Antonio Gates 4. The 2017 first-round pick has been elite at the catch point so far this year, hauling in +10.4 percent of his targets over expected, which ranks first among tight ends (min. Caught 178 passes for 1,822 yards and 9 TDs in four seasons with team. Pitts finishing as the sixth-most valuable tight end last season backs that up. Top five tight ends in Georgia history By Gentry Estes Jul 10, 2014 46 Circumstances are combining to create larger expectations for newly enrolling tight end Jeb Blazevich, who is likely. That's the way the Tight End position should be played. 1. Rob Gronkowski 3. Ben Coates 15. 9 / 29. He had his first year of solid production in 2021 with 23 receptions for 296 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Austin Hooper (81) during the second day of minicamp on June 16, 2021. He's only 25, so he really may be one of the best tight ends moving forward. He was drafted in 2018, and while he plays behind Ertz as the primary tight end, he has a lot of worth to this Eagles team. Mike Ditka 8. Matt Starkey/Cleveland Browns. His 90.7 PFF grade was the second-highest among tight ends and a career best for the former 2018 second-round pick. Here's a look at the top 10 at the . 7. Fant's 75-yard touchdown in Week 9 last season is a great example of his upside. In 2017, many NFL teams were in search of their own Gronk and three teams utilized their first round asset to take a flyer on the next great tight end. Best Tight Ends in NFL History The Top Ten 1 Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez is a former American football tight end who played 17 seasons in the National Football League. The former fifth-round draft pick exceeded all expectations with 371 receptions for 4,713 yards in his career. Masztak was instrumental in the 1979 Cotton Bowl come back game and caught 62 passes over 4 years at Notre Dame. Last week, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts. . 4) Josh Hill. Kuithe finished the year with second-team, All-Pac-12 honors. On top of that, Goedert is a great run blocker, as he leads all tight ends in run-blocking grade since 2018. However, Parkinson is not limited to the red zone. Rob Gronkowski retired (probably) and Zach Ertz is close to aging out and changed teams. This year, as a true sophomore, he's quite easily the best returning tight end in college football, as he earned a 91.7 PFF receiving grade in 2021 while generating 3.14 yards per route run. Listed at 6'5, 260 pounds, Albert O almost looks even bigger; he looks the part of an old-school, Blakley-style tight end but was a massive difference-maker in Josh Heupel's new-school spread.. 1 of 6 CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 10: Tight end Antonio Gates #85 of the Los Angeles Chargers . DALTON KINCAID, UTAH UTES Top 10 Tight Ends Travis Kelce Team (s): Kansas City Chiefs Just making his entrance into the Top 10 Tight Ends of All-Time is the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce. 1. His 90.7 PFF grade not only topped his previous career-best by eight grading points, but it tied for the second-highest among tight ends in 2021. Ben Coates and Shannon Sharpe were the top tight ends of the 1990's. With New England, No. Offensive linemen have always been blockers. 87 was one of quarterback Drew Bledsoe's favorite targets. He may be best known for coaching the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl in 1986, but Mike Ditka was once one of the most famous tight ends of his era. With that, here are the top-10 tight ends the Bills will face next season: Honorable mentions. 3) Henry Childs. After some contributions as a rookie, Smith caught 34 balls for 377 yards and five scores in the NFC Champion 2004 season. The 20 Best NFL Tight End Seasons in the Last 25 Years. The best word to describe All's game is grit. 10. Trey Burton A backup for most of his Eagles career, Trey Burton made the most of his opportunities with the team, even though the numbers don't stick out,. Find out who the leaders are in standard scoring formats and see which players are available in your fantasy football league. Tier 1 . T.J. Hockenson, the Detroit Lions' first-round draft pick, plays the increasingly important position of tight end. Browns tight end David Njoku (85) Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports. We will provide the list of the top ten highest-ranked tight ends of the past 20 years, but some interesting names that just missed the cut include, Reid Fragel and Jeff Heuerman. No one can stop him he catches as good as Randy Moss. A memory for those who remember the massive tight end would have been from the 1978 . View All. rank it your way 1 Ozzie Newsome 153 19 1978-1990 2 Gary Barnidge 89 43 2013-2016 3 David Njoku 82 40 2017-2021 4 Jordan Cameron 70 34 2011-2014 Greatest Tight Ends of All Time | 13-6 These tight ends may not have rsums that stack up with the top five, but they deserve their spots on this list. Bennie Cunningham: Pittsburgh's first massive tight end would come in the name of Bennie Cunningham. Even from a touchdown perspective, the position has sagged. The Patriots . The former Iowa star must improve his consistency if he wants to be a top-10 tight end. Travis Kelce 12. 4) Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons. 4. 1 by next year. Bennie Cunningham (1973-'75): Cunningham was a Consensus All-American in 1974 and was a First-Team All-American again in 1975. The leading receiver for the Titans last season is also one of the best tight ends in the entire NFL. The Green Bay Packers will open training camp in just a couple of weeks or less and Dairyland Express jumps back into our look back at the history of the Pack, ranking the top 10 players since 1960 by position group. Round Pick Player Name Team College; 2022: 1: 2: 23: 55: Trey McBride: Cardinals: Colorado State : 2: 3: 9: 73: Jelani Woods: Colts: Virginia : 3 . Kellen Winslow 7. LJ Smith joined the Eagles as a second-round pick in 2003 out of Rutgers. 87. But as rare as it may be to use a first-round pick on a tight end, most analysts have had nothing but good things to say about Atlanta's pick.In fact, Pitts looks like one of the surest things in this year's class. Achievements: Only Bills tight end with at least two seasons of 50 catches or more. . 25 Greatest Tight Ends in NFL History 25. Here are the top 10 tight-ends in NY Giants' history: 10) Gary Shirk Years: 1976-1982. One year after averaging 14.1 yards per reception, Walker still posted a mark of 11.6 in 2015, which is respectable for tight ends. 25. As a result, Walker ended up with a ridiculous 94 catches for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns. And to conclude this segment, listed below are some of the most productive tight ends over the last two decades: Tony Gonzalez leads all TEs since 2000 in TE1 finishes (14 total) Tony Gonzalez leads all TEs since 2000 in Top-3 TE finishes (9 total) Rob Gronkowski & Travis Kelce lead all active TEs in top-3 TE finishes (5 each) But from 2010-13, he was a Pro Bowler every season with the Falcons,. He is unstopable. 5. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound consensus All-American was a matchup nightmare for defenses and was the Pac-10's best player at his position during the BCS era in a league known for its great tight ends. Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson (88) y Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports Hockenson has been a little below the radar since he entered the NFL in 2019. 5. Heath Miller 19. He is by far the best Tight End of All-Time. His last three years he has over 50 catches in each, including 73 for 780 yards last season in a breakout year. Buy. The two-time First-Team All-ACC selection caught 64 passes for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. Greg Olsen 13. The best PPR fantasy season by a rookie tight end since the year 2000 was Jeremy Shockey in 2002 when he had 74 catches, 894 yards, and two touchdowns which proves that a rookie tight end making . Gesicki has emerged as a top NFL tight end. That's an average of 41 tight ends per franchise (using the current 32 team league). Zach Ertz Philadelphia Eagles 2013-21; Arizona Cardinals 2021 3-time Pro Bowler Super Bowl LII champion 134 games - 635 catches, 6,841 yards (10.8. Howard. His 30 touchdowns are second to Retzlaff among tight ends all-time. AJ Pugliano, North Medford, junior. The Bears cut Burton two years into his $32 million contract. He set the tight end record for. View All. Best of the Packers: Top 10 tight ends since 1960. Shannon Sharpe 5. 20 targets). He's arguably the best tight end ever to play the game, and certainly the best of this decade. Over that six-season span, Kelce has averaged 129 targets per season, rarified air for a tight end, and that is just an average year for Kelce. Dave Casper 11. defenders at about the 20 yard line and pretty much carried everybody the last 10 yards. 10. Of those 26,000 players, 1,326 have played tight end. Kyle Pitts will likely top the list of the NFL's best tight ends many times over the next decade-plus. Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons) 5. . 10. Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs) - Kelce has 15 or more games played in each of the past seven seasons, while also topping 100 targets in each of the past six seasons. Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota looked to the tight end early and often as his safety blanket. Rian Lindell. Repeated. After helping the Golden Gophers win nine games last season, he will try to do the same this season. 8.3. 1. Head coach Frank Reich, who was the offensive coordinator when Burton was in Philly, could get mileage out of the 28-year-old tight end. Simply put, Jimmy Graham became the best tight end in the NFL, a tremendous weapon for Drew Brees and Sean Payton. Fri, 5:03pm PT FOX. Spann-Ford is one of the biggest tight ends in college football at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds. 7. Sam LaPorta, Iowa: He led the Hawkeyes in receptions and receiving yards last season. That is a lot of tight ends over the past 101 years . "Jordan has done a great job of taking advantage of the opportunities that have been . Red zone beast JJ Arcega-Whiteside is now in the NFL, so Parkinson is a prime candidate to lead tight ends in touchdowns this year. 92 recruit for the class of 2024 by 247Sports No. It's one that has grown and changed through scheme changes and has seen several different eras as time has passed. Bowers was in the conversation for the best tight end in college football last year despite being a true freshman. Jimmy Graham 16. The former Colts tight end, who interestingly did not play college football, played with Manning from 1998 until 2004, catching 34 touchdowns and gaining nearly 3,200 receiving yards in this time. Evan Engram, Giants. Mike Ditka. Best Miami Dolphins tight ends in the 21st century. The latter ranked eighth among Power Five tight ends with at least 200 such snaps. At 6-foot-5, 254 pounds, Cunningham had solid hands and was a tough man to tackle. Paul Coffman of the Green Bay Packers is shown in an undated handout photo. Considered one of the best tight ends of all time, Gonzalez isn't higher because his best seasons were from 1999-2003. That number should only go up in 2021 and could come with a breakout season. The Falcons selected Pitts fourth overall in last year's draft, making him the highest-drafted tight end of all time. a track and field star in high school, was one of the nation's top tight ends entering . Frank Wycheck (1995 . Ozzie Newsome 9. Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota Golden Gophers. Additionally, Jimmy Graham and Todd Christensen earned consideration for the top 13. Tony Gonzalez 2. 6. His 94 receptions led all players at his position, and his 52 . Here are my top 5 tight ends in New Orleans Saints history: 1) Jimmy Graham. The Evolution of Tight Ends in the NFL 1. His best year came in 1974 when hauled in 24 passes for 391 yards and seven touchdowns. freshman tight end over at least the past 30 years. 6. Still, Brady was a consistent performer at the tight end spot, catching 54 passes for 770 yards (14.3 yards per catch) and scoring six touchdowns as a Sooner and was a powerful end-line blocker. Jackie Smith 14. 5. O/U 6.5. O.J. The Eagles backup tight end ranked 5th in receiving yards per game for tight ends last year with just over 47. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles Goedert was quietly one of the best tight ends in the NFL last season. His 29 catches (for 340 yards with . Joe Rose Rose spent six seasons with the Dolphins and claims the honor of catching Dan Marino's. As Rookie of the Year in 1961, the . After a small bounce back in scoring rate compared to the league in 2017, the position produced their lowest collective scoring rate in 2018 and have been at 25 . Jason Witten 6. His best statistical year came in 1974 when he posted 33 receptions for 374 yards and six scores. 1. All recorded five big-time run-blocks en route to a 76.4 run-block grade this season. View All. Dallas Clark 18. Cole Kmet over 2.5 receptions (+110) Staying in the tight end department, Justin Fields should find himself trailing by margin in the second half because of the Cowboys ' focus on slowing down his . 3. Travis Kelce. . But he has consistently put up solid. The Seattle Seahawks have had some sure-handed tight ends in their nearly 40-year history, from their first game in 1976 through Super Bowl XLIX last month. 3. BROCK BOWERS, GEORGIA BULLDOGS. 3. Position: K. Years . Graham came to football late, while he was at Miami (FL), after playing basketball as his . He turned in his best season in 2021, finishing with 56 receptions, 830 yards, and four TDs. The tight end position is one of the most fascinating in all of sports. Walker needs 200 more receptions and 1,609 receiving yards to catch Wycheck, but five more touchdowns and he'll be the most prolific scoring tight end in Titans history. 2) Hoby Brenner. rank it your way 1 Jason Witten 823 177 2003-2017, 2019 2 Jay Novacek 627 127 1990-1995 3 Billy Joe DuPree 337 72 1973-1983 4 Doug Cosbie 240 53 1979-1988 Akins caught 24 passes for 214 yards on 33 targets in 13 games and three starts last season for the Texans. Kelce, who is still in the prime of his NFL career continues to dominate the position and put up unbelievable statistics at the tight end position. 1 in Oregon and holds offers from Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State. Andrews is as talented as any tight end in the NFL, while also ranking near the top among all blocking tight ends against both the pass as well as for the run. Goedert has been rated as a top ten tight end in each season coming into the league. He would play in both Super Bowl XIII and XIV both won by the Steelers. LaPorta takes pride in his position at Tight End U, and is carrying on the program's legacy. No 180 pound DB should be able to bring down a 260 pound Tight End. It seems like such a long time since Engram looked like a star in the making as a rookie in 2017. San Francisco 449ers drafted him in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft.. Kelce put on a dominant show this past season, and therefore, he has earned a top spot on our list. John Mackey 10. Now the Utes will have the best tight end duo in the FBS with Kuithe and Kinkaid. 5) John Tice. #4: Greg Olsen. The methodology used in creating the Top 10 tight ends at Tight End U., is a blend of art and science. Vote below for who you think is the best Dallas Cowboys tight end of all time! The 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end looks to impose his will in the running game. Todd Christensen 17. George Kittle, 49ers At 6-4, 250 pounds, Kittle unleashed his inner Gronk in his second season, quickly proving to be a 2017 fifth-round draft steal.