With tight ends, you want a guy who’ll get utilized around the goal line. You want to pick up those cheap touchdown flips. (Or not so cheap, they still need to be thrown and caught).
At Seattle’s OTA workout yesterday, they were throwing everything to Jimmy Graham around the goal line yesterday. So maybe he’s not going to be quite as terrible away from Drew Brees as I initially thought. But we’ll see.
Anyway, here are the numbers from last year. Four tight ends accounted for at least 30 percent of their team’s pass attempts inside the 10. No. 1 was Jermaine Gresham, of all people, with 7 of the 17 throws by Andy Dalton. Gresham is an unsigned free agent right now, trying to get his back in condition to play.
Antonio Gates and Graham are up there. Fourth guy was Jordan Reed, was was the intended target on 6 of the 20 passes thrown by Washington, but he caught only 2 of them and didn’t score at all. So whatever.
Here’s the rundown of all 35 tight ends who accounted for more than 10 percent of their team’s pass attempts inside the 10. Notable omissions: Kyle Rudolph (hurt for much of the year), Eric Ebron (crappy rookie year), Vernon Davis (terrible year), Levine Toilolo (whatever happened to this guy being a 6-foot-8 mismatch problem?), Ladarius Green (starting to look like another Jared Cook) and Richard Rodgers (rookie).
These aren’t typical kind of stats, so here’s the walkthrough on what you’re seeing:
Ind: Number of pass plays involving the individual. Team: Number of pass plays for the whole team. Pct: Percentage of plays involving individual. Stat: The receptions, attempts and scores for the individual. Scores includes both TDs and 2-point conversions.
| TIGHT END WORKLOADS INSIDE 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Ind | Team | Pct | Rec-Att-TD |
| Jermaine Gresham, Cin. | 7 | 17 | 41% | 5-7-4 |
| Antonio Gates, S.D. | 16 | 43 | 37% | 8-16-8 |
| Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 11 | 35 | 31% | 7-11-7 |
| Jordan Reed, Wash. | 6 | 20 | 30% | 2-6-0 |
| Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 9 | 31 | 29% | 4-9-3 |
| Charles Clay, Mia. | 13 | 48 | 27% | 3-13-1 |
| John Carlson, Ariz. | 6 | 23 | 26% | 3-6-2 |
| Larry Donnell, NYG | 12 | 51 | 24% | 7-12-5 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 5 | 22 | 23% | 4-5-3 |
| Owen Daniels, Balt. | 7 | 32 | 22% | 4-7-4 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 6 | 28 | 21% | 1-6-0 |
| Martellus Bennett, Chi. | 10 | 51 | 20% | 6-10-4 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 5 | 26 | 19% | 4-5-3 |
| Gavin Escobar, Dall. | 5 | 26 | 19% | 2-5-2 |
| Mychal Rivera, Oak. | 5 | 26 | 19% | 4-5-3 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 5 | 27 | 19% | 2-5-2 |
| Brent Celek, Phil. | 5 | 28 | 18% | 2-5-1 |
| Julius Thomas, Den. | 10 | 57 | 18% | 8-10-7 |
| Joseph Fauria, Det. | 7 | 40 | 18% | 3-7-2 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 7 | 42 | 17% | 6-7-6 |
| Lance Kendricks, St.L. | 5 | 30 | 17% | 3-5-3 |
| Jared Cook, St.L. | 5 | 30 | 17% | 1-5-1 |
| Marcedes Lewis, Jac. | 3 | 19 | 16% | 1-3-1 |
| Chase Ford, Minn. | 3 | 20 | 15% | 0-3-0 |
| Andrew Quarless, G.B. | 9 | 61 | 15% | 3-9-3 |
| Heath Miller, Pitt. | 8 | 55 | 15% | 7-8-3 |
| Jordan Cameron, Clev. | 3 | 21 | 14% | 0-3-0 |
| Josh Hill, N.O. | 5 | 35 | 14% | 4-5-3 |
| Scott Chandler, Buff. | 3 | 23 | 13% | 1-3-0 |
| Jace Amaro, NYJ | 4 | 31 | 13% | 2-4-2 |
| Dwayne Allen, Ind. | 7 | 55 | 13% | 6-7-5 |
| Coby Fleener, Ind. | 7 | 55 | 13% | 5-7-5 |
| Timothy Wright, N.E. | 5 | 42 | 12% | 5-5-5 |
| Anthony Fasano, K.C. | 3 | 27 | 11% | 2-3-2 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 6 | 55 | 11% | 4-6-2 |
—Ian Allan