You can’t move forward without knowing something about the past, or something like that. Part of our preseason package includes that look back to the 2018 NFL campaign, with individual articles about the Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver and the Tight End position (no one gives a crap about kickers, and defenses can change greatly with schematic/coaching/player moves). Is what you are about to read below 100 percent applicable to the player’s outlook in 2019? Probably not. There are role changes, coaching changes and personnel changes that have to be factored in. Still, there are likely to be more than a couple of nuggets in what resides below to help you construct a winning roster in 2019.
Here are the links to previous articles in the series:
LEAGUE NUMBERS
Tight ends saw the fewest targets in nearly a decade of games last season (since 2010 actually).
Tight ends caught 2,332 passes last season, just 12 off the average the last 12-years.
Tight ends produced about 900 more yards than the 2017 season. They produced the 5th most yards of the last 12 years.
Tight ends scored 190 times, seven fewer than 2017 and one more than in 2016.
Tight ends #6 through #12 produced the fewest fantasy points, of grouping, over the last decade.
TIGHT END
4: The number of tight ends that would have finished in the top-32 in wideout points last season.
7: The number of tight ends who had a target per pass route run of at least 20 percent: Zach Ertz, George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Eric Ebron, Jordan Reed, Jared Cook and Evan Engram. None of those men hit 28 percent.
10: The ranking at tight end last season of Kyle Rudolph. His point total wouldn’t have finished in the top-60 at wideout last season.
11: The number of games that T. Kelce, Z. Ertz and G. Kittle finished a week as a top-12 tight end. Trey Burton (eight), O.J. Howard (seven) and Evan Engram (seven) followed up.
Red Zone touchdowns: Ebron 11, Kelce 9, Ertz 7, Brate 6, Burton 5. Only four of those scores by Ebron came inside the 10-yard line while Kelce scored five times on 10-yards in.
Cameron Brate went 30-289-6 last season in 16 games. He didn’t reach 40-yards a single time last season. Shockingly, he’s scored at least six times in each of the past three seasons. Brate has 20 receiving scores the last three seasons, two less than T. Kelce and the same total as Z. Ertz. At the same time, Brate’s last three seasons have led to declining reception (57, 48 and 30) and yardage totals (660, 591 and 289).
Trey Burton did not reach 40-yards in any Bears game from Week’s 8-17. He caught 10 balls the last two games and didn’t hit 35-yards. Overall, he averaged a pedestrian 35.6 yards on 10.5 yards a catch. He’s scored 11 times the last two seasons though he scored once in eight games to end last season.
Jared Cook recorded career bests in catches (68), yards (896) and scores (six). He was second amongst tight ends with seven reception on targets of 20-yards or more. Cook scored a total of six touchdowns the previous four seasons. He’s also averaged between 12.2 and 13.2 yards per catch in 6-straight seasons. The last two seasons are the only ones of his career where he’s averaged eight yards a target.
Eric Ebron averaged 8.8 targets a game last season when Jack Doyle was out of the lineup. When Doyle played that number dropped by 50 percent down to 4.4 targets a game. Ebron had games of 31.5, 28.1, 1.8 and zero fantasy points last season doing an extreme up/down thing. Ebron scored 13 times last season after scoring 11 times his first 56 NFL games. He had 10 scores in the red zone last season after scoring 11 times in all situations his first 56 NFL games. He scored seven times on the road and six times at home. He scored seven times in the first half and six times in the second half of the season. He only scored once in four games against the NFC. Despite all the scores he averaged 11.4 yards a catch. Prior to last year, the mark was 11.1. 
Evan Engram will be playing without Odell Beckham Jr. on the field. With ODB out of the lineup last season, Engram went from 37 yards with him to 80 an outing without him. Over his final four games, last season Engram averaged 5.5 receptions and 80 yards an outing. Engram was also the second best in football in target separation last season (2.16 yards).
Zach Ertz saw 156 targets last season on his way to 116 receptions, an all-time tight end record. In fact, he caught more passes last season than he had ever seen targets before. His point total was the sixth most in fantasy football history for a tight end and he would have been 10th in fantasy points if he was a wideout last season. Ertz appeared in 16 games last season for the first time since 2014. Last season, his 10.0 yards per catch mark was a career worst. He caught 54 of his 116 receptions on first down. The Eagles are likely to get more work for tight ends this season, and they already used 2-tight end sets on 42 percent of plays last season, the highest percentage in football (Dallas Goedert).
Gerald Everett has five scores in two seasons. He doubled his reception total in year two but still only hauled in 33 passes (16 as a rookie). He saw just 50 targets last season with the Rams.
Rookie Noah Fant will be catching passes from Joe Flacco. The last three years, Flacco has thrown 23 percent of his passes to the tight end, the fifth highest mark in football.
Jimmy Graham led tight ends with 63.8 percent of his routes run out of the slot. Only one other tight end ran 60 percent of their routes out of the slow while seeing at least 50 targets (E. Ebron). Graham was fourth at the position with 36 receptions out of the slot. In 2-of-4 seasons he’s scored just two times, including the 2018 season. He produced his fewest receptions (55) and targets (89) in a season of 16 games played last year. The last four seasons his average effort has been 56-671-5.
Hunter Henry didn’t see a target last year as he missed the season with an ACL injury. He should be fully healthy for Week 1. Henry scored eight times as a rookie, and per 16 games played he’s average seven touchdowns. His total of 13.0 yards catch shows that he can stretch the field. He’s yet to catch 50 passes or to produce 600-yards in a season.
Chris Herndon caught 39-of-54 targets for five scores and 502 yards as a rookie. He ranked 11th amongst tight ends in red zone rating at PFF. He scored but once his final eight games.
Austin Hooper caught 81.6 percent of the passes thrown his way last season. That’s the highest mark for any tight end who caught 65 passes. Hooper caught all of 68 passes his first two seasons on 92 targets, numbers he nearly unmatched in year three (71 receptions and 88 targets). In three years, Hooper has gone for three, three and four scores. He’s also seen his yards per catch mark drop from 14.3 to 10.7 down to 9.3 last season.
O.J. Howard has averaged more than 11 yards per target in two seasons. Compare that to the number of seasons T. Kelce and Z. Ertz has done so – i.e. never. Howard averaged 16.6 yards per catch in year one, and he exactly matched the mark in year two. He appeared in four fewer games than as a rookie, but he went from 31 yards to 57 yards per outing and almost doubled his reception total from 1.9 to 3.4 per outing.
Travis Kelce led all tight ends in fantasy points last season. His point total was the fourth most in fantasy football history for a tight end. Last season was the fifth straight season he’s increased his fantasy point production (and his target total). He would have been the 9th highest scoring wideout in football last season. Kelce leads all tight ends with 15 games of 100-receiving yards from 2016-18. His average effort the last three years has been 90 receptions, 1,166 yards and 7.3 touchdowns. How many seasons did Gronk go 90-1,166-7? The answer is one. Kelce also led the position last season with nine receptions on targets in the air 20 or more yards.
George Kittle was first in football, according to NextGenStats, by recording 3.2 yards per catch above expectation on his way to 1,377 receiving yards, the most in history for a tight end. His point total was the 14th most in fantasy football history for a tight end as he went 85-1,377-5. Kittle led all ends in 20-yard receptions, and he produced the best season ever in yards run per route (2.83) by a tight end. Oh yeah, he also led the league in yards after the catch (9.9) which is the best figure ever recorded (since 2006). He produced 299 more YAC than Kelce. Kittle did all of that catching passes from three quarterbacks. Kittle also forced 17 missed tackles, the most for a tight end.
Vance McDonald was second amongst tight ends with 14 missed tackles forced on a career-best 72 targets. He rode those targets to career bests in catches (50) and yards (610). He had never recorded 400-yards before and he caught a total of 38 passes in 2016-17. After game five last season he didn’t have a single game of 50-yards.
David Njoku has the fifth most tight end receptions in history before turning 23 years of age. He was third in forced missed tackles last season (10). He jacked up his reception mark from 2.0 as a rookie to 3.5 per game in year two. He scored twice against the Bengals and four times in total.
Greg Olsen is a three-time pro bowler who was the first tight end ever to catch 75-passes with 1,000-yards in 3-straight seasons. The last two years he’s fallen remarkably below the level that saw him post 800-yards in 5-straight campaigns. The last two seasons he’s been on the field 16 times, but produced a miniscule amount: 44 catches, 482 yards and five scores. Olsen scored seven times in 2015. In 32 games since then, he’s scored eight times.
Jordan Reed had one game with 15 PPR points in 2017. He had one game with 15 PPR points in 2018. In 2015 Reed went 87-952-11. In three years since then, he’s gone 49-478-3… in 31 games. The last three seasons, combined (352.5 PPR points) leave him just barely 100 points better than he was in 2015 (248.2). The last two seasons he’s played 19 games and produced a mere 181.9 PPR points.
Kyle Rudolph caught 84.2 percent of the passes thrown his way as he hauled in 64 passes. No tight end who caught 30-passes had a better mark in ‘18. Rudolph averaged 7.5 touchdowns in 2016-17 before falling to four scores last season. In eight years, Kyle has one season with 640 yards. The last three years his average effort has been 68-669-6. How many tight ends hit all three of those marks last season? The answer is just four (the big-3 plus Jared Cook). His 64 receptions last season was the second best of his career, and his 78.0 percent catch rate was a career best. He fell under 10 in the yards per catch column the last two seasons (9.3 and 9.6).
Jonnu Smith saw 30 targets as a rookie catching 18. In year two he saw 30 targets catching 20. He scored twice as a rookie and three times in year two.
Ian Thomas had a productive rookie season. He closed very strongly the final five games averaging five catches for 49.2 yards a game and two scores. He caught at least five passes in three of those games.
Delanie Walker appeared in one game last season. He should be fully healthy for Week 1 this year. From 2013-17, Walker caught at least 60 passes in 5-straight seasons before last year. From 2014-17, Walker caught at least 60 passes for 800-yards every year. From 2013-17, Walker’s average effort was 71-831-5. Do you know how many tight ends hit all three of those numbers last season? The answer is three – Ertz, Kelce, Kittle.
