A Third Round Pick from Florida, Jordan Reed was on the cusp of being in the top group of NFL Tight Ends.  Reed played for the Washington Redskins from 2013 to 2019, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2016, though his 2015 season was better.  That year, he had career-highs in Receiving Yards (952) and Touchdowns (11).

Reed suffered a concussion in the third preseason game in 2019, and he was unable to play that year.  He came back for one year with San Francisco, where he played in ten Games, but served as a backup to George Kittle.  Reed retired at the end of the year, leaving football with 3,602 Yards and 28 Touchdowns.

Drafted in the 3rd Round out of Tennessee in 2003, Witten would see significant playing time in his rookie year but in 2004 he would rise to Pro Bowl status with a 980 Yard season. This would be the first of many seasons where the Dallas Cowboy would be considered an elite Tight End.

From 2005 to 2010 he would be named to six more Pro Bowls, which would also include two First Team All Pro Selections. Four more Pro Bowls would follow (2012-14 & 2017). Four of his seasons would see Witten exceed over 90 Receptions and 1,000 Yards, incredible numbers for a Tight End.

Witten first retired after the 2017 season with 11 Pro Bowls, and went into the broadcast booth for ESPN for their Monday Night Football package.  He unretired, coming back in 2019, and joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 before retiring for good.

Witten retired as the all-time Cowboys leader in Receptions (1,215) and Receiving Yards (12,977) and with 13,046 Yards and 74 Touchdowns in total, behind only Tony Gonzalez among Tight Ends.

Greg Olsen played his college football at the University of Miami where he would become one of the top Tight Ends in the 2007 Draft, taken 31^st overall by the Chicago Bears.  Olsen did well, peaking with 612 Yards in 2009, but he was traded to the Carolina Panthers for a Third Round pick before the 2011 season.

With the Panthers, Olsen continued his work catching passes and blocking potential tacklers.  Already good at both disciplines, Olsen took it to another level, recording three consecutive 1,000 Yard seasons, all of which earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl.  

Injuries took their toll on Olsen, and his production dipped.  He played with Carolina until 2019, and had one final season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Olsen left professional football with 8,683 Yards and 60 Touchdowns.

A star at Purdue, Brees was drafted early in the Second Round of the 2001 Draft by the San Diego Chargers, and would take over as the starter in 2002.  A Pro Bowl Selection in 2004, Brees saw the writing on the wall, as San Diego had Philip Rivers waiting in the midst, who they planned to make the starter going forward.  Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2006, and what he accomplished as a Saint has been nothing short of spectacular.

Brees became a fixture in the fabric of the city of New Orleans, improving his game under new Head Coach, Sean Payton.  Brees led the NFL in Passing Yards in his first year with the Saints, and he was a First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl Selection.  

Brees emerged as one of the top pivots in the NFL, and his decision making and accuracy had few peers.  He would lead the NFL in Passing Yards six more times, was a four-time leader in Passing Touchdowns and in 2008 and 2011 was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.  Brees would lead the Saints to their first and only Super Bowl win in the 2009 season, where he was the MVP of the big game.  That might have been Brees’ only trip to the Super Bowl, but the Saints were contenders for over a decade, and could have been champions again had a few plays gone a different way.

His humanitarian work in New Orleans became legendary, and it can be argued that Brees’ dedication to the city might have kept the team in Louisiana as there were whispers of the team relocating.  His ascendence and Super Bowl championship after the heels of Hurricane Katrina will never be forgotten in New Orleans, and nor should it ever.  The NFL rewarded him with the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2006.

At the time of his retirement, Brees was first in Pass Completions (7,142), Passing Yards (80,358) and second in Passing Touchdowns (571).