It looks like a good year for tight ends, with new coaches in Chicago and Indianapolis who like to emphasize that position. But there’s a third coach with a strong tight end background taking over an offense this season.
John DeFilippo is the new offensive coordinator in Minnesota, and he also has a strong background with tight ends. That could translate into improved numbers for Kyle Rudolph.
DeFilippo has spent the last two years in Philadelphia. He wasn’t the offensive coordinator there, but he saw how they used Zach Ertz, and there could be some trickle down. In DeFilippo’s only season as an offensive coordinator, he helped Gary Barnidge to one of the most unlikely tight end seasons in NFL history. Playing for a lesser Browns team, Barnidge caught 79 passes for 1,043 yards and 9 TDs. The rest of the team combined caught only 11 TDs.
“What he was able to do in 2015 with Gary Barnidge, and then obviously last year Ertz had an unbelievable year in this system,” said Rudolph in an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.. “It’s not just us. Obviously, he’s had great success with tight ends. What he is able to do with all the playmakers and all of the chess pieces that we have on offense, it’s been a lot of fun to see.”
Kirk Cousins had some tight end success with Jordan Reed in Washington and says he likes the look of Rudolph. “Boy, he’s a friendly target,” Cousins said while mic’d up during spring practice. “It’s like throwing into a mattress.”
Cousins and DeFilippo could help elevate Rudolph into the top 5 at the position. Of the top 13 tight end seasons in the last three years, five of them have been players working in offenses either with Cousins or DeFilippo. That’s per-game production (among tight ends starting over half the season) and using PPR scoring.
| TOP 40 PER-GAME TIGHT ENDS (last 3 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | No | Yards | TD | FPG |
| 2015 | Jordan Reed, Wash. | 14 | 6.2 | 68.0 | .79 | 17.7 |
| 2015 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 15 | 4.8 | 78.4 | .73 | 17.0 |
| 2015 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 15 | 6.3 | 74.9 | .42 | 16.3 |
| 2017 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 14 | 4.9 | 77.4 | .60 | 16.2 |
| 2017 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 15 | 5.5 | 69.7 | .53 | 15.7 |
| 2017 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 13 | 5.5 | 61.5 | .62 | 15.4 |
| 2015 | Gary Barnidge, Clev. | 16 | 4.9 | 65.2 | .56 | 14.8 |
| 2015 | Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 13 | 4.0 | 47.3 | 1.00 | 14.7 |
| 2015 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 16 | 4.8 | 69.0 | .44 | 14.3 |
| 2016 | Jordan Reed, Wash. | 12 | 5.5 | 57.2 | .50 | 14.2 |
| 2016 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 16 | 5.3 | 70.0 | .27 | 13.9 |
| 2015 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 11 | 5.1 | 57.3 | .45 | 13.5 |
| 2016 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 14 | 5.6 | 58.3 | .29 | 13.1 |
| 2016 | • Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | 16 | 5.2 | 52.5 | .44 | 13.1 |
| 2016 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 16 | 5.0 | 67.1 | .21 | 13.0 |
| 2016 | Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 15 | 4.3 | 60.8 | .40 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 15 | 4.3 | 54.1 | .47 | 12.5 |
| 2016 | Cameron Brate, T.B. | 13 | 3.9 | 47.2 | .62 | 12.3 |
| 2015 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 16 | 4.5 | 54.7 | .36 | 12.1 |
| 2015 | Benjamin Watson, N.O. | 16 | 4.6 | 51.6 | .38 | 12.0 |
| 2016 | Zach Miller, Chi. | 10 | 4.7 | 48.6 | .40 | 12.0 |
| 2017 | Evan Engram, NYG | 15 | 4.3 | 49.1 | .40 | 11.6 |
| 2017 | Jack Doyle, Ind. | 15 | 5.3 | 46.0 | .27 | 11.5 |
| 2015 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 15 | 5.0 | 56.9 | .13 | 11.5 |
| 2017 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 16 | 4.6 | 50.3 | .25 | 11.2 |
| 2016 | Eric Ebron, Det. | 13 | 4.7 | 54.8 | .15 | 11.1 |
| 2015 | Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 11 | 4.4 | 55.0 | .18 | 11.0 |
| 2016 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 14 | 3.8 | 39.1 | .50 | 10.7 |
| 2017 | Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 16 | 3.6 | 32.5 | .65 | 10.7 |
| 2016 | Dennis Pitta, Balt. | 16 | 5.4 | 45.6 | .13 | 10.7 |
| 2016 | Martellus Bennett, N.E. | 16 | 3.4 | 44.4 | .44 | 10.5 |
| 2015 | Martellus Bennett, Chi. | 11 | 4.8 | 39.9 | .27 | 10.4 |
| 2015 | Jason Witten, Dall. | 16 | 4.8 | 44.6 | .19 | 10.4 |
| 2015 | Julius Thomas, Jac. | 12 | 3.8 | 37.9 | .42 | 10.1 |
| 2015 | Richard Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 3.6 | 32.6 | .52 | 10.0 |
| 2017 | • Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | 16 | 3.6 | 33.3 | .50 | 9.9 |
| 2015 | Crockett Gillmore, Balt. | 10 | 3.3 | 41.2 | .40 | 9.8 |
| 2016 | Jason Witten, Dall. | 16 | 4.3 | 42.1 | .19 | 9.6 |
| 2015 | Charles Clay, Buff. | 13 | 3.9 | 40.6 | .23 | 9.4 |
| 2015 | Eric Ebron, Det. | 14 | 3.4 | 38.4 | .36 | 9.3 |
—Ian Allan