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JamesJM
They'll be on the field together a LOT, I'm pretty sure.
But I think Kendricks will fight hard for #1 on the depth chart... and by that I mean his 'play'. This year I think it will be close but I think Kendricks will be the target a bit more than Higbee... and that reversing in the very near future. - JamesJM
The key to Kendricks is not receptions. That's just part of his game.
Kendricks is more of an H-back/blocking version of a move TE than either a traditional in-line TE or a receiving TE in the mold of Higbee.
That means he can run-block, pass-block, and catch a pass from any spot in the formation. He can do it in-line, spread wide, or from the backfield.
That's an amazing advantage. Over the years they have taken advantage of it in different ways and with different emphasis on this or that aspect of it.
Kendricks could never catch a pass and still be a core offensive player.
He CAN catch passes of course (last year he fell off a little but actually for a couple years he had the highest catch percentage of any Rams WR/TE). But he just can't run the same kinds of routes or set up the same kinds of mismatches Higbee can.
But then the Rams clearly want BOTH things.
So really---the 2 of them are not competing. There's no way Higbee will ever do the things Kendricks does and they clearly want both players and both sets of things they each do.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2016 04:48PM by zn.