Rob Gronkowski was the undisputed top tight end in football for the last decade. After a year-long retirement he’s back in the NFL, joining his former teammate Tom Brady, who jumped ship for the Buccaneers. Is Gronk still one of the game’s elites at the position, though? Let’s dive in and see where he ranks compared to the rest.
Here are the top 10 tight ends in the league going into 2020.
10. Tyler Higbee
Higbee came out of nowhere late in the 2019 regular season to establish himself as one of the most dynamic receiving threats at the position. Beginning with a breakout game against the Cardinals Week 11, he averaged 104 receiving yards per week down the stretch. He also had a superb catch rate for the year, catching 69 of 89 targets (77.5%). Higbee finished the season with 734 yards and three touchdowns. Going forward, he should have a much larger role in Sean McVay’s potent passing offense.
9. Eric Ebron
Ebron recently signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Steelers, a contract that has big low-risk, high-reward potential. In 11 games last season, Ebron’s numbers weren’t all that great but remember he’s only a couple years removed from a monster 2018 campaign when he totaled 750 yards and 13 touchdowns when he was playing with Andrew Luck. If Ebron can get his alarming drop rate (9.6% in 2019) down to a respectable level, signing him could pay off huge for Pittsburgh.
8. Hunter Henry
The closest thing in the NFL today to Greg Olsen in his prime is probably Henry. Like Olsen, he’s got a soft pair of hands. Last season, Henry caught 55 of 76 targets (72.4%), totaling 652 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games. Unfortunately, his career has been limited by injuries, including a torn ACL in 2018. If Henry can ever stay healthy for a full season, he might have a chance to break into the top-five tight end conversation.
7. Darren Waller
While Higbee was undeniably great late in the season, Waller was still the unquestioned breakout tight end of 2019. With a lack of weapons at wide receiver for the Raiders, Waller wound up getting a ton of attention from Derek Carr and he put it to good use. In the end, he caught 90 of 117 targets (76.9%), scoring three touchdowns and totaling 1,145 receiving yards, about half of which (570) came after the catch.
6. Jared Cook
After being a bit player for a decade with multiple teams, Cook’s game has entered an extremely rare successful third act. Over the last two years, he’s totaled 1,601 yards and 15 touchdowns, the same amount he scored during the previous six seasons. In New Orleans, he’s gotten into a strong rhythm with Drew Brees. In 2019, Cook totaled 705 receiving yards, nine touchdowns and a career high 10.8 yards per target. Not bad for a now-33 year old.
5. Austin Hooper
The Browns got one of the league’s most underrated tight ends when they signed Hooper to a four-year, $42 million deal recently. As the Panthers have gotten to know first-hand, Hooper is durable, productive and dangerous after the catch. He’s also very sure-handed. Last season, he caught 75 of 97 targets (77.3%), totaling 787 yards and six touchdowns. It will be interesting to see what Baker Mayfield can get out of Hooper compared to Matt Ryan.
4. Rob Gronkowski
It’s tough to know exactly where to put Gronkowski on this list, considering he sat out the entire 2019 season and didn’t look like himself in 2018, when he totaled 47 catches, 682 yards and three touchdowns. However, Brady and the Bucs don’t need Gronk to be the video game boss he once was with Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard backing him up. Gronk’s accomplishments (three Super Bowls, four All-Pros, five Pro Bowls) speak for themselves and he’s always been a sensational blocker. He just turned 31 years old, but betting against him is a bad idea.
3. Zach Ertz
When your offense needs to move the chains, there’s nobody better in the business than Ertz. At least 40 of his catches have gone for first downs each of the last six years, peaking at an absurd career-high of 72 in 2018. On top of his prodigious receiving numbers, Ertz deserves credit for staying on the field as much as he does considering the physical punishment he takes every week. Over last three seasons, Ertz has missed just three games and totaled 278 catches, 2,903 yards and 24 touchdowns.
2. Travis Kelce
There are a lot of great athletes on this list, but Kelce has them all beat in this area of the game. Frankly, we have never seen Kelce’s combination of explosiveness, speed and power at his size before. Perhaps even more remarkably, Kelce has only missed two games over the last five seasons and he’s made the Pro Bowl every one of them. During that run, Kelce has averaged 1,120 receiving yards per year and caught 32 total touchdowns. Kelce is also a tremendously underrated blocker.
1. George Kittle
As good as Kelce is as a blocker, nobody in the league is near Kittle in this department and that’s what sets him apart from the herd. He has become quite an offensive weapon, totaling 2,430 yards and 10 touchdowns over the last two years. In 2019, Kittle caught 79.4% of his targets from Jimmy Garoppolo. He also posted an incredible 602 yards after the catch, the third most in the NFL. At just 26 years old, Kittle looks poised to dominate the sport at this position for the foreseeable future.
