Tight Ends - Best of the rest

[Hunter2_1]

 

So, unless you're a complete homer, you have Kittle and Kelce as 1 and 2 (either way around, doesn't matter for this)

Make a top 10 using 8 of the rest, in order

 

 

[notthatbluestuff]

Ertz third. Then some combination of Cook, Hooper, Andrews, Waller, Henry, Rudolph, Njoku... maybe Howard, Hockenson as HM...

[TwoUpTwoDown]

Andrews would be my 4th tight end behind Ertz. It's pretty close.

Then Waller and Henry.

Hayden Hurst should have a huge breakout year provided be stays healthy and the NFL can play games.

[TwoUpTwoDown]

I do want to say, as far as skill goes (ignoring #'s), Goedert is a top 10 tight end.

Maybe top 7.

[sammymvpknight]

3 minutes ago, TwoUpTwoDown said:

I do want to say, as far as skill goes (ignoring #'s), Goedert is a top 10 tight end.

Maybe top 7.

If I was starting a franchise and had the ability to sign any TE to a 5 year contract, I’d go Kittle then Goedert. 

[Hunter2_1]

I got something like...

 

1. Kittle

2. Kelce

3. Ertz

4. Andrews 

Second only to Kelce is deep receiving yards (20+ air yards) and has the most deep yardage TDs. Andrews also led all NFL tight end from the slot in yards per route run (3.33). He recorded 51 receptions from 71 targets for 731 yards, 29 first downs and five touchdowns across his 221 routes run from the slot in 2019 - he had a passer rating of 109 here. 

5. Henry

One of only two TEs with over 10 contested catches (as per PFF) and caught 60% of contested balls. He's also a really good blocker - which shoots him up this list, for me.

6. Waller

1st in DYAR*, 3rd in deep receiving yards, 3rd in targets, 2nd in receptions and yards. Good season.

7. Cook

I wasn't sure on this, but the stats say he had THE highest passer rating when targeted (147!) and football outsiders have him 2nd in DYAR and 1st in DVOA. However, he had the highest drop rate (10.4%) of any NFL tight end with 40-plus catchable targets in 2019. He's definitely captain butter fingers

8. Goedert

Great after the catch, really good operator underneath and can actually run block! "Goedert’s 87.7 run-blocking grade in 2019 ranks first among all qualifying tight ends"

 

can't really call the rest, but thinking Hooper, Rudolph and Jonnu Smith as a possible dark horse

 

 

 

*This gives the value of the performance on plays where this TE caught the ball, compared to a replacement-level TE in the same game situations and then translated into yardage

[J-ALL-DAY]

10 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I got something like...

 

1. Kittle

2. Kelce

3. Ertz

4. Andrews 

Second only to Kelce is deep receiving yards (20+ air yards) and has the most deep yardage TDs. Andrews also led all NFL tight end from the slot in yards per route run (3.33). He recorded 51 receptions from 71 targets for 731 yards, 29 first downs and five touchdowns across his 221 routes run from the slot in 2019 - he had a passer rating of 109 here. 

5. Henry

One of only two TEs with over 10 contested catches (as per PFF) and caught 60% of contested balls. He's also a really good blocker - which shoots him up this list, for me.

6. Waller

1st in DYAR*, 3rd in deep receiving yards, 3rd in targets, 2nd in receptions and yards. Good season.

7. Cook

I wasn't sure on this, but the stats say he had THE highest passer rating when targeted (147!) and football outsiders have him 2nd in DYAR and 1st in DVOA. However, he had the highest drop rate (10.4%) of any NFL tight end with 40-plus catchable targets in 2019. He's definitely captain butter fingers

8. Goedert

Great after the catch, really good operator underneath and can actually run block! "Goedert’s 87.7 run-blocking grade in 2019 ranks first among all qualifying tight ends"

 

can't really call the rest, but thinking Hooper, Rudolph and Jonnu Smith as a possible dark horse

 

*This gives the value of the performance on plays where this TE caught the ball, compared to a replacement-level TE in the same game situations and then translated into yardage

Nice list. 

 

[Turnobili]

3 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

4. Andrews 

Second only to Kelce is deep receiving yards (20+ air yards) and has the most deep yardage TDs. Andrews also led all NFL tight end from the slot in yards per route run (3.33). He recorded 51 receptions from 71 targets for 731 yards, 29 first downs and five touchdowns across his 221 routes run from the slot in 2019 - he had a passer rating of 109 here. 

 

Andrews has a passer rating? 

kidding aside, a 109 passer rating there is actually lower than Lamar's overall passer rating last season, so that was a below average target for him

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

I'm still amazed we're living in a world where Darren Waller is a top 5 or so TE in the NFL. Just amazing how far he's come since being a raw deep-threat prospect for the Ravens.

For this list, I'd go Ertz then Mark Andrews.

[Mr Bad Example]

14 hours ago, notthatbluestuff said:

Ertz third. Then some combination of Cook, Hooper, Andrews, Waller, Henry, Rudolph, Njoku... maybe Howard, Hockenson as HM...

Njoku is hot garbage. Rudolph...ehhh. If we're going on some level of talent and production, Ertz is clearly third - crazy productive; then I'd say Andrews and Waller round out the top 5 - both of them were amazing, but I'd like to see them do it again before bumping them up above Ertz. 
 

Beyond that, I'd put Hooper at #6, productive and consistent; and then stats-wise there are a bunch I have questions about - Dallas Goedert is productive while clearly being a notch or two below Ertz at this point; Witten and Olsen were good but in their mid-30s they could easily fall off the cliff at any time; Tyler Higbee was surprisingly productive; Hunter Henry has all the talent but has never quite put it all together; Noah Fant had a remarkable 2nd half of his rookie season....etc. If we're ranking "which TEs would you prefer going forward?" my list would look like this:  

3) Ertz

4) Waller

5) Andrews

6) Hooper

7) Goedert

8) Fant

9) Higbee

10) Henry

[Kiwibrown]

the dual role of a Te makes it a bit trickier. the pass catches get more love than the blockers or the do it both types. 

I like Ertz and Andrews a lot.

I like Hooper now as a browns fan, he was pain to play against, an efficient dude. 

[Calvert28]

He's obviously no where near yet because of Witten. But this year I think Jarwin will find himself in the top 10 unless Coop, Gallup, and Lamb go complete ape sh** in their playing. 

[sp6488]

21 hours ago, Turnobili said:

Andrews has a passer rating? 

kidding aside, a 109 passer rating there is actually lower than Lamar's overall passer rating last season, so that was a below average target for him

To be fair, it may be "below average," but Lamar's PR is positively skewed by other low-volume targets. For example his 26/29 for 247 yards and 5 TD to Ingram translates to a 141.7 rating.

[wackywabbit]

I'm a little surprised that Andrews is considered top 4. His ability to get open and attack the ball in the air is top notch, but his hands are below average. I re-watched the Seahawks game recently and the were 4 passes that should be caught 97% of the time that he dropped. That was the worst game for him, but it's shown up other times in critical moments. Waller is probably better overall as a receiving TE. Andrews may be a better blocker. I echo the idea that Hayden Hurst will be on this list next year.

There is definitely a huge dropoff after the top 2-3, so maybe the ranking is right or close. It's thin at the top.

Edited May 6, 2020 by wackywabbit

[-Hope-]

On 5/5/2020 at 2:16 PM, Hunter2_1 said:

I got something like...

 

1. Kittle

2. Kelce

3. Ertz

4. Andrews 

Second only to Kelce is deep receiving yards (20+ air yards) and has the most deep yardage TDs. Andrews also led all NFL tight end from the slot in yards per route run (3.33). He recorded 51 receptions from 71 targets for 731 yards, 29 first downs and five touchdowns across his 221 routes run from the slot in 2019 - he had a passer rating of 109 here. 

5. Henry

One of only two TEs with over 10 contested catches (as per PFF) and caught 60% of contested balls. He's also a really good blocker - which shoots him up this list, for me.

6. Waller

1st in DYAR*, 3rd in deep receiving yards, 3rd in targets, 2nd in receptions and yards. Good season.

7. Cook

I wasn't sure on this, but the stats say he had THE highest passer rating when targeted (147!) and football outsiders have him 2nd in DYAR and 1st in DVOA. However, he had the highest drop rate (10.4%) of any NFL tight end with 40-plus catchable targets in 2019. He's definitely captain butter fingers

8. Goedert

Great after the catch, really good operator underneath and can actually run block! "Goedert’s 87.7 run-blocking grade in 2019 ranks first among all qualifying tight ends"

 

can't really call the rest, but thinking Hooper, Rudolph and Jonnu Smith as a possible dark horse

 

 

 

*This gives the value of the performance on plays where this TE caught the ball, compared to a replacement-level TE in the same game situations and then translated into yardage

like this list. i might rate waller a bit higher and andrews a bit lower, but it's a close bunch. 

i'm really hoping for a breakout year from jonnu smith. he's super fun to watch, especially with the ball in his hands- so explosive for a TE. he needs to be more consistent, but has shown pretty steady improvement from a very raw rookie year. hopefully he can put his name in this conversation with a strong year (assuming we have one lol)