It’s pretty simple. When the top tight end prospect headed into April’s NFL Draft has been a lifelong fan of your team, you draft him. It does not matter that the position isn’t of highest need for the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta needs to draft Arkansas’ Hunter Henry with the 50th pick in the second round.

Sure, veteran Jacob Tamme has been a dependable target at the position. Last season, Tamme finished with 59 catches for 657 yards and one touchdown. But he is also 31, and not exactly the same as Tony Gonzalez, the now retired Falcon who is considered one of the greatest to ever play the position in the NFL.

Henry could be the next Gonzalez, if the Falcons draft him. It’s a stretch, but the potential is there. At the NFL Combine last month, Henry perked up at the possibility of joining the team.

“I’ve been a Falcons fan my whole life,” Henry said. “I used to go to games when Patrick Kearney was there and with Roddy White, who is still there. [White has since been released] Tony Gonzalez probably was my favorite. He’s the best tight end ever to do it and on my favorite team.”

Atlanta may have higher needs, especially defensively, but it would be foolish to not choose Henry if he lasts until pick 50. There is not much risk when there would be no doubt that Henry was committed to the team and a quality player.

In his last season with the Razorbacks, the junior had 51 catches for 759 yards and three touchdowns. Henry won the John Mackey award as the nation’s top tight end, while also picking up consensus All-American and All-SEC first team honors. The six-foot-five, 250 pound athlete is the top prospect at the position, with a football field-sized gap between the second best.

If Atlanta picked up Henry, quarterback Matt Ryan would have opportunities to torch opposing defenses when they focused on wide receivers Julio Jones and new acquisition Mohamed Sanu.

“I think I could create a big mismatch — I know I would amongst the linebackers and the secondary,” Henry said. “You need as many threats as you can on the field. That’s a big part of the offense, so the defense can’t just key on one guy.”

Benjamin Clark is the Atlanta Falcons staff writer for EndZoneScore.com

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After adding to the defensive side of the ball with former Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa in the first round, the San Diego Chargers upgraded their offense by selecting former Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry with the 35^th overall selection in the NFL draft.

Henry, a three-year starter at Arkansas, finished his collegiate career with the second-most receiving yards (1,661) in school-history among tight ends, while a whopping 38 percent of his receiving yards came on third down, according to ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Also, Henry’s high level of production was directly correlated to his efficiency as a pass-catcher, as he caught 116 of his 188 targets (62 percent).

According to ProFootballFocus.com, Henry didn’t drop a single pass in 2015, and he earned the highest receiving grade in the draft both his sophomore and junior year.

In addition to being honored as the 2015 John Mackey Award Winner (award is given to the top tight end in the country), Henry was announced as a first team All-American by the Associated Press, USA Today, the coaches, Phil Steele, and Athlon.

“By far, the premier tight end in the 2016 NFL draft,” according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. “Henry is a big body with the athleticism to get open, the hands to finish catches in traffic and the blocking ability to help give a running game the additional kick it might be missing on the edge. Henry should come in and become a very good NFL starter.”

Zierlein compares Henry to future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten.

At 6’5”, 250 pounds, Henry is an athletic freak for his size. According to PlayerProfiler.com, Henry earned a 101.5 Height-Adjusted Speed Score (65th percentile), but this should come to no surprise, as his mother (Jenny Henry) reminded the media of Henry’s natural born talent via Twitter.

Throwing back to @Hunter_Henry84 pee wee days on this #draftday! #72 #duewestraiders pic.twitter.com/qptzC4nSFO

— Jenny Henry (@JennyHenry) April 28, 2016

He will be a matchup nightmare for opposing NFL defenses, for most linebackers and safeties will fail to stay with him in man coverage. Also, unlike most receiving tight ends, Henry is more than willing to get involved in the run game as an elite run blocker.

Prior to the draft, NFL Network’s Charles Davis touched on Henry’s status as the draft’s top tight end.

“The best tight end in the country, Henry has a chance to go in the first round to a TE-needy team,” Davis said. “He has good hands, runs routes well and keeps improving as a run blocker.”

Fortunately for San Diego, they will able to land Henry at the top of the second round despite his first-round ability.

With the Chargers, Henry will play behind another Future Hall of Fame tight end in Antonio Gates, but given Gates’ injury history and recent drop in production, he could see a significant amount of play early in his career. Regardless of whether or not Gates does play the entire 2016 season, Henry is looking forward to learning from him early in his career.

“It’s an honor,” Henry said, via Chargers.com.  “It’s awesome to watch a guy I grew up watching and to be able to be on the same team and the same field with him is going to be an honor.  I look forward to it.  Growing up, I watched the Chargers quite a lot so just being able to see him throughout his career and the progression he’s made and all the success that’s come his way, and he’s so deserving of it, it’s going to be really cool to be able to work with him.”

Given Henry’s NFL ready demeanor and skill set, he can instantly be inserted into a significant role within San Diego’s offense, and in turn, Gates should benefit from a lightened work load late in his career.

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Hey, we are less than a week away from Super Bowl Sunday. And we continues to recap the 2016 season for each of the NFL’s 32 teams. The focus here is on a club’s strong suit this past year, as well as a shortcoming that may be an issue to address this offseason. Hence, what earned a thumbs up and what went awry for the recently-relocated 5-11 Los Angeles Chargers this past season? Let’s take a look.

What went right?

Bounce back year for Gordon: The club’s top pick last April, defensive end Joey Bosa, led the Bolts with 10.5 sacks. But it was team’s first-round selection one year earlier that was the eye-opener. Following a near-disastrous rookie campaign, running back Melvin Gordon was tremendous. He looks the part of a player that the San Diego-now Los Angeles Chargers wound up moving up in the first round to grab in 2015. In 13 games, the Pro Bowl performer racked up an impressive 1,416 yards from scrimmage (997 rushing, 419 receiving) and 12 touchdowns.

Compare that to his debut year. Gordon managed only 833 yards from scrimmage and failed to find the end zone in 14 contests. In 2016, he accounted for 66.0 percent of the club’s rushing yards. Meanwhile, the young runner also finished fifth on the squad with 41 receptions.

What went wrong?

To err is…costly: Yes, the team’s late-game woes are well-documented. In case you need a reminder, the Chargers were outscored a combined 139-81 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Hence, the club’s failures when it came to ball security were more than costly. The Bolts totaled an NFL-high 35 turnovers, 26 of those by veteran signal-caller Philip Rivers. The 13-year pro had just as many touchdown passes as miscues (16) in his final seven outings, six of those resulting in defeat. Not having Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead for the majority of the season certainly hurt Rivers. All told, he saw his completion percentage go from 66.1 in 2015 to 60.4 this year.

Final thoughts

After reaching the playoffs in his first season with the club in 2013, Mike McCoy’s tenure is over. He owned a combined 18-30 record in his final three years (9-23 the past two seasons). Conversely, former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn is the new man at the helm of the Los Angeles Chargers. The club owns a new logo (via SI.com) and hopes it’s headed in the right direction. However, the Bolts own a dismal 1-11 record vs. their divisional foes these past two years. It could be a long trip back to respectability.

Russell S. Baxter is the NFL lead columnist for EndZoneScore.com and the founder of ProFootballGuru.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BaxFootballGuru.

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Each NFL season, every team has a player that bears a little added attention. So which performer could turn the corner for the Los Angeles Chargers in ’17?

Welcome to yet another 32-team series from End Zone Score. In recent months, we took the time to look at each club’s best offseason addition. We even dabbled into some pertinent and historical numbers.

Every NFL season features players that come into their own after a slow start to their careers. It’s tough to tell when each performer’s coming-put party will take place. Some are immediate successes. Others take longer due to numerous circumstances, but they prove to be worth the wait. Here we will try and pinpoint a player from each team in the league that we feel is on the verge of putting it altogether.

We’ve already gone through our share of teams. You can play catch-up right here. Now we are taking a look at our choice for the Los Angeles Chargers.

TE Hunter Henry

There’s certainly no shame in playing second fiddle to one of the all-time great players at a position. Of course, it may well be far too early if Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry belongs in the same orchestra pit as the great Antonio Gates.

But the 2016 second-round pick from the University of Arkansas conducted himself in a very positive way. As a rookie, he finished just sixth on the club with 36 receptions in his 15 outings. But that came with being targeted only 53 times. The former Razorbacks standout averaged 13.3 yards per grab and led the Bolts with eight touchdown catches. He and Gates (7) accounted for 15 of quarterback Philip Rivers’ 33 scoring connections this past season.

Of course Gates is now tied with Tony Gonzalez for the most touchdown receptions (111) by a tight end in NFL history. He’s also entering his 15th NFL season. Rivers loves throwing to the tight end position, so Hunter Henry is sure to see a lot more passes head this way in 2017.

Russell S. Baxter is the NFL lead columnist for EndZoneScore.com and the founder of ProFootballGuru.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BaxFootballGuru.

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