It's unclear at this point what the Washington Commanders will ask of their new rookie tight end Ben Sinnott, but despite how good he looked as a pass-catcher in OTAs, you can bet that blocking will be at least part of his role.
That shouldn't be a problem for Sinnott, who was the second tight end taken off the board during the 2024 NFL Draft, but it wasn't always an area of strength for him. He had to work at it and learn that there was more to blocking than, as his Kansas State position coach Brian Lepak described it, "throw it in there and hit guys and bang around."
It took some time, but his improvements have allowed him to become a more well-rounded player.
"That area is where he grew the most and made it so you don't just put this guy in for certain packages," Lepak said. "You leave him out there all the time. And that really enabled him then to utilize the skills that he already had."
Finding the drive to succeed has never been a problem for tight end Sinnott. He turned down a scholarship offer from South Dakota in favor of being a walk-on at Kansas State, where he had to wait a year before seeing any game action. From there, Sinnott went on to become one of the best tight ends in program history, tying for the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end and ranking fourth in receiving yards.
Sinnott was solid as a receiver, but his blocking, Lepak said, was "sloppy." Most of his struggles revolved around his footwork. He needed to learn how to position his feet, making sure he was taking the right steps at the point of contact and knowing what steps he needed to take to get to the second level of defenses. He also needed to get a better understanding of leverage and how he could use that to his advantage against defenders.
"He'd do stuff where he'd step underneath himself," Lepak said. "He opened up and he was trying to go hit someone and hit them as hard as he could, but that meant he was out of control."
Sinnott's progression was gradual. It started as the occasional flash here and there in practice. Then, things started to be more consistent. Lepak could see the difference in his footwork, particularly during individual drills when he could compare the difference in how Sinnott was moving compared to his teammates.
Eventually, Sinnott's blocking caught up with his skill set as a pass-catcher, and that's when Lepak had a realization that coaches rarely get: he might have a future pro in his group.
"You get excited for him," Lepak said. "It gives you an opportunity to do things that you can say, 'Okay, let me push a little bit when I'm trying to coach and teach somebody. It gives you chances to try other things that you maybe wouldn't have done that you might have been afraid to try out because you don't know if you're asking too much of someone."
It was also a callback to the first conversation Sinnott and Lepak had after his first spring coaching the position group about expectations. Sinnott gave what Lepak called "generic answers" of doing a good job and wanting to play. Lepak asked him a straightforward question: "Do you wanna be the guy? Do you wanna be the dude?"
"He kind of smiled like, 'Am I allowed to say that type of thing?'" Lepak recalled. "I said, 'It's okay to say that you wanna be. I expect you to wanna do that. You gotta start believing, because you can be that if you want to be.'"
Sinnott showed clear results, particularly when it came to run blocking. Sinnott got a 51.1 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021; the next year, he had a 60.2. The 2023 season was by far his best, as he posted a 76.1 in the category and a 72.8 in pass blocking. His run block grade was the highest in the Big 12.
Sinnott was so impressive that he earned some praise from general manager Adam Peters, who said the second-round pick reminded him of Kyle Juszczyk and George Kittle.
"The way he blocks and in the way he moves, and just the way he competes. Certainly not putting him in that [category], those guys are All Pro's, Pro Bowlers, everything you'd want, but Ben has that same mindset, and he plays with that mindset. He can block really anywhere," Peters said.
Peters said Sinnott can do "anything you want in the run and pass game" and went on about the possibility of Sinnott blocking defensive ends, linebackers and climbing up to the second level. Sinnott did all that during OTAs, although there won't be any real indicators of what he can accomplish in the NFL until the pads come on in training camp.
Whenever that day comes, Lepak knows Sinnott will be ready.
"You always wanted to have him on the field, because he's reliable and was gonna perform and was gonna compete."
