The tight end position has only become more prevalent in successful NFL teams over the past decade. What was typically his fourth or fifth option on a team in the passing game suddenly became the third, second, or even top option in some of the most successful offenses in the league. .
Heck, the position and the players who play it continue to get more and more love from football, with players like George Kittle and Travis Kelce starting to hold their own tight end collegiate summits every year. National Day for the End of Tension is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of October every year.
A position once thought of as a lean sixth offensive lineman with the athleticism to catch only the occasional pass is now a strong role player who strives to add variety to the offense both on the ground and in the air. It has changed. .
The great Tony Gonzalez entered the NFL in 1997 and was elite until the day he laced up his cleats. Names like Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, Jason Witten, and Greg Olsen followed suit, and the movement gained further momentum in the 2000s, after which the position began to receive well-deserved acclaim. In 2010, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham both entered the NFL in the same draft class. They continued to catch every touchdown thrown their way.
Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Zach Ertz all three of them combined to do something pretty historic and break through the halfway point of the last decade. fantasy soccer Standard for tight ends. Next, enter the latest batch of awesome futures. Ravens' Mark Andrews and running mate Isaiah Likely, Buffalo's Dalton Kincaid, Dallas' Jake Ferguson and Arizona's Trey McBride. All of these players are enthusiastic about their respective teams in 2023, and it's easy to see this hype continuing for some time to come.
Now, the actual point of this whole article is: The tight end position is utilized by the best teams in the league, and it's no surprise that most of the clubs in this year's playoffs are recruiting the best of the best.
First, let's take a look at this year's list of postseason clubs and their respective starters and where they rank among other clubs in regular season receiving yard totals.
- san francisco 49ers: George Kittle – 65 receptions, 1,020 receiving yards (1st), 6 touchdowns
- kansas city chiefs: Travis Kelce – 93 receptions, 984 receiving yards (2nd), 5 touchdowns
- detroit lions: Sam Laporta – 86 receptions, 889 receiving yards (5th), 10 touchdowns
- cleveland browns: David Njoku – 81 receptions, 883 receiving yards (6th), 6 touchdowns
- dallas cowboys:Jake Ferguson – 71 receptions, 761 receiving yards (8th), 5 touchdowns
- buffalo bills: Dalton Kincaid – 73 receptions, 673 receiving yards (10th), 2 touchdowns
- houston texans: Dalton Schultz – 59 receptions, 635 receiving yards (12th), 5 touchdowns
- philadelphia eagles: Dallas Goedert – 59 receptions, 592 receiving yards (14th), 3 touchdowns
- baltimore ravens: Mark Andrews and Isaiah probably – Andrews: 45 receptions, 544 receiving yards (17th), 6 touchdowns – Likely: 30 receptions, 411 receiving yards (25th), 5 touchdowns
- Los Angeles Rams: Tyler Higbee – 47 receptions, 495 receiving yards (20th), 2 touchdowns
- tampa bay buccaneers: Cade Otton – 47 receptions, 455 receiving yards (21st), 4 touchdowns
Entering this year's Wild Card round, 12 of the top 25 producers at the position are among the 14 clubs in the playoff picture for tight ends, with the Ravens attracting attention with two of them. As mentioned above, these players are no longer just checkdown options or third-down drive saviors. They are true studs who contribute to the offense on every down and in every situation. That includes playing on the ground as a difference-maker in the run game.
This season, exactly half of the top 16 teams in rushing yards per game employ at least one of these elite tight ends. That's no coincidence. The Ravens, the only team in the top 25 with two teams, lead the NFL's rush. The 49ers and Kittle are third, and the Lions and their star rookie LaPorta are fifth. The Bills (Kinkade) and Eagles (Goedert) are also in the top 10.
When a tight end is a threat in the passing game, it also helps the offense influence the defense without directly engaging the defender. When the offense takes advantage of a star tight end in the pre-snap motion, the defense has to adjust to avoid losing. This usually involves a split motion. This is a play design in which the tight end (and sometimes other players) moves against the flow just like the rest of the offensive line. The defense has to respect this and it can put the defense in a bind and allow the blocker to play with a better angle.
However, sometimes simply confusing the box can lead to a very easy touchdown.
A prime example of how this influence helps the offense is the second play in this clip posted by Steven Ruiz of The Ringer.
Watch how Miami's split zone action gets the tights a better blocking angle while simultaneously drawing the linebackers out of the cutback lane. All that greets the running back is green grass and his 30-yard gain.
See the difference the split zone action makes in the second clip. Tight ends have better blocking angles across the formation to hold backside linebackers. Miami was unable to score until the end, with a linebacker making a block on the first play. pic.twitter.com/lF3cQO8bB3
— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) November 8, 2022
Once you get the elite of the elite, things really start to open up.
Every defense has to find Travis Kelce on every play. Below, notice how much the defense keys on him doing split-zone action, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire just running right behind him for a shovel pass touchdown.
The Chiefs have always had the best low red zone design. Because they're bored and want to try shit, but this is really fun. It's like a fake split zone where the tight end goes to the flat and then the RB comes right behind him for a shovel pass. pic.twitter.com/3ax6UgmBJT
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) October 4, 2021
The tight end position has become one of the best baits in the league. Defenses always focus on the team's top wideout or running back. The tight end starts with him being one of the first players to “catch” the opposing defense. Once they burn up the defense a few times, the coaches make adjustments. That's where the Chiefs' play like the one above comes into play. Once you write them to make your first adjustment, all bets are off. If you put a defenseman in the sack, they're going to be stuck there for the rest of the game trying to get out of there.
As I get this out of the way, I'm looking at the Super Wild Card Weekend bracket. Surprisingly, all teams with more productive tight ends tend to win. Njoku and the Browns are favored over Schultz and the Texans, LaPorta and the Lions are favored over Higbee and the Rams, and Goedert's Eagles are projected to beat Otton's Bucks. Even against two tight ends in the top 25, teams with tight ends still have an advantage (Bills and Chiefs).
You'll likely see plenty of star wide receivers and running backs in the headlines throughout this wild-card weekend, but for every high-profile run or catch, there's an unexpected play by a tight end who helps. Please keep in mind that this is highly possible. Drill a hole on the line or clear a space for the secondary. And if I were any kind of bettor, I would say that whoever wins this year's Super Bowl, their efforts will definitely be fueled by a big name who deserves a break.
