I’m not sure I’m at the point where I can actually draft him, but Tanner Hudson has caught my eye in the preseason. Every week they roll him out there, and he’s catching a bunch of balls.
He took over in the second half of his last game, and it’s just a continuation of what he’s been doing all along. He’s caught 17 passes for 226 yards and 2 TDs in three games. Those are the best numbers of any tight end in the league. He came up with a one-handed touchdown catch in traffic against the Steelers that was really impressive.
Not bad for a player who was undrafted coming out of Southern Arkansas.
Hudson needs to hit the weight room. He’s only 239 pounds. But it’s apparent he has a feel for the game. As well as he’s played, he’s made Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster. If the Bucs were to try to sneak him onto their practice squad, some other team would grab him.
Very unlikely that Hudson plays much at all this season. The Bucs are already set at tight end with O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate (one of the best one-two punches in the league at the position). But Hudson looks like a player who one day will have a viable role.
It’s unusual for undrafted tight ends to ever become notable NFL starters. Since 2000, only 12 such players have gone on to post top-20 numbers in a season. Antonio Gates and Marcus Pollard (both converted basketball players) headline that group, doing it a bunch of times.
But some undrafted tight ends do go on to have notable careers, and the Bucs know that as well as anyone. They’ve found two of those guys in recent years – Brate and Tim Wright.
If I were in a dynasty league, with each team carrying three tight ends, I would consider Hudson as my third guy. It won’t surprise me at all if he’s catching a healthy number of balls next year.
| BEST UNDRAFTED TIGHT ENDS (since 2000) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2005 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 89 | 1,101 | 10 | 259.1 | 1 |
| 2004 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 81 | 964 | 13 | 255.4 | 2 |
| 2009 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 79 | 1,157 | 8 | 242.7 | 3 |
| 2007 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 75 | 984 | 9 | 227.4 | 3 |
| 2014 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 69 | 821 | 12 | 223.1 | 3 |
| 2006 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 71 | 924 | 9 | 217.4 | 1 |
| 2013 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 77 | 872 | 4 | 188.2 | 9 |
| 2010 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 50 | 782 | 10 | 188.2 | 3 |
| 2011 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 64 | 778 | 7 | 183.8 | 7 |
| 2008 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 60 | 704 | 8 | 178.4 | 4 |
| 2017 | Jack Doyle, Ind. | 80 | 690 | 4 | 173.0 | 6 |
| 2016 | • Cameron Brate, T.B. | 57 | 660 | 8 | 171.0 | 7 |
| 2001 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 47 | 739 | 8 | 168.9 | 2 |
| 2004 | Jermaine Wiggins, Min. | 71 | 705 | 4 | 165.5 | 6 |
| 2014 | Larry Donnell, NYG | 63 | 623 | 6 | 161.3 | 12 |
| 2000 | Chad Lewis, Phil. | 69 | 735 | 3 | 160.5 | 5 |
| 2016 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 53 | 548 | 7 | 149.8 | 12 |
| 2018 | Trey Burton, Chi. | 54 | 569 | 6 | 149.1 | 8 |
| 2015 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 56 | 630 | 5 | 149.0 | 12 |
| 2016 | Jack Doyle, Ind. | 59 | 584 | 5 | 147.4 | 13 |
| 2012 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 49 | 538 | 7 | 144.8 | 13 |
| 2017 | • Cameron Brate, T.B. | 48 | 591 | 6 | 143.1 | 10 |
| 2013 | • Tim Wright, T.B. | 54 | 571 | 5 | 141.3 | 13 |
| 2005 | Jermaine Wiggins, Min. | 69 | 568 | 1 | 131.8 | 11 |
| 2002 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 43 | 478 | 6 | 128.8 | 7 |
| 2011 | Jake Ballard, NYG | 38 | 604 | 4 | 122.4 | 20 |
| 2001 | Chad Lewis, Phil. | 41 | 422 | 6 | 119.2 | 10 |
| 2000 | Dwayne Carswell, Den. | 49 | 495 | 3 | 116.5 | 8 |
| 2005 | Marcus Pollard, Det. | 46 | 516 | 3 | 115.6 | 15 |
| 2003 | Boo Williams, N.O. | 41 | 436 | 5 | 114.6 | 8 |
| 2003 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 40 | 541 | 3 | 112.1 | 10 |
| 2002 | Chad Lewis, Phil. | 42 | 398 | 3 | 103.8 | 12 |
| 2004 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 29 | 309 | 6 | 95.9 | 16 |
| 2018 | • Cameron Brate, T.B. | 30 | 289 | 6 | 94.9 | 19 |
| 2000 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 30 | 439 | 3 | 93.9 | 12 |
| 2006 | Jermaine Wiggins, Min. | 46 | 386 | 1 | 90.6 | 17 |
| 2001 | Dwayne Carswell, Den. | 34 | 299 | 4 | 89.9 | 16 |
—Ian Allan