Rams hoping Tyler Higbee and Temmarick Hemingway can make the tight end spot stronger
Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee, right, makes a catch despite tight coverage by Southern Mississippi’s Deviant Foster during the CUSA championship game on Dec. 5, 2015.
Running back Todd Gurley was coming off a star-making rookie season and the Rams had selected quarterback Jared Goff with the top pick in the NFL draft.
Tight ends who can block and catch passes were regarded as a component that would help both.
That is why the Rams drafted Western Kentucky’s Tyler Higbee in the fourth round and South Carolina State’s Temmarick Hemingway in the sixth, to add depth to a position group regarded as key to the Rams’ achieving a winning season for the first time since 2003.
“We’re looking for the future, on-the-line blocking tight end that can still get down the field and stretch defenses,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “These are the qualities that both of the tight ends have.”
Higbee and Hemingway will be among the drafted players and undrafted free agents who will participate in the rookie orientation and minicamp that begins Friday in Oxnard.
Last season, Jared Cook was the top receiver among Rams tight ends, catching 39 passes. He was released in February to clear salary space. That left the Rams with tight ends Lance Kendricks, Cory Harkey and Justice Cunningham.
Kendricks caught 25 passes last season, two for touchdowns. Harkey, who plays more as a fullback, re-signed with the Rams after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Cunningham spent most of last season on the practice squad.
Higbee, 6 feet 6 and 249 pounds, caught 38 passes for 563 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. He appeared to fall in the draft after he was arrested last month on suspicion of second-degree assault, evading police and public intoxication after an altercation with a man outside a bar in Bowling Green, Ky. Nawaf Alsaleh, 24, was found unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. He reportedly suffered a concussion as well as a brain hemorrhage.
According to police report obtained by the Bowling Green Daily News, there were conflicting accounts from Higbee and witnesses about what occurred. Higbee told police that the incident was precipitated by a man who was bothering Higbee and his girlfriend.
Higbee will be in court Thursday and will plead not guilty, attorney Brian Lowder said. Lowder also disputed accounts that characterized the incident as racially motivated.
“It had nothing to do with race,” he said.
Said Fisher: “We’re convinced that it’s going to be resolved. ... He wouldn’t be a Ram had we had some concerns that it was going to be a problem down the line.”
On Saturday, the day he was drafted, Higbee said he could not talk about the situation.
As for football, Higbee said he was looking forward to working with Goff.
“I think I can create some mismatches with the linebackers and safeties,” he said. “I’m going to get out there and be physical on the smaller guys, and use some of my speed on some of the bigger guys.”
Hemingway, 6-4 and 244 pounds, caught 38 passes for 418 yards and a touchdown last season.
“I have a tough mentality — that’s a really big thing for me,” Hemingway said. “Being that I used to be a receiver at 170 pounds my freshman year, I really have this spirit about me, this never-done attitude. Those are just some of the simple things that become big things, especially playing at the next level.”
Twitter: @latimesklein
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