INDIANAPOLIS — Randy Moss could knock your socks off with his playmaking ability.
His son Thaddeus? He would rather knock your block off.
The LSU tight end revealed at the NFL Scouting Combine that he actually prefers blocking over catching passes.
“I took pride in that all year,’’ said Moss, a key cog in the Tigers’ run to the national championship. “All the receivers always asked me in the offseason, ‘How many catches are you going to have? How many touchdowns are you going to have?’
“I was like, ‘Look, I don’t care about catches. Y’all can have as many as y’all want. I’m a tight end, not a receiver. I’ll do the dirty work, and y’all go score touchdowns and do y’all’s little dances. I’ll go block.’ ’’
The 6-foot-3-inch, 250-pound Moss certainly isn’t opposed to catching the ball — he had 47 receptions for 570 yards and 4 touchdowns last season — it’s just that blocking has always been a passion. And he possesses the No. 1 trait to be successful at it.
“I think the want-to,” said Moss. “That’s the biggest thing when it comes to blocking, period. You’ve got to want to put your nose in there and get physical.
“The tight end position, you should be able to do everything a coach asks you to do. If that’s go block a D-end, if that’s wham a three-technique or shade-technique, go lead up on a linebacker, you’ve got to have the want-to.’’
The Patriots likely will be in the market for multiple tight ends, and Moss could help fill the bill for a team that didn’t receive a ton of production from the position in 2019.
Moss would love to return to New England, where he has vivid memories of the work his father did during his Patriots tenure.
“I’ve talked to Coach [Bill] Belichick before. I’ve talked to [team owner Robert] Kraft before,’’ said Moss, who hasn’t yet met with the Patriots. “Probably my most fond memories are from the undefeated [2007] season that they had — obviously they didn’t finish it the way they wanted to.
“On top of that, I was in the facility once or twice before. Meeting Tom Brady when I was younger — I was sitting there starstruck. Walking down the hallway and seeing Tedy Bruschi, seeing Coach [Mike] Vrabel.’’
A New England reunion could help carry on a family tradition — provided Brady stays.
“It would mean a lot,’’ Moss said about the possibility of playing with his father’s old batterymate. “Just to catch a touchdown pass, period, in the NFL would mean a lot. But to catch one from Tom Brady, knowing that he threw a good amount of touchdown passes to my father — it would be a good story.’’
Tight ends traditionally have played a pivotal role in New England’s offense, and it’s becoming a leaguewide trend, which only increases Moss’s appeal.
“Those two teams in the Super Bowl had the two best tight ends in the NFL [San Francisco’s George Kittle and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce],’’ said Moss. “Tight ends are really being utilized more and more and more, so it’s great to see.’’
Several other highly touted tight ends, including Dayton’s Adam Trautman and Washington’s Hunter Bryant, indicated that they have met with the Patriots here.
This also is projected to be an exceptionally deep draft for receivers, with as many as five expected to go in the first round, including Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, Clemson’s Tee Higgins, and Penn State’s K.J. Hamler.
Among the receivers the Patriots have spoken to are Ruggs, James Proche of SMU, Donovan Peoples-Jones of Michigan, and Rhode Island’s Aaron Parker.
Another player who could be a potential fit in New England is Texas’s Devin Duvernay, who is projected as a middle-round pick. A shifty and speedy slot receiver, Duvernay was a machine for the Longhorns, collecting 106 catches for 1,386 yards last season.
Duvernay said he likes the versatility of playing out of the slot.
“You can go deep. You can go short. You can get in the screen game,’’ said Duvernay, who had yet to meet with any Patriots brass. “You can be the in backfield, things like that. I like doing things that can get the ball in your hands and make a play, run after the catch.”
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.