Scouting Profile: Gunnar Helm - TE - Texas
Sales Pitch: Well rounded player with dependable hands. Lacks eye popping traits but his versatility and toughness should make him a mid to low end starter.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
** Helm suffered an ankle injury during testing which dropped his numbers**
Scouting Report
Gunnar Helm is a former 3-Star recruit from Colorado where he was a multi-sport athlete, lettering in basketball and football. It took a while for Helm to get on the field for the Longhorns but he stuck with them through two regimes, before finally becoming the starter in his senior season. He had a tremendous first season as a stater in 2024, where he was a John Mackey Award Semifinalist after posting career highs across the board.
Helm has a well-rounded physical profile. Despite lacking elite traits, he is an adequate mover with solid size. He was asked to line up at a variety of spots for the Longhorns in 2024, including in-line Y, H-back and as an F in the slot. Helm is a dependable receiver who is willing to go make tough catches over the middle. He is able to adjust his body to secure balls outside his frame and uses his size to win in contested catch scenarios. Helm is not a dynamic separator but is comfortable finding soft spots in zone coverage on underneath routes and crossers over the middle. He is also a capable YAC producer, who is quick to turn up the field with the contact balance to break tackles from smaller defenders. As a blocker Helm was asked to handle legit assignments as an in-line player and held up fairly well. He has a solid first step out of his stance and enough size to wall off defenders at the point of attack. He is quick to double and climb to wall off LBs at the 2nd level. Helm is comfortable blocking out in space on zone concepts, as well as screens and swing passes.
Helm’s lack of elite traits limits his overall ceiling. He struggles to create separation versus man coverage due to average change of direction skills. While he can rumble for extra yards he doesn’t project to be a difference maker with the ball in his hands. Helm is a willing blocker but struggles to move larger defenders. He lacks the play strength or arm length to control defenders at the point of attack. Helm does have room to improve technique wise, which will help him survive in-line in the next level. His hand placement is poor, often attaching too wide on defenders frame. He also struggles with a narrow base and high pad level, both of which cause inconsistencies in his execution. With more experience Helm should be able to clean up his technique and bring his blocking to an average to above average level. He will likely not ever be a game changer at his size but still has the ceiling to be a contributing player as a blocker.
Helm projects as a mid to low end starting TE with alignment versatility. He lacks the traits to be an offensive focal point but his well-rounded game and special teams experience give him a high floor. Helm profiles as a mid Day-2 pick who starts as a TE2 with TE1 upside.