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It is quite possible that Rob Housler will be on the trading block, especially since the Arizona Cardinal’s head coach Bruce Arians philosophy is “Tight ends for me block first, catch second,” stated by Darren Urban from Cardinals blogs. Since Rob Housler was drafted in 2011 for his “catch-first” physical ability which was demonstrated in the past three seasons by catching 96 passes. While his blocking score was not so high, Ed Valentine from SB Nation states “…in 2012 it was 13.1, including 12.1 in run-blocking.” This causes issues for Housler since Arians feels that the Tight End’s job is to block not catch passes.
Troy Niklas, the Tight End rookie from Notre Dame, has an advantage over Rob Housler because he has strong stats for record tackles and catching passes. According to CBS Sports.com, “…tight end as a sophomore but clearly was a secondary target to Eifert, serving primarily as a blocking specialist… Niklas started all 13 games for the Irish and was third on the team in receiving with 32 catches for 498 yards and five touchdowns in 2013.” Arians is known for playing the rookies; take for example he guided rookie QB Andrew Luck to lead the Colts to the playoffs, he has no problem seeing what Niklas can bring to the table once he recovers from his hernia surgery.
Darren Urban from Cardinals blogs states, “Arians does believe a pass-catcher can be taught to block, but they have to have the right body type and they have to be willing to do it.” So Rob Housler has a chance to avoid the trading block, if he is willing to work diligently to block and prove to Arians that he has the “block first, catch second” frame of mind. If not then he may be wearing another type of jersey before the 2014 NFL season kicks off
Araceli Mendoza is a writer for CouchRiderReport.net. Follow her on Twitter and Couch Rider Facebook.