gold star for USAHOF

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.  This should change in the nect five years.

*Note that this is the same as last year, as no modern era Tight Ends were inducted in 2023.

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

2022 Pre-Season Rank #12, 2021 Pre-Season Rank: #20, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #37.

With only two legends comprising the Modern Positional Average statistics (Sharpe & Gonzalez), any Tight End will struggle to measure up, but this has not been an issue for Kelce.  By all metrics the number 2 Tight End behind Rob Gronkowski in the 2010s, Kelce enters this year as the top man at his position and last year will likely go down in history as his most important.  2022 saw Kelce break 10,000 Yards in Receiving, win a second Super Bowl, and match Sharpe's numbers in Pro Bowls (8) and First Team All-Pros (4).  Kelce also transcended the sport, hosting Saturday Night Live and expanding his commercial repetroire.  He is now a bona fide superstar.


Stats

  • Games 144 (-93)
  • Approximate Value 100 (-25.5)
  • AV/G 0.6944 (+0.3994)
  • Pro Bowls 8 (-3)
  • First Team All-Pros 4 (-1)
  • Receiving Yards 10344 (-2249.5)
  • Receiving Touchdowns 69 (-17.5)
  • Receptions 814 (-211)

2023 Pre-Season Rank #40, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #46.

Is it the end of the road for Jimmy Graham?  At one point, it looked like he was Hall of Fame bound, and he looked like the game's top Tight End when he was in New Orleans, but that seems like a lifetime ago.  Overall, Graham's AV/G is low, he did not make the 10,000 Yard mark (and won't), but his 85 Touchdown Passes are sparkling and when his name comes up for consideration, this should be one of the first things they look at.


Stats

  • Games 184 (-53)
  • Approximate Value 75 (-50.5)
  • AV/G 0.4076 (+0.1126)
  • Pro Bowls 5 (-6)
  • First Team All-Pros 1 (-4)
  • Receiving Yards 8506 (-4087.5)
  • Receiving Touchdowns 85 (-1.5)
  • Receptions 713 (-312)

2022 Pre-Season Rank #74, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #86, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #93.

George Kittle is over the AV/G for Tight Ends, but six years does not a Hall of Fame career make.  It is safe to say that behind Travis Kelce,Kittle is regarded as the game's number two Tight End over the last few years, and second bnana to a crrent superstar like Kelce is not bad.  If the Niners win a Super Bowl, and Kittle can somehow supplant Kelce as the top TE in football, it would go a long way for any potential Hall of Fame induction.  He has it in him to do it.

Stats

  • Games 82 (-155)
  • Approximate Value 46 (-79.5)
  • AV/G 0.5610 (+0.266)
  • Pro Bowls 4 (-7)
  • First Team All-Pros 1 (-4)
  • Receiving Yards 5254 (-7339.5)
  • Receiving Touchdowns 31 (-55.5)
  • Receptions 395 (-630)

2022 Pre-Season Rank #103, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #119, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #106.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Zach Ertz had a high-ankle sprain in 2020, holding him to 11 Games and less then 400 Yards, but he bounced back in a year that saw him split with Philadelpha, and his current tean, Arizona.  He will have to compile a lot of Yards over the next few years, which will be tough for a player in his early 30s.

Stats

  • Games 144 (-93)
  • Approximate Value 60 (-65.5)
  • AV/G 0.4167 (+0.1217)
  • Pro Bowls 3 (-8)
  • First Team All-Pros 0 (-5)
  • Receiving Yards 7247 (-5346.5)
  • Receiving Touchdowns 45 (-41.5)
  • Receptions 682 (-343)

2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked

Andrews has emerged as one of the top receiving Tight Ends in the 2020s, having been a First Team All-Pro in 2021 and securing three Pro Bowls in his five years of NFL service. As long as Travis Kelce is around, he will always be in a shadow, but he could compile the stats and accolades needed to make a Hall of Fame run.

Stats

  • Games 77 (-160)
  • Approximate Value 42 (-83.5)
  • AV/G 0.5455 (+0.2505)
  • Pro Bowls 3 (-8)
  • First Team All-Pros 1 (-4)
  • Receiving Yards 4313 (-8280.5)
  • Receiving Touchdowns 34 (-52.5)
  • Receptions 336 (-689)