In 4 years in college Trautmam caught 178 passes for 2300 yards and 31 TD. I’ve seen him compared to Mark Andrews but with blocking skills.
Route Tree - He attacked the field on all levels. Success with leak routes, flat patterns on play action, crossers and over routes and attacking vertically on fade patterns near the goal line. Appreciate how much he was asked to do but he needs to be better avoiding second level contact and staying on schedule in his route timing.
Hands - He doesn’t have the crazy hand size that allows him to effortlessly pluck the ball with defenders draped on his body, but he’s a sure handed receiver inside his catch radius and avoids trapping the ball against his chest. He’ll get it clean away from his body with little issue.
Versatility - The upside here is prominent. He can be called upon as an in-line blocker, receiver over the middle of the field or be flexed into space and used as a weapon there, too. He’ll also excel in routes releasing from the backfield. NFL polish will take some time but physically capable of filling a plethora of roles.
Contested Catch Ability - He’s knocked around FCS competition down field and has the needed size to see it translate to the next level, too. He’s got some nice high point reps on film to ensure he’s the first to the football and his frame is a notable weapon against defensive backs who draw his assignment in coverage.
RAC Ability - He’s smooth and has a nice blend of strength and long speed. He isn’t super bursty in short spaces so he may not gather advantageous angles with consistency unless he’s facing zone coverages over the MOF but if he’s able to get his strides open, he can leg it out and get big chunks of yardage.
Power at POA - Tell you what, for a small schooler this dude is a pest. Constantly ripping down hands of defenders and shows great suddenness to win positioning/leverage for blocks. Strong framing and sustained effort to hold his ground. Question will come with how easily he’s able to transfer same principles to bigger, faster competition.
Competitive Toughness - Appreciate how much effort he gives on the reps where he isn’t touching the football. Great stalk blocker and shows strong awareness down the field to get out in front of plays and be disruptive to defensive pursuit on big plays. Functional strength looks to pass the eye test for a big leap in competition.
Flexibility - Base is plenty dynamic as he latches on and mirrors defenders. Shows some good hinges to stay coiled and ready to absorb resistance. Good torso contortion to work himself back to the football as he’s carrying his routes further down the field.
Balance - He’s got active feet and he’s a tone setter along the LOS so he’s rarely catching hands — but he’ll need to ensure strike efficiency meets same quality and effectiveness against NFL defenders — so he might need a little patience here. He’s comfortable on the hoof and effective to carry speed through top of route breaks.
Football IQ - This is the big question. At a position that stereotypically needs more time for adjustment, he’s coming from a smaller level of competition. He shows awareness and implementation of hand fighting, leverage, disguised releases and more. But consistency and precision is an unknown vs. NFL caliber opponents.
Best Trait - Versatility
Worst Trait - Polish
Best Film - Jacksonville (2019)
Worst Film - San Diego (2019)
Red Flags - None
Summary - Adam Trautman is an enticing small school prospect who checks the needed boxes to instill confidence that he will face a successful transition to the NFL level. Trautman has length, burst, dominant reps as a blocker, violent hands and the production you would expect from an NFL talent playing on the smaller competitive fields. Trautman will need time and patience, but he can be a seam busting tight end and red zone threat who can align in traditional alignments or flexed wide.
Updated: 02/13/2020
