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Your top 5 TEs as of 2021

notthatbluestuff

By notthatbluestuff
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Ray Reed

Ray Reed

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I'll be honest I can't really see the argument for TJ Hockenson over Mark Andrews like most of these lists have unless Hockenson is like a top 3 blocking TE in the league (he could be, I'm just not that familiar with that part of his game at the NFL level).

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Letsch80

Letsch80

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1 hour ago, Ray Reed said:

I'll be honest I can't really see the argument for TJ Hockenson over Mark Andrews like most of these lists have unless Hockenson is like a top 3 blocking TE in the league (he could be, I'm just not that familiar with that part of his game at the NFL level).

Completely agree. He and Kelce are tied for the lead in touchdowns over the last 2 seasons with 15. I actually think the offseason additions at receiver are actually going to benefit Andrews quite a bit by opening up the middle of the field more.

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RTTRUTH

RTTRUTH

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Not one mention of Zach Ertz in here. Damn y’all got short memories. 
 

Four straight seasons of 800+ yards and 4-8 Touchdowns, averaging 10+/reception. Has one season messed up by injury and everyone forgets.

1) Kelce

2) Kittle 

3) Ertz

4) Waller 

5) Andrews/Goedert/Hockenson can fight it out in 2021 for the next spot. Personally I put a decent amount of stock in the blocking game so I’m thinking most evolved blocker wins. 
 

If Ertz continues to decline we can drop him to 5 or 6. I’m just not ready to forget about him yet. And Henry deserves mention, but injuries and inconsistency have never let him Own a spot. He had (and still has) the talent. Maybe he’ll make a jump in NE, health permitting. 
 

Tough to compare guys. Ertz nearing end of his career. Hock and Goedert still sort of ascending. Fant too. 

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Mr Raider

Mr Raider

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7 hours ago, RTTRUTH said:

Not one mention of Zach Ertz in here. Damn y’all got short memories. 
 

Four straight seasons of 800+ yards and 4-8 Touchdowns, averaging 10+/reception. Has one season messed up by injury and everyone forgets.

1) Kelce

2) Kittle 

3) Ertz

4) Waller 

5) Andrews/Goedert/Hockenson can fight it out in 2021 for the next spot. Personally I put a decent amount of stock in the blocking game so I’m thinking most evolved blocker wins. 
 

If Ertz continues to decline we can drop him to 5 or 6. I’m just not ready to forget about him yet. And Henry deserves mention, but injuries and inconsistency have never let him Own a spot. He had (and still has) the talent. Maybe he’ll make a jump in NE, health permitting. 
 

Tough to compare guys. Ertz nearing end of his career. Hock and Goedert still sort of ascending. Fant too. 

I do agree with your point about Ertz. I think a lot of people are writing him off too quickly due to one down year. Prior to last season he had been a model of consistency at the TE position. I don't think one down year should be the cause for totally writing him off. 

With all that said, there's zero justifiable way to have him over Darren Waller currently. Ertz is coming off a down year, one where he missed like a third of the season, was virtually non existent most weeks when he was on the field, and was a ghost in the red zone. I understand Wentz was bad, and all of that, but we can't totally ignore that even outside of last season, 2019 was a dip in comparison to 2018. He was obviously still good, but he wasn't quite as elite as he was that year. I just can't justify ranking someone TODAY based on all the dominance and consistency they showed for 4 or 5 years over 2 seasons ago. Ertz has seen a decline over the past two years, first from elite production, to very good production, and then last year to just being invisible most weeks. QB play may have played a big part, but there is no guarantee he's in for significantly improved QB play (although I am one of the seemingly few fans of Hurts). 

Darren Waller on the other hand has gone in a different direction. After almost completing ruining his own career he went from a late round afterthought at WR, to being picked up by the Raiders, moved to TE, gave a season to basically develop and got a little playing time towards the end of the year in 2018. And the staff loved what they saw so much in practice, those limited game reps, training camp, etc they basically went into 2019 pining all their hopes for the TE position on Darren Waller. And although Gruden and Mayock have got a lot wrong, Darren Waller is the one thing they got VERY right. I would argue it was one of the smartest decisions/one of the best finds in all the NFL over the past few years. 

Since 2019 Waller has put up production that rivals ANY TE in the league. Back to back 90 or more receptions, 1100 yard seasons. Last year he went off for 107 receptions, 1200 yards, and 9 TDs. I truly do not believe we have even seen the best version of Darren Waller yet. And the version we have seen over the past two seasons (still within his first 3 or 4 years even playing the position) is at worst the 3rd best TE in the NFL, and I would argue 2nd behind only Kelce. And if you switched teams I believe Kelce would still be great, but would playing with Mahomes be the difference for Waller to close the 100-300 yard gap we have seen the past couple years between the two? I absolutely believe it would. Talent wise Waller and Kelce are pretty dang close at absolute worst. 

And even outside of the stats and numbers, what separates Waller and Wentz currently goes deeper than that. Waller is just capable of doing things Eartz can't do currently, at least not at the same level. Waller can and does line up anywhere. In line? Check. Outside? Absolutely. Big slot? Maybe where he is best at. In the backfield? Can do. And not only can he line up at all of those positions, he can dominate there. No corner, LB, or S has shown that they can keep Waller in check one on one at any of those spots. When you consider how valuable it is to have a guy that can be your #1 receiving option that can line up anywhere and take over a game, it's something only one a few in the NFL can say they can do period, let alone at the level Waller has the past couple of seasons. Waller isn't an elite blocker, but he's absolutely not a bad one. He won't block like the traditional #2 or 3 TE that only focuses on blocking, but among the premier pass catching, flex TE's he's as good as most of those guys. 

What Waller did last season over the final 7 or 8 games was absolutely amazing. It was against a terrible Jets team but he became only the 6th TE in NFL history to have 200+ yards in a single game. He was 14 yards shy of the all time record for yards in a game by a TE. From week 11 through week 17 he had the most dominant stretch any TE to ever play the game has produced. In that 7 week span he racked up 54 receptions, 765 yards, and 5 TDs. Including the 200 yard game, 4 games of 112 yards or more. Statistically speaking he had a 5 game stretch that was unmatched by any TE before. I firmly believe that second half run last season is an indicator that the Darren Waller we will see this season will be one of the best seasons of any TE ever. And I don't think that's crazy or unrealistic when you consider what he did the 2nd half of last season and the last two years total. His two year stretch stacks up pretty well with even the uber elites at TE that have ever played (at least in the ball park). He's that talented, in a system that runs through him, with at least good enough QB play, in the middle of his prime athletically speaking and will only be more comfortable at the TE spot. I reject any argument that has anyone other than Kelce or Kittle in front of him. And I could make an argument for him as #1 in the league but I even personally give that to Kelce. Basically the Darren Waller we have seen the past 2 seasons is a level on field impact, eye test, and numbers wise that Zach Ertz has only done once at his absolute peak year. And that was 3 years ago. 

The idea that after injuries, a down year and being older that he will resort back to the level of play he had 3 seasons ago, and that is what he would need to be on the level of Darren Waller we have seen most recently. That or you believe Waller is set to fall off despite being only 28 years old, only becoming more comfortable at a position he's pretty new to still, and not having any significant injury history to speak of. 

I'm all for fighting for Ertz to not let recency bias keep him outside the top 7-10 or something. But 3rd best in the league over Waller specifically and arguably one or two other guys? Absolutely not. 

Edited by Mr Raider
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Mr Raider

Mr Raider

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As far as my list, I'm listing these guys based on my projection for them this upcoming season and going forward, based on recent prodiction, injury history, my evaluation of them as prospects for the super young guys, and factoring in their situation (QB, scheme, talent around them, opportunities, etc).

1. Travis Kelce - Best in the game. A model of consistency. Can do it all at an elite level. One of the best players overall in the NFL.

2. Darren Waller - Basically everything said about Kelce applies to Waller. Kelce has the superior QB, but Waller also doesn't have someone like Hill opening things up. I think Kelce and Waller are on the same level talent wise.

3. George Kittle - The final member of the elite tier. Really I think you can make an argument for ordering the top 3 anyway you want to. Kittle is a tremendous pass catcher, a tremendous blocker, super productive. Injuries are the main reason I have him as 3rd, but I also think Kelce and Waller are better red zone threats and a little more versatile. 

4. Mark Andrews - Andrews is the best TE in the group outside of the elite tier IMO. And I think in certain situations he may see a bump in production to be right there in that tier. He's phenomenal in the redzone, and he's a huge part of that Ravens offense being able to be as successful as they have been. The running threat and Andrews working the intermediate and middle of the field are things that work off one another to be so potent. I don't think we have seen the best Andrews yet.

5. TJ Hockenson - One of the youngest TEs among the top 10-15 guys. I LOVED Hockenson the prospect, and while his rookie year was quiet, most rookie TE don't explode. He took a step to showing how good he can be, and I expect him to take another step this year as the focal point of the passing offense on a team that doesn't have much else and will be trailing a lot. 

6. Zach Ertz - Ertz still belongs in the top 10 IMO. He struggled last season with injuries and didn't play great IMO when he was on the field, but he also had some of the worst QB play in the league. I still think he has another couple years of play more in line with the guy he was for 5+ years before last season. Maybe not quite those highs, but very close.

7. Kyle Pitts - I'm going to break my own rule about expecting much of anything from rookie TEs. I usually pretty much ignore them until their 2nd or 3rd year. Pitts is the exception to me, particularly with Julio moving on to Tennessee. I have been heavily involved in the draft and evaluating prospects since around 2005. And in that time, Kyle Pitts is my highest rated TE prospect period. And he's fairly high in terms of prospects period. He IMO is basically Darren Waller that has played the position prior to year 3 or 4 in the NFL. Which makes him more natural and ready to make an immediate impact. And playing with Matt Ryan and Ridley, they are going to throw the ball a lot, and Pitts is going to hit the ground running starting this year. This is my ranking for him based on what I expect this year. Overall though, by year 3 or 4 I expect Pitts to be the cream of the crop at the TE position. 

8. Noah Fant - I am a little mixed on Fant. He was another guy I loved coming out of college but when I have seen him at the NFL level he hasn't been quite as good as I expected. Now, like I said for Hockenson, TEs typically take a few years to really take off, and he plays with some truly bad QB play, but I feel like perhaps he hasn't really settled into his role in the offense or something. It speaks to how talented he is to say that and still have him as a top 10 TE. He still has his best football in front of him and his ceiling is that of an elite TE.

9. Mike Gesicki - I went back and forth between Gesicki and Goedert. I think they are EXTREMELY close in terms of who is better. Really similar in terms of age, experience, the growth they have shown, and production to this point in their career. I sided with Geskicki mainly off of my personal projection for what I expect from them this season. I was a fan of Tua and I think the Dolphins are set up to be a good team this year, Tua and Gesicki is a connection I am a little more confident in then Goedert and Hurts.

10. Dallas Goedert - I guess I am lower on Goedert than a lot of others and I understand why. He was very productive for about half the season last year, and he's still only going into year 4. I see him as a good starting TE, but I don't think he's clearly better than any of the guys in front of him and he's comparable to the next few guys after him. 

My next few would probably be (in order) Rob Gronkowski, Robert Tonyan, Hunter Henry, Logan Thomas, Dalton Schultz, Jonnu Smith, Jared Cook, Eric Ebron, and Hayden Hurst.

 

Edited by Mr Raider
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MrOaktown_56

MrOaktown_56

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On 6/26/2021 at 11:07 AM, RTTRUTH said:

Not one mention of Zach Ertz in here. Damn y’all got short memories. 
 

Four straight seasons of 800+ yards and 4-8 Touchdowns, averaging 10+/reception. Has one season messed up by injury and everyone forgets.

1) Kelce

2) Kittle 

3) Ertz

4) Waller 

5) Andrews/Goedert/Hockenson can fight it out in 2021 for the next spot. Personally I put a decent amount of stock in the blocking game so I’m thinking most evolved blocker wins. 
 

If Ertz continues to decline we can drop him to 5 or 6. I’m just not ready to forget about him yet. And Henry deserves mention, but injuries and inconsistency have never let him Own a spot. He had (and still has) the talent. Maybe he’ll make a jump in NE, health permitting. 
 

Tough to compare guys. Ertz nearing end of his career. Hock and Goedert still sort of ascending. Fant too. 

Respectfully to Ertz, he's done it a long time. He's a good player. But it's not close between him and Waller right now. Waller took his game to a new level late in the season. 

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