The preseason games are just around the corner, and one of the first orders of business will be to get eyes on the two Iowa tight ends, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant. They’re talented guys – both selected in the first round – but it’s rare for tight ends to put up big numbers in their first year.
With tight ends having more blocking responsibilities than wide receivers, it’s a more complex position. On some teams, they bounce between team meetings with offensive linemen and wide receivers. That might be a contributing factor to them tending to start their careers slowly.
Whatever the reason, rarely do you see a rookie tight end come in and dominant.
Since 2000, 22 other tight ends have been selected with first-round picks. Only two of those players put up top-12 numbers (PPR scoring) in their first year. The two New York Giants – Jeremey Shockey and Evan Engram.
I’m not writing off these guys. The Lions picked Hockenson with the 8th choice for a reason. With Fant, he’s working with a quarterback (Joe Flacco) with a history of looking for his tight end. But until I see some success and usage on the field in the preseason games, I’m not particularly interested in selecting either of these guys.
To me, they look like second tight ends in a typical league. (That is, you select some other player to most likely be your starter, with Hockenson or Fant stashed away as a reserve who might exceed expectations.)
| TIGHT ENDS CHOSEN IN FIRST ROUND | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2000 | Bubba Franks, G.B. | 34 | 363 | 10.7 | 1 | 76.3 | 19 |
| 2000 | Anthony Becht, NYJ | 16 | 144 | 9.0 | 2 | 42.4 | 39 |
| 2001 | Todd Heap, Balt. | 16 | 206 | 12.9 | 1 | 42.6 | 35 |
| 2002 | •Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 74 | 894 | 12.1 | 2 | 175.4 | 3 |
| 2002 | Jerramy Stevens, Sea. | 26 | 252 | 9.7 | 3 | 69.2 | 23 |
| 2002 | Daniel Graham, N.E. | 15 | 150 | 10.0 | 1 | 36.0 | 42 |
| 2003 | Dallas Clark, Ind. | 29 | 340 | 11.7 | 1 | 69.0 | 24 |
| 2004 | Kellen Winslow, Clev. | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 0 | 10.0 | 79 |
| 2004 | Benjamin Watson, N.E. | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 3.6 | 93 |
| 2005 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 39 | 459 | 11.8 | 6 | 120.9 | 14 |
| 2006 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 20 | 265 | 13.3 | 3 | 65.0 | 28 |
| 2006 | Marcedes Lewis, Jac. | 13 | 126 | 9.7 | 1 | 31.6 | 51 |
| 2007 | Greg Olsen, Chi. | 39 | 391 | 10.0 | 2 | 92.1 | 22 |
| 2008 | Dustin Keller, NYJ | 48 | 535 | 11.2 | 3 | 119.5 | 14 |
| 2009 | Brandon Pettigrew, Det. | 30 | 346 | 11.5 | 2 | 76.6 | 27 |
| 2010 | Jermaine Gresham, Cin. | 52 | 471 | 9.1 | 4 | 125.1 | 16 |
| 2013 | Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 39 | 445 | 11.4 | 2 | 95.5 | 26 |
| 2014 | Eric Ebron, Det. | 25 | 248 | 9.9 | 1 | 55.8 | 40 |
| 2017 | •Evan Engram, NYG | 64 | 722 | 11.3 | 6 | 173.6 | 5 |
| 2017 | O.J. Howard, T.B. | 26 | 432 | 16.6 | 6 | 105.2 | 20 |
| 2017 | David Njoku, Clev. | 32 | 386 | 12.1 | 4 | 94.7 | 24 |
| 2018 | Hayden Hurst, Balt. | 13 | 163 | 12.5 | 1 | 35.3 | 59 |
| 2019 | T.J. Hockenson, Det. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2019 | Noah Fant, Den. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan