Chris Herndon

Adam Gase evidently is the unofficial president of the Chris Herndon Fan Club, waxing poetic about his young tight end during a media session at the annual NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday.

“I think Chris is unique,” Gase said. “I don’t think you find a lot of tight ends that are able to be on the field all three downs. Obviously, he’s a very good receiver. He’s very good in the run game. He did a really good job in pass protection last year. He’s a unicorn-type player ... You don’t see a lot of these guys that can all three phases of the game.”

The fourth-round pick showed flashes of top-end play during his rookie season. Herndon, who finished with 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns, has the skill-set to be an integral piece to Gang Green’s puzzle for the foreseeable future.

“He was a guy that we evaluated extremely hard in Miami because we were looking for a tight end,” Gase said. “We were actually looking for more than one. He fit that mold of what we were looking for. I think him coming to New York was good for me at the end of the day.”

As a rookie, Herndon finished No. 12 in points per snap in both standard and PPR formats. He only played about 63% of the snaps as a rookie, but if his playing time increases to 80% and he maintains his point per snap efficiency, then he's likely to finish in the top 10. He's currently a nice value in the 10th round of early best ball drafts.