Erik Gill

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Tight End
Erik Gill

College: Pittsburgh
Year: Senior
Height: 6’5"
Weight: 270
Birthday: March 24, 1982

With a melon chock full of rust-colored hair, this Erik the Red isn’t headed for Greenland. Erik Gill is instead headed for the greenbacks that should come on draft day in 2006.

Don’t get the wrong idea when you first watch Gill perform. He isn’t going to necessarily grab your attention with his athleticism. Gill is going to win you over as a meat-and-potatoes gamer, one of those rare block-and-catch combos at a position that is often misunderstood anyway.

Gill is a big, reliable target who finally came into his own in 2004. Prior to his junior season, Gill caught just two passes, but that changed a year ago. He settled down, learned how to read secondary coverages to get open, and developed into a detmerined receiver capable of breaking tackles for a longer gain.

Unlike some other top tight end prospects, Gill has the size and blocking ability to keep him from being tagged as a possible H-back. He uses his body well to get leverage in his blocks, then when he breaks loose from the line, that big frame becomes a tough-to-miss target downfield.

Gill has said that he admires the game of Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey (minus the attitude, of course), but it is his Pitt predecessor, Kris Wilson, that offers a more interesting comparison. Wilson, a 2004 second round pick of the Chiefs, is smaller and maybe a step faster, but Gill is a stronger blocker and perhaps a better all-round prospect.

(profile written by Keith Weiland)

Erik Gill’s 2004 Stats G CTH YDS AVG TD 12 25 433 17.3 4 Erik Gill Erik Gill Home

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