Reserve tight ends, get 'em while they're healthy! Part the second

Bryan Fletcher
2007 stats: 18-143-0 receiving
Combine numbers: 6047, 238, 4.87 in 2002
Who's he: Terrell Fletcher's little brother was a pretty good athlete in his own right at high school in St. Louis. A tight end and linebacker, Bryan was also the starting center on the school's basketball team. As a freshman at UCLA , he played mainly on special teams before moving into a share of the starting tight end position as a sophomore. He continued to play specials despite being a part-time starter on offense. As a senior, he made All-Pac-10 second team and won UCLA's Best Leadership Award, despite the school's star-studded lineup. In 43 games (14 starts), Fletcher caught 30-423-3. Disappointing combine numbers led to Fletcher having to wait until the sixth round to hear his name called in the 2002 draft when he was selected by the Bears. He was cut in training and bounced around the league (including a successful stint in NFL Europe) before landing on the Colts' practice squad in 2004. He made the final roster in 2005 and started 12 games as injuries struck the receiving corps and the Colts played two tight end formations extensively. In his three-year tenure with the Colts, Fletcher has played 41 of 48 possible regular-season games (18 starts) and caught 54-547-5, while playing primarily at H-back, but also fullback, tight end, slot receiver and wide receiver.
As a player: Fletcher is a hybrid. Depending on your perspective, he's either a very tall, somewhat slow wide receiver or a very skinny tight end — or both. Well, mostly he's a receiver no matter what position he plays. Fletcher has good, not great, hands and excels at the other elements of receiving, including route-running, using his agility and adjusting to help his quarterback. Although he plays faster than he times, Fletcher isn't really a deep threat, but he can be a good intermediate receiver who can be deadly in the red zone where his height is a big plus. As a blocker, he's a lot more wide receiver than tight end. Not surprisingly, he's much better on the move than he is inline. Of course, Fletcher starts pretty well every play in motion or in the backfield, so it's not a huge problem. Niggling injuries have troubled him throughout his career, but not terribly so.