Former quarterback-turned-top-tight-end prospect Adam Trautman has steadily risen up draft boards since the season ended, earning an invite to the Senior Bowl, where the Dayton senior showed he could thrive against upper-level competition.
But his ascension didn’t come without its share of obstacles – namely his weight problem.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Dayton TE Adam Trautman today: "This kid, he's going to just continue to get better and better. And the crazy thing is he's really polished. He knows how to set up defenders. He can separate. He's got wiggle. He wins a lot of 50/50 balls … pic.twitter.com/exn2JwyZPl
— Craig Haley (@CraigHaley) February 21, 2020
No, Trautman didn’t have to shed weight. The opposite was true, as the gangly, 6-foot-4, 176-pound quarterback for Elk Rapids High School (Mich.) desperately wanted to pack on the pounds.
His 6,000-calories per day diet back then included a huge breakfast and lunch, two dinners and a protein shake. And then there was the “burger bites.”
From Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett:
“In between, Trautman spent the day snacking on ‘burger bites,’ little pieces of hamburger, that he carried around with him everywhere he went.”
Trautman’s father back then used to grill an entire 18-pack of 1/2-pound hamburger patties, then stored them in the refrigerator.
“Trautman grabbed two patties before school every morning, cut them into little pieces and threw them in a bag of seasoning for flavor. Occasionally, he used a microwave to warm up his snack. Most of the time, he swallowed them cold,” Birkett said.
The diet eventually worked, as Trautman now has ideal size for an NFL tight end at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds.
He’s currently the No. 51 overall prospect in the latest Fanspeak-Steve big board, which would make Trautman a second-round pick.