NFC East Positional Power Rankings: Tight Ends

Welcome to the NFC East Positional Power Rankings! Now that the NFL draft is over, we will be breaking down 1 position group per week and power ranking each unit in the division. Today we are talking about the tight ends!

If you missed any of the previous articles in our series you can check them out here:

• Quarterback
• Running Back
• Wide Receiver

1) Philadelphia Eagles

The Depth Chart & 2020 Stats

• Dallas Goedert – 46 receptions for 524 yards and 3 TDs
• Zach Ertz – 36 receptions for 335 yards and 1 TD
• Jason Croom – 1 reception for 3 yards and 1 TD

The Eagles highly valued the tight end position under former head coach Doug Pederson.  In the 2018 NFL Draft, the team spent their first draft pick on TE Dallas Goedert, despite the fact that Zach Ertz was coming off of one of, if not the best years of his career in 2017.  In all three seasons since drafting Goedert, the Eagles have utilized 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 WRs, 2 TEs) at a higher rate than any other team in the NFL.  Last year Ertz sustained an early-season injury and wasn’t the same after coming back while Dallas Goedert saw his production dip from the year before even though he was given more playing time.  It is hard to ignore the disaster that was the Eagles’ QB play as an underlying cause.  

There is plenty of smoke that Zach Ertz wants out of Philadelphia and the Eagles appear to have overplayed their hand, asking for too much in return for him in a trade.  While the Eagles could hold onto him and force him to play out the last year on his contract and then play the compensatory pick game with him next offseason, I’m not sure that the pick they would receive would be worth the cap space this year or the bad message it would send to potential free agents down the road.  Ertz could be released post-June 1st for a cap savings of $8.5 million.

Even under the assumption that Ertz will be gone by the start of the season, the Eagles still rise to the top of the NFC East TE rankings on the back of Dallas Goedert, the highest potential TE in the division who will finally get his chance to be a full-time starter in 2021.

2) New York Giants 

The Depth Chart & 2020 Stats

• Evan Engram – 63 receptions for 654 yards and 1 TD
• Kyle Rudolph – 28 receptions for 334 yards and 1 TD

The Giants signed former Pro Bowl TE Kyle Rudolph to a 2-year deal worth $14 million in free agency.  They now have a duo of Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph to pair with their WRs as weapons for QB Daniel Jones.  

Evan Engram has elite athleticism at the TE position but has struggled to put it all together in the NFL and has failed to his the production he had in his rookie season in any of the 3 subsequent seasons.  Rudolph is the perfect complement to Engram.  While he doesn’t possess the flashy playmaking ability, he is a solid, reliable target who has never struggled with drops as Engram has.  He is a good red-zone target and a much better blocker than Engram and figures to be featured in a prominent role in the Giants offense.

3) Washington Football Team 

The Depth Chart & 2020 Stats

• Logan Thomas – 72 receptions for 670 yards and 6 TDs
• Temarrick Hemingway – 1 reception for 10 yards
• John Bates – rookie 4th round pick (great blocker with not much pass-catching production in college)

Logan Thomas’s position switch to TE finally paid dividends in 2020 when he had a breakout year.  Prior to 2020, he had never topped 16 receptions or 175 yards.  In 2020 he recorded 72 receptions for 670 yards and 6 TDs.  He was #3 on the team in receptions, #2 and yards, and #1 in receiving TDs.  

Without a good 2nd option, the Football Team drafted John Bates in the 4th round of the draft.  Bates is a great blocker who didn’t have much pass-catching production in college, never topping 300 yards in a season.  Most college tight ends struggle with their blocking ability at the NFL level, but this shouldn’t be a concern for Bates.  He should be a good complement to Logan Thomas and his blocking ability should get him on the field in year 1 and aid in his development.

4) Dallas Cowboys 

The Depth Chart & 2020 Stats

• Dalton Schultz – 63 receptions for 615 yards and 4 TDs
• Blake Jarwin – 1 reception for 12 yards

The Cowboys haven’t had a good tight end since about 2 years before Jason Witten retired… for the first time.  Fortunately, they haven’t needed one with Ezekiel Elliott and the weapons that they have in the passing game.  Dalton Schultz took a big step forward in 2020.  In his first 2 years in the league, he had a total of 122 yards receiving and 0 TDs, but in 2020 he logged 615 yards and 4 TDs.  He isn’t a flashy player but the Cowboys don’t really need him to be.  Having the worst TE group in the division is dramatically offset by the talent they have at the receiver position.

Positional Power Rankings