Tommy Tremble, a Tight End prospect from Notre Dame, is one of my favorite players in this draft. Tremble was never the TE1 at Notre Dame (most likely because he was behind guys like Cole Kmet and 5-star recruit Michael Mayer), but that didn’t stop him from getting on the field often. Tremble’s elite blocking ability for a Tight End helped him stay on the field often. Tremble stands at 6’4″ and weighs 247lbs. Let’s hop into why I love Tremble, and why I think he will be a success at the NFL level.
Strengths: Tommy Tremble is an extremely intriguing prospect. Right off the bat, if you watch Tremble’s game, you can see his elite blocking abilities. He displays great technique, leg drive, and strength. In addition, he has the ability to block Defensive Ends as an in-line TE with his hand in the dirt, as well as having the great ability to be placed in the back field to be used as a lead blocker. He is extremely explosive off the line, at times overpowering Defensive Ends and driving them backwards. He blocks very well on the move and creates big lanes for RBs to run through on the edge. Along with his blocking abilities in the run game, he can also pass protect just as well, which is a great trait for when NFL teams need to keep someone in to block. Along with his blocking, Tremble is a talented athlete. He flashed athleticism in the limited opportunities he got to run routes and catch passes. He displays strong hands and a wide catch radius (since he stands at 6’4″). He is a smart receiver who knows how to shadow the QB as he rolls out when the play breaks down in order to turn himself into a safety net. He possesses great raw athleticism and runs solid routes, although he requires more improvement in that regard. He showed off his speed at his pro day, running a 4.59s 40-yard dash. Tremble has only scratched the surface as a route runner, and it will take some coaching for him to reach his high potential as a Tight End.
Weaknesses: The stand out weakness in Tremble’s game is his lack of production. Over his career at Notre Dame, Tremble just has a measly stat line of 35 catches for 401 yards. In my opinion, his lack of production is a result of the situations he’s been in, not due to his talents. He was stuck behind fan favorite Cole Kmet (until he was drafted after the 2019 season) and then ended up stuck again, this time behind 2020 5-star recruit Michael Mayer. Both Kmet and Mayer were better route runners than Tremble, but he was able to force the coaches to keep him on the field simply due to his elite blocking skills. Tremble is still a raw route runner who will need to be coached up, and he simply just needs more experience to keep improving.
Bottom Line: Tommy Tremble is one of my favorite players in this draft class. He is an elite blocker with great functional strength and leg drive, and has the ability to move defenders out of the way as well as clearing holes. His blocking ability will get him on the field early as he works on developing his route running, just based off of his raw athletic talent. I believe that, if Tremble was not in a situation where he had two highly recruited Tight Ends around him his entire career, he would have been thought of much more highly. However, I would advise against letting the lack of production fool you, as Tremble flashes when given the opportunity. I believe that he will develop into a TE1 at the NFL level, with the right coaching staff supporting him along the way.
Grade: 2.7
