behind his hand placement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He is a tough, tough player who played through a broken foot in the FCS National Championship against North Dakota State;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Vs. 2024. Draft Tight Ends: Career Yards per Reception: 13.1 (8th).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Weaknesses<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zach Heins&#8217; routes are more rounded than sharp. He needs to show more urgency as a route runner;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He isn&#8217;t speedy or sudden. Heins is not shifty or elusive in space. At this point, he doesn&#8217;t break tackles with power;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With Heins&#8217; size, he must be more physical and imposing at the catch point;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Vs. 2024. Draft Tight Ends: Yards Per Team Pass Attempt: 1.08 (13th), Yards per Route Run: 1.3 (15th), Yards After the Catch: 3.8 (22nd).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NFL Comparison<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/02\/26\/cole-kmet-2020-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Cole Kmet<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Teams With Need At Position<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Minnesota Vikings<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/saints\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New Orleans Saints<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Washington Commanders<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cardinals\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Arizona Cardinals<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/dolphins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Miami Dolphins<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Projection<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: Round 7<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bottom Line on Zach Heins<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In conclusion, Zach Heins is a talented tight end with an impressive size and physicality that compensates for his lack of pure athleticism. He has a great catch radius, excels in high-jumping situations, and offers some raw value as a run blocker and in the red zone. However, he needs to improve his route running and be more physical and imposing at the catch point. With his willingness to pass protect and run block, he could be a valuable asset to any team looking for a developmental tight end. While he is projected to go late on day three, Zach Heins profiles as the perfect developmental third tight end on the depth chart and would be a good addition to any tight end room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Samantha Laurey \/ Argus Leader-USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zach Heins is a talented tight end with great physicality and an elite catch radius. He will be the third tight end to be drafted out of what&#8217;s being dubbed the new Tight End University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5041,"featured_media":161417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,54],"tags":[10073,32357],"class_list":["post-161275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-editorials","tag-2024-nfl-draft","tag-zach-heins"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5041"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}