Iowa football: Third Hawkeye TE finds NFL home after 2019 NFL Draft

After a minicamp tryout, former Iowa football defensive end Parker Hesse has signed with the Tennessee Titans as a tight end.

At the conclusion of the 2019 NFL Draft, every single senior from the Iowa football team remained teamless, but soon dominoes began to fall starting with starting wide receiver Nick Easley signing with the Buffalo Bills. Then, it was offensive lineman Ross Reynolds and Keegan Render securing UDFA deals before Matt Nelson closed out the weekend by signing with the Detroit Lions.

Others, such as defensive Parker Hesse, were left to fight for an NFL opportunity during minicamp tryouts.

Hesse had two such tryouts, one with the Kansas City Chiefs and another with Detroit Lions. Yet, after both of these tryouts, Hesse was still unsigned.

Third time is a charm though as Hesse landed a UDFA contract with the Tennessee Titans after this weekend’s minicamp.

Interestingly enough though, Hesse is joining the Tennessee Titans as a tight end according to Hesse’s father, Perry.

For those of you keeping track at home, the Iowa football team now has three tight ends from their 2018 team in the NFL before the start of the 2019 season.

While Hesse’s transition to tight end from defensive end may come as a shock to some, it shouldn’t surprise the four-year starter at defensive end. At 6’3” 261 pounds (his listed playing size), Hesse is a bit undersized to play a traditional 4-3 end role, however, his athleticism and size do work well as a tight end/H-back in today’s NFL.

According to a draft day biopic from Scott Dochterman of The Athletic, Hesse was asked to try out as a tight end during Iowa’s Pro Day. Hesse had this to say:

"I volunteered to run some routes as a fullback and then a couple of coaches or scouts asked me to see me in tight end drills, so I did that."

What people may not realize is Hesse’s athletic testing is actually pretty comparable, if not better, than first-round tight end TJ Hockenson.

Here’s the breakdown:

• 40-yard dash: Hesse (4.79); Hockenson (4.7)
• Vertical: Hesse (37); Hockenson (37.5)
• Shuttle: Hesse (4.18); Hockenson (4.18)
• Broad Jump: Hesse (117); Hockenson (123)
• 3-cone: Hesse (6.91); Hockenson (7.02)
• Height: Hesse (6’2”); Hockenson (6’5”)
• Weight: Hesse (253); Hockenson (251)

This is by no means saying Hesse can be TJ Hockenson, but merely pointing out it isn’t as far fetched as initially thought.

For Parker Hesse, it’s going to be a huge learning curve as he transitions to the tight end position, but for now, he can breathe a little easier as he lives to see another day of his NFL aspirations stay alive.

Hesse will be joining former Iowa football player and 2019 4th-round draft pick Amani Hooker in Nashville when minicamp opens.