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 NCAA Scouting – Player Profile:
Dustin Keller, TE
by James Izzard
25/2/2008
After a weekend glued to the Pro scouting combine it makes sense to have a closer look at one of the stand-outs from Indy Tight End Dustin Keller.
Dustin Keller is one of the top tight end prospects in the 2008 draft he played college ball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He obviously felt at home in Indiana because that is also where he was brought up attending Lafayette High School.
 His senior year was his best year in the Big 10 starting all thirteen Purdue games ranking second on the team with a career high 68 catches for 881 yards and 7 TD’s. He will impress scouts with his Special Team performances where he recovered a fumble for a TD and recorded 3 tackles.
Although perhaps still under the radar at this current time the Diner feel he is a prospect on the rise. He finished the combine amongst the leaders in several of the positional categories. He was certainly the fastest and most explosive Tight End on show.
What we like about Keller
Dustin Keller possesses many attributes a receiving Tight End needs to have to be successful in the big league. With the likes of Dallas Clark and Greg Olsen making a hefty splash in the NFL already a receiving Tight End is the in-vogue position and is particularly beneficial on 3rd down passing situations. Besides his obvious speed and solid route running Keller became a dangerous Red Zone target in his Senior Year. Keller could certainly play in the H-Back position which would undeniably suit his attributes
Question marks over Keller
 His official height from the combine was 6ft 2 inches which is very small for an NFL tight end, he is an Tight End/H-Back tweener. Blocking is not his forte and will potentially hurt his draft stock quite considerably.
Highlight of his College Career
Keller was nominated for the John Mackay award given to the best college Tight End, the award is based on performances on the field, sportsmanship, community values and academics.
Other Snippets of Info
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Keller is expected to go in the middle 3 rounds; this may rise depending on how he works out at his pro day.
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Fred Davis (USC) and Martin Rucker (Missouri) are the two top Tight End prospect in this draft although the Diner is a big fan of Craig Stevens out of California.
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Keller had an incredible 11.1 vertical jump at the combine.
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NFL players you could compare him to would be Dallas Clark or Chris Cooley.
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Potential good fits Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles or the Green Bay Packers.
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