Tyler Kroft
 Kroft with the Bengals in 2015 | |||||||||
| No. 81 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: |
October 15, 1992 Downingtown, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: |
Downingtown East (Lionville, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College: | Rutgers | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2015 / Round: 3 / Pick: 85 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2018 | |||||||||
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Tyler Kroft (born October 15, 1992) is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rutgers.
Early years
Kroft attended Downingtown East High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He played tight end and wide receiver. He was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.[1] He committed to Rutgers University to play college football.[2]
College career
Kroft was redshirted as a freshman in 2011 at Rutgers. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games and had three receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown.[3] As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Kroft started 12 of 13 games, including a career-best 133 yards against Arkansas in game 4. On the season, he had a team-leading 43 receptions and 573 yards, along with four touchdowns,[4][5] and was a first-team all-conference selection. Kroft started 12 of 13 games as a redshirt junior in 2014, but took on a restricted role and reached neither five receptions nor 50 yards in any of them. On the season, he had 24 receptions for 269 yards.[6] He was awarded the "Loyal Knight" award for his willingness to scale back.[7]
After his redshirt junior season, he entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[8][9] He finished his collegiate career with 70 receptions for 901 yards and five touchdowns.
| Year | School | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Rutgers | 11 | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 1 |
| 2013 | Rutgers | 13 | 43 | 573 | 13.3 | 4 |
| 2014 | Rutgers | 10 | 24 | 269 | 11.2 | 0 |
| Career | 70 | 901 | 12.9 | 5 |
Professional career
Kroft was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft.[10] He played back-up to Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert. He caught his first career touchdown in Week 16 against the 49ers on a 20-yard pass from AJ McCarron. He played in all 16 games his rookie season with six starts, recording 11 receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown.
In 2016, Kroft was third on the depth chart behind Eifert and C.J. Uzomah for much of the season, compiling 10 receptions for 92 yards off the bench.
Kroft began 2017 behind Eifert, but after Eifert was injured in Week 2, Kroft took the starting role. In Week 4, he had six receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns, leading the team and setting career bests in all three categories. In Week 9, he had a career-long 59-yard reception against Jacksonville en route to a career-best 79 receiving yards.[11][12] In Weeks 11 and 12 he had back-to-back receiving touchdowns for the first time in his career, both of one yard;[13] the one in Week 11 occurred after teammate Dre Kirkpatrick returned an interception 101 yards, but committed an unforced fumble just before reaching the end zone.[14]
Professional statistics
| Year | Tm | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | CIN | 16 | 11 | 129 | 11.7 | 1 | 22 |
| 2016 | CIN | 14 | 10 | 92 | 9.2 | 0 | 21 |
| 2017 | CIN | 13 | 42 | 404 | 10.5 | 7 | 59 |
| Career | 43 | 63 | 625 | 10.5 | 8 | 59 |
References
- ↑ "Rivals.com". rivals.yahoo.com.
- ↑ "Downingtown East TE Tyler Kroft verbally commits to Rutgers".
- ↑ "Tyler Kroft missing valuable time to become complete tight end".
- ↑ "Archives - Philly.com". articles.philly.com.
- ↑ "Rutgers' Tyler Kroft developing into elite tight end".
- ↑ "Tyler Kroft Career Game Log - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- ↑ "2016 Rutgers Football Media Guide". Rutgers University.
- ↑ "Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft leaving for the 2015 NFL Draft".
- ↑ "Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft declares for NFL Draft".
- ↑ Marcum, Jason (May 1, 2015). "NFL Draft 2015: Bengals select Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ↑ 59 yard reception highlight
- ↑ Bengals vs Jaguars, box score 11/5/17 PFR
- ↑ "Tyler Kroft Career Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ↑ Bengals vs Broncos, box score 11/19/17 PFR