Dillon Salva | Merrimack, TE – 2018 NFL Draft Breakdown

Career

• Was a two-year member of the football team and also played one season on the men’s basketball team
• Selected to 2017 National Bowl against top DII, DIII and NAIA players nationwide
• Played in 20 games over the course of his football career with 16 receptions, 230 yards and three touchdowns

2017 (Senior)
Football

• Started every game at tight end
• Finished with 12 receptions and career-high two receiving touchdowns
• Finished with career-high 179 yards receiving, averaging 14.9 yards per catch
• Hauled in a career-long 41-yard reception as part of a career-high 78-yard performance at LIU Post (11/4)
• Finished with a pair of three-catch games

2016-17 (Junior)
Football

• Appeared in 10 games in his first season with the team
• Totaled four receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown while lining up mainly at tight end
• Recorded his first career reception and touchdown against Bryant (9/3)

Before Merrimack

• Attended Brookdale Community College for two years, where he earned all-league and all-region honors in 2015-16 as a member of the men’s basketball team
• Attended Bishop George Ahr High School (Group III)
• Four-year letterwinner in both football and basketball
• Earned all-state, all-county, all-area and all-division honors (senior)
• Earned similar accolades in basketball, where he left as the school’s all-time leader in two-point field goals in a season and blocks in a game
• Helped basketball team reach state finals (sophomore)

Personal

• Born Jan. 9, 1994
• Son of Tom and Carol Salva
• Father played football at Memphis
• Education major

CAREER HIGHS
Points scored: 6, American Int’l, 09/10/16
Touchdowns: 1, American Int’l, 09/10/16
Receptions: 3, at Bryant, 09/03/16
Receiving yards: 50, at Bryant, 09/03/16 (3 receptions)
Receiving TDs: 1, American Int’l, 09/10/16
Long reception: 19, at Bryant, 09/03/16
All-purpose yards: 50, at Bryant, 09/03/16

Salva had a low GPA and took his ACT later than ideal during the recruitment process which hampered the talented prospect of obtaining some 30 scholarships that were originally headed towards his direction.

He went the JUCO route, but did not play football, he played power forward in basketball for one of the top programs in Brookdale Community College, where Salva would have enjoyed the feeling of winning it all, if it wasn’t for a buzzer beating shot that did the Jersey Blues in.

His desire to play football remained heavy on his heart and he began sending his basketball film out to football coaches, in hopes of finding a suitor for his ability. Merrimack would be that destination for Salva to quickly establish himself as a true NFL Prospect at tight end in a very limited amount of time.

Three years of experience playing the position (senior year of high school) of tight end is all that Salva has under his belt. Imagine the upside of the 6-foot-5 and 250 pound prospect with more time to learn his craft.

Fiercely competitive, Salva brings that Jersey mentality to the tight end position. Salva was used primarily as an in-line blocker. He plays with good leverage and works to sustain his blocks. He flashes that nastiness to finish off the defender. In two years at a small program with limited time at tight end he has caught the attention of NFL teams, aiming to get a legit sized blocking tight end. Rarely used in the passing game, he remains raw in those aspects of the position. A sleeper with enough, athletic ability to find himself in camp.