Tight Ends (6)
Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe.
Modern Positional Average
Tight Ends: Tony Gonzalez (2019), Shannon Sharpe (2011).
Please note that there are only two Tight Ends who have been inducted in the last seventeen seasons and we will base the average only on these two players.
*Note that this is the same as last year, as no modern era Tight Ends were inducted in 2021.
Stats
- Games 237
- Approximate Value 125.5
- AV/G 0.295
- Pro Bowls 11
- First Team All-Pros 5
- Receiving Yards 12593.5
- Receiving Touchdowns 86.5
- Receptions 1025
#4 Overall, Rob Gronkowski: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, #1 Tight End
Last Year’s Rank #6.
How do you go from being not ranked to the top ten? You come out of retirement! Last year, Gronkowski joined his former Quarterback, Tom Brady, in Tampa Bay to chase history, and that is exactly what he did, as the duo won the Super Bowl. While his accumulative yardage is well below the MPA, his AV/G destroys the MPA. Named to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team already, Gronkowski is a lock for a first ballot induction.
Stats
- Games 131 (-106)
- Approximate Value 91 (-34.5)
- AV/G 0.6947 (+0.3997)
- Pro Bowls 5 (-6)
- First Team All-Pros 4 (-1)
- Receiving Yards 7861 (-4732.5)
- Receiving Touchdowns 79 (-7.5)
- Receptions 521 (-504)
#25 Overall, Travis Kelce: Kansas City Chiefs, #2 Tight End
Last Year’s Rank #37.
Kelce winning the All-Decade spot over Jimmy Graham cements him as at least the second-best Tight End of the 2010s behind Rob Gronkowski. Tight Ends are a lot more productive in offense, so Kelce has to keep putting up elite numbers but he has the offense around him to do it, which he showed by adding a sixth Pro Bowl and third First Team All-Pro in 2020. While his AV/G is very strong for a TE, but his touchdown production is low.
Stats
- Games 111 (-126)
- Approximate Value 78 (-47.5)
- AV/G 0.6903 (+0.3953)
- Pro Bowls 6 (-5)
- First Team All-Pros 3 (-2)
- Receiving Yards 7881 (-4712.5)
- Receiving Touchdowns 48 (-38.5)
- Receptions 612 (-413)
#40 Overall, Jimmy Graham: Chicago Bears, #3 Tight End
Last Year’s Rank #46.
There was a time when Jimmy Graham appeared to be Hall of Fame bound, and he was at one time the best Tight End in the NFL. That seems a long time ago, even though his last Pro Bowl was 2017. Still, his AV/G is plummeting annually and the gold jacket is disappearing from sight, though if he can hang on for 10,000 Yards and 100 Touchdowns, he might have compiled his way in. Considering he came off of eight TDs last year, it isn’t impossible.
Stats
- Games 169 (-68)
- Approximate Value 76 (-49.5)
- AV/G 0.4497 (+0.1547)
- Pro Bowls 5 (-6)
- First Team All-Pros 1 (-4)
- Receiving Yards 8339 (-4254.5)
- Receiving Touchdowns 82 (-4.5)
- Receptions 699 (-326)
#86 Overall, George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers, #4 Tight End
Last Year’s Rank #93.
George Kittle is over the AV/G for Tight Ends, but four years does not a Hall of Fame career make. A First Team All-Pro two years year, Kittle is considered by many to be the top Tight End in the NFL, and if he can hold on to that (or stay in the top two) for a few more years he could be a future Hall of Famer. Playing only eight Games last year due to injury likely caused Kittle a significant jump.
Stats
- Games 53 (-184)
- Approximate Value 32 (-93.5)
- AV/G 0.6038 (+0.3088)
- Pro Bowls 2 (-9)
- First Team All-Pros 1 (-4)
- Receiving Yards 3579 (-9014.5)
- Receiving Touchdowns 14 (-72.5)
- Receptions 264 (-761)
#119 Overall, Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles, #5 Tight End
Last Year’s Rank #107.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Zach Ertz had a high-ankle sprain in 2020, holding him to 11 Games and less then 400 Yards. It looks like he will be replaced by Dallas Goedert, so if he stays in Philadelphia, his playing time will be drastically cut.
Stats
- Games 117 (-120)
- Approximate Value 49 (-76.5)
- AV/G 0.4188 (+0.1238)
- Pro Bowls 3 (-8)
- First Team All-Pros 0 (-5)
- Receiving Yards 6078 (-6515.5)
- Receiving Touchdowns 36 (-50.5)
- Receptions 561 (-464)