Scouting Anthony Firkser
Earlier this month, the Jets announced that they had signed Harvard tight end Anthony Firkser as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 draft.
The 22-year old Firkser is 6'2", 246 pounds and was a first-team all-Ivy League selection last year after setting career highs in pass receptions (45), receiving yardage (702) and touchdowns (seven).
Background
Firkser was a wide receiver in high school but did not play in his first season at Harvard, as he was converted to tight end. However, he was productive over the next two seasons, earning second-team Ivy League honors.
In his senior year, Firkser went one better, getting first team recognition and ending his career with 99 receptions for 1,559 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Firkser wasn't invited to the scouting combine and didn't play in any of the major all-star games.
Let's move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Firkser brings to the table, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Firkser is under 6'2" and lacks the ideal length for the tight end position. Based on his size, his numbers are about average with his 40 time (4.82), broad jump and vertical being slightly below average but his bench press (21 reps) and agility numbers pretty good.
Usage
Despite being listed as a tight end at Harvard, Firkser played most of his reps as a wide receiver, lining up on the outside as well as in the slot.
When he did play tight end, it tended to be in two tight end sets from a two point stance and a yard or two back off the line. He wasn't employed as a conventional inline tight end based on the available footage.
It's been speculated that Firkser will compete for a role at fullback with the Jets and that makes sense, because he's probably too small to play tight end and not athletic enough to play wide receiver.
Deep threat
Firkser averaged over 15 yards per catch over the course of his career, so clearly he has the ability to make plays down the field. While he lacks the speed to blow past a defender on a go-route, he's had some success running down the seams, catch jump balls down the field and breaking away from the defense over the middle as he does here:
Routes
Harvard doesn't see to have a great deal of complexity to their route combinations, but Firkser is able to produce on curls, quick outs and crossers.
One thing he does well is boxing defenders out so he can create a target for the quarterback with minimal separation and use his strength at the point of the catch. Here was an example of that at the marker on 3rd and 12:
Hands
Firkser shows an ability to go up to get it and did seem to catch the ball with good consistency. However, he will juggle or double-catch at times, which almost allowed a defensive back to knock the ball out on several of his catches. Generally he still managed to hang on in such situations, showing strong hands as he did on the above play.
Here's a spectacular one-handed catch over the shoulder and between two defenders on a deep ball:
However, this was a moment of poor concentration as he dropped a potential touchdown:
Yards after the catch
Firkser isn't particularly elusive, but every now and again he'll slip out of a tackle or bull ahead for a couple of extra yards. He also runs well in the open field so he can turn a shorter pass into a long gain if you hit him in stride.
On this play, he makes a catch underneath and drags a defender forward to get to the marker:
Red zone
Firkser produced quite well in the red zone, scoring on short passes to the flat, underneath and fading to the corner. He was also used as a run blocker in such situations, with mixed results.
Run Blocking
Firkser gives a good effort as a blocker, although at times he will miss his target in space or fail to sustain a block. He's not really a powerful blocker who you'd expect to be effective in a classic old-school lead blocker role.
On this play, he over-extends on the outside and allows his man to get off his block to make the stop:
He does a decent job here, though, sealing a linebacker to the inside on a double-reverse:
Pass Blocking
Firkser was employed in pass protection from time to time, primarily in max-protect sets where he was helping out one of the tackles. This sometimes appeared to require him to read the blitz and pick which side to help out on.
He was often required to make key blocks on wide receiver screens and he did a nice job of that on this play:
Special Teams
Firkser didn't appear to make any contributions on special teams at Harvard based on the available footage, but has said in interviews he's willing to start off on special teams at the next level to make contributions early on in his career.
Instincts/intelligence
Firkser's intelligence is obviously good because he attended Harvard, although at times his blocking instincts can be lacking. There was also a play where Firkser and another receiver ran into each other, clearly because someone ran the wrong route.
Attitude
Firkser won a team award for showing good leadership, scholarship and integrity in 2016, providing evidence of his good intangibles.
On the field he gives a good effort and seems to have a business-like approach to the game.
Injuries
Firkser has played in 29 of 30 games for Harvard over the last three seasons. It's not apparent whether that one game was due to an injury, but whatever it was it doesn't appear to have been serious.
Conclusions
Firkser is probably a long-shot to make the team this year, despite the fact the Jets don't have much depth at fullback; a position the Jets have resolved to involve more in 2017.
However, Harvard's tight end group has produced some legitimate NFL talent over the past few years (Cameron Brate, Ben Braunecker, Kyle Juszczyk) and the coaching staff has stated that Firkser is the most gifted receiver out of all of them. Whether he has the size and athleticism to succeed at the pro level is another matter, though.
His versatility will serve him well and if he's going to convert to fullback he could fit well in the kind of versatile fullback role that west coast offenses generally employ. However, even in a role like this he still probably needs to develop more as a blocker so it's likely Firkser would be the kind of player they'll seek to keep on the practice squad with an eye on next year.