This weekend, an NFL team will draft Harvard senior Kyle Juszczyk. The Crimson standout has had official visits with a dozen teams, all of which are presumably interested in drafting the FCS All-American somewhere between the third and sixth rounds. One team that hasn’t shown interest in Juszczyk is the Philadelphia Eagles, which makes sense given that they already have his NFL doppelganger. This offseason, the Eagles signed former Houston Texan James Casey, who shares a number of similarities with Juszczyk.
For one, Casey went to Rice, a school also known more for its academics than its football team. Though they play in the FBS, the Owls have only played in three bowl games in the last 50 years. While there, Casey saw some action both in the backfield and out of Wildcat sets, but like Juszczyk, mainly played tight end, leading his team in receptions during his final season in 2009.
Lacking the physical traits of a prototypical tight end, Casey was scouted as a fullback for the NFL Draft. At 6’1”, Juszczyk was forced to make a similar transition this year. Though Juszczyk didn’t get an NFL Draft Combine invite like Casey did, their key measurables turned out to be eerily similar. The 248-pound Casey and the 246-Juszczyk both ran 4.7 40-yard dashes and were each timed at 2.75 seconds and 1.6 seconds in the 20 and 10-yard sprints, respectively. Thanks to their performances, both prospects emerged as the No. 1 fullback option in their respective drafts, according to nfldraftscout.com.
Though Casey was projected to be a slightly more valuable pick overall than Juszczyk does, the former Owl ended up sliding to the middle of the fifth round before the Texans grabbed him with the 152nd pick in the draft. Since then, Casey has been more productive than an average pick in the fifth round, starting 20 games over four years between the fullback and tight end positions. Last year, he was on the field for 17 of Houston’s 19 rushing touchdowns, and he proved to be a threat with the ball in his hands as well.
His performance earned him nearly $15 million in free agency from the Eagles, for whom he projects to be an H-back, a more natural position for someone with his athletic ability.
At this point, it is not unreasonable to imagine Juszczyk being as productive as Casey in his first few years, given he lands with the right team. Both are tough runners, Juszczyk is nearly as athletically versatile, and if he lacks some of Casey’s height, he more than makes up for it in blocking prowess. After all, it was Juszczyk’s ability to knock back linebackers during practice before the Senior Bowl that initially caught scouts’ eyes.
