#86 Brandon Manumaleuna Best blocking TE in the NFL

Brandon Manumaleuna #86 blocks for the RB in Mini Camp above.
Above Manu (Brandon Manumaleuna) blocks out wide on another running play that is taken up the middle.
Above Manu has already blocked his man and a pass has been completed down field yet Manu runs down field to help for even more blocking.
Manu with good hands catches a pass in the above picture in Mini Camp.

Brandon Manumaleuna #86 is a great blocking TE, and he proves it play after play in practice and the games. Most pundits consider Manumaleuna the best blocking TE in the NFL. Since Lo Neal is now gone, I believe Manu will see even more action blocking for LT and the rest of the RB's. They have lined up Manu at FB and he will see plenty of action this year. But he also may see even more passes this year thrown his way with Antonio Gates coming off surgery on his big Toe. Manu is a TE with very good hands and makes pass receptions look easy. I think Manu will have a bigger role this year for the Chargers.

For some great articles on Manumaleuna click links below:

Manumaleuna . . . wider than Gates

Brandon Manumaleuna is renowned for his blocking, so much so that the Chargers sometimes line him up as a fullback for added emphasis and to surprise tendency trackers. Yet he has also caught 90 passes during his seven seasons in St. Louis and San Diego, has scored 10 NFL touchdowns, and is nimble enough to create an effective diversion merely by moving downfield.

“He takes up a lot of space, I guess,” said Clancy Barone, the Chargers' tight ends coach. “But he's a very good receiver and people have to look back to his days to the Rams and realize that.

“Oftentimes, guys get pigeonholed as being a blocking tight end, being an extra lineman out there. But he's very athletic. He has better speed than what you would think and he has very soft hands.”

5 MINUTES WITH.... Brandon Manumaleuna

Video: Brandon Manumaleuna scores TD against Lions

From Chargers.com Manumaleuna:

It’s rare that an NFL team can boast about possessing the best blocking tight end in game and its best receiving tight end. The Chargers are in fact one team that can definitely boast about having both.

Brandon Manumaleuna (MAH-noo-mah-lee-oon-ah) and Antonio Gates give the Chargers a great one-two punch at tight end. While the two differ in size and speed, both are an indelible forces in Norv Turner’s high-powered offense. And it doesn’t hurt that Manumaleuna is an extremely versatile player who has lined up at tight end, fullback, H-back and wide receiver, in addition to playing special teams, during his career.

The 6-2, 288-pound Manumaleuna is as agile and shifty as he his big. And while he doesn’t catch as many passes as Gates, Manumaleuna is as sure-handed as any of the Chargers’ pass catchers. Having a tight end who is a dependable blocker and a good receiver is a key component of Turner’s offensive system. For the fifth-year in a row, Manumaleuna recorded double-digit reception totals and in each of his two years with the Chargers, San Diego’s offense has rushed for more than 2,000 yards.

Manumaleuna joined the Chargers in 2006 after Bolts General Manager A.J. Smith pulled off one of the biggest steals of the draft, shipping a fourth-round pick to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for his services. Right away, Manumaleuna became a key cog in the Chargers’ offense, scoring touchdowns on three of his 14 catches, and helping to block for a running game that netted a team-record 2,578 yards and an NFL MVP award for LaDainian Tomlinson.

Brandon’s off-the-field hobbies include playing basketball and spending time with family. Brandon is a second-generation NFL player. His father, Frank, played linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1979-1981. Frank also played at UCLA in the early 1970s. Brandon showed early signs of following in his father’s footsteps. As an 11-year-old, he won the NFL’s Punt, Pass and Kick Competition.