Often underrated and overlooked, tight ends in the NFL are just as vital as the other skill position players in any team’s offense. They act like as Swiss Army knives, doing everything from pass catching to run blocking and pass blocking.
Here’s a list of the top ten tight ends heading into the new season that are positioned to bring their multi-faceted games onto the field in hopes of pushing their respective teams deep into the playoff hunt. Be on top of the other key players in other positions on offense with our other features on the top running backs and wide receivers of 2015.
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Top 10 Tight Ends in 2015-16
10. Jordan Cameron
[sc:NFL240banner ]After sulking and dealing with nagging injuries with the inept Cleveland Browns, 2013 Pro Bowl selection Jordan Cameron finally has a quarterback that he can truly rely on in the Miami Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill. If Cameron can finally stay healthy, he’ll be a key cog in what should be a Miami scoring machine of an offense.
Cameron has yet to break the 1,000-yard plateau in a single season given his propensity to get hurt, but he has averaged over 11 yards per catch in each of the past three seasons. He’s a first down waiting to happen, and if he can regain his 917-yard, seven-touchdown season from 2013, the Dolphins could very well be a top-flight offense this coming season.
9. Antonio Gates
Don’t count Antonio Gates out yet. The 35-year old tight end who has been with the San Diego Chargers throughout his entire 12-year career in the NFL has shown no signs of slowing down. Last season, Gates had 821 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns – the most times that he’s found the end zone since 2004 (his second year in the league) with 13. That makes the fact that Gates will miss the first four games of the season due to suspension all the more painful for the Chargers.
8. Delanie Walker
After a subpar debut with the Tennessee Titans in 2013, former San Francisco tight end Delanie Walker bounced back with a career-high 890 receiving yards last season. He’ll even be more than thrilled to start receiving bombs this season now that standout rookie Marcus Mariota will be the team’s starting quarterback. However, Walker has got to produce more than the four touchdowns he made from 2014 if the Titans want to see significant progress in their rebuilding process.
7. Kyle Rudolph
Much like Cameron in our number 10 spot, Minnesota’s Kyle Rudolph has had to battle with injuries for the better part of the last couple of years. There’s so much upside to Rudolph’s value: he’s only 25, he’s got great hands, and he also fares well in run and pass protection.
Having less than 600 yards and just five touchdowns in 17 games for the past two seasons is not eye-popping at all to say the least, but second year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will likely rely on him as his main target to get the Vikings passing game going on most occasions.
6. Coby Fleener
A case could be made that either of Indianapolis’ two tight ends in Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener could take this spot on our list. Both had eight touchdowns for the Colts this past season, but we’ll side with the latter. Fleener had 774 receiving yards as opposed to Allen’s 395, and he’s also Andrew Luck’s fellow teammate from Stanford who got drafted by the Colts right after the franchise quarterback himself during the 2012 NFL Draft.
Expect Fleener’s numbers to be around the same figures as last season, and maybe even less now that Indianapolis had an offensive retooling this offseason. Nevertheless, Luck will always have his dependable college buddy to bail him out of tight (end) situations.
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5. Zach Ertz
Chip Kelly offense this, and Chip Kelly offense that. For all the talk about the high-powered Eagles offense, Zach Ertz isn’t getting as much recognition as his head coach does in general. Could you really blame him, though, if the entire Philadelphia offense is really that potent to begin with?
What’s promising still about Ertz is that he has seen his production leap from 36 catches and 469 yards in his rookie season to 58 receptions and 702 yards in his sophomore year this past season. Oh, and his fellow tight end Brent Celek has seen his own numbers dip for the fourth season in a row, so much of the responsibility at the tight end spot will continue to fall on Ertz instead.
With former Rams quarterback Sam Bradford still needing to get accustomed to Chip Kelly’s system, expect more of Bradford’s passes to get quickly dumped down to Ertz if he falls under quick pressure in the passing game.
4. Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce has got to love the position that he is in right now. The Kansas City Chiefs had no passing touchdowns to any of their wide receivers last season, which meant tight ends Anthony Fasano and Kelce were the prime targets. Now with Fasano taking his talents to Tennessee, the third-year tight end from Cincinnati will be quarterback Alex Smith’s go-to guy.
After missing out the entire 2013 season, Kelce showed what he’s capable of by posting 67 receptions for 862 yards and five touchdowns last season, ultimately becoming his QB’s favorite target. And with Smith’s continued reluctance to take risky shots downfield, expect Kelce to post even bigger numbers for the Chiefs’ timid yet efficient passing game.
3. Greg Olsen
As long as Carolina quarterback Cam Newton continues to evolve for the better, so will his corps of receivers. Greg Olsen happens to be one of the beneficiaries of Newton’s growth, as evidenced by his first 1,000-yard season from last year. Olsen, who is entering his ninth year in the league, is also dependable in pass protection, which is probably the reason why Newton relies on him downfield just the same.
If Olsen can produce more than the six touchdowns he had in 2014, he can certainly give the next two players on our list a run for their money as the cream of the tight end crop.
2. Jimmy Graham
At the end of the day, there are only two men who stand tall above all other tight ends in the NFL, and one of them is Jimmy Graham.
Prior to joining the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, Graham was a beast for the New Orleans Saints. In his five seasons in the Big Easy, Graham had two 1,000-yard and three double-digit touchdown seasons. He also had an awesome (goal)post-TD celebration which, by the way, has sadly been banned by the league.
Graham may just see his numbers jump through the roof if he becomes Russell Wilson’s favorite target. If Drew Brees and the high-flying Saints found lots to love about him back in New Orleans, what more with Wilson and Seattle’s vertically-challenged offense? Graham’s addition to the offense just proves that the Seahawks are indeed the clear-cut +500 odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl 50.
1. Rob Gronkowski
Let’s forget about Tom Brady and the deflategate scandal for a second, and let’s focus on his teammate Rob Gronkowski instead.
Gronkowski led all New England receivers last season with his 1,124 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Those numbers meant that Gronk was accountable for over a quarter of Brady’s yardage in the air and over a third of his end zone conversions. And with Brady missing the first four games of the new season from the fallout of deflategate, expect his backup Ryan Mallet to lean heavily on the three-time Pro Bowl tight end for efficient mid-yardage plays.
Barring any serious injuries from happening again, our praise for Gronkowski and his impact in the New England Patriots’ offense cannot be ignored, simply because he has been the most dominant tight end for the past few years.
