If you’re looking for tight ends who’ve not only caught a lot of balls but have been effective at putting the ball in the end zone, some of the best to ever play the game are playing right now.
Since the merger in 1970, 36 tight ends have caught at least 400 passes. Of that group, only six have scored on over 11 percent of their career receptions, and half of those guys are playing right now – Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham and Kyle Rudolph.
All three, of course, are well past their prime. (Especially Graham.) So if you pick any of these guys, it shouldn’t be with the hope of getting one of their better seasons. You would be picking them in hopes that can be busy around the goal line.
Below see the list of all 36 tight ends with at least 400 catches. They’re ranked not in order of yards or catches, but by the percentage of catches that resulted in touchdowns.
The nine active tight ends are in bold. (And with them all having at least 400 career receptions, they're all on the back ends of their careers.) With two thirds of these tight ends, I'm not comfortable promising they'll still be in the league in 2021.
| TIGHT ENDS: PERCENTAGE OF TOUCHDOWNS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | TD | Pct |
| Rob Gronkowski | 521 | 79 | 15.2% |
| Antonio Gates | 955 | 116 | 12.1% |
| Wesley Walls | 450 | 54 | 12.0% |
| Jimmy Graham | 649 | 74 | 11.4% |
| Keith Jackson | 441 | 49 | 11.1% |
| Kyle Rudolph | 425 | 47 | 11.1% |
| Vernon Davis | 583 | 63 | 10.8% |
| Dallas Clark | 505 | 53 | 10.5% |
| Ben Coates | 499 | 50 | 10.0% |
| Todd Christensen | 461 | 41 | 8.9% |
| Todd Heap | 499 | 42 | 8.4% |
| Tony Gonzalez | 1325 | 111 | 8.4% |
| Benjamin Watson | 530 | 44 | 8.3% |
| Greg Olsen | 718 | 59 | 8.2% |
| Mickey Shuler | 464 | 37 | 8.0% |
| Brent Jones | 417 | 33 | 7.9% |
| Chris Cooley | 429 | 33 | 7.7% |
| Shannon Sharpe | 815 | 62 | 7.6% |
| Heath Miller | 592 | 45 | 7.6% |
| Owen Daniels | 479 | 36 | 7.5% |
| Travis Kelce | 507 | 37 | 7.3% |
| Jared Cook | 468 | 34 | 7.3% |
| Delanie Walker | 504 | 36 | 7.1% |
| Jay Novacek | 422 | 30 | 7.1% |
| Ozzie Newsome | 662 | 47 | 7.1% |
| Kellen Winslow | 1010 | 70 | 6.9% |
| Martellus Bennett | 433 | 30 | 6.9% |
| Jeremy Shockey | 547 | 37 | 6.8% |
| Zach Ertz | 525 | 35 | 6.7% |
| Charle Young | 418 | 27 | 6.5% |
| Bob Tucker | 422 | 27 | 6.4% |
| Jason Witten | 1215 | 72 | 5.9% |
| Randy McMichael | 417 | 24 | 5.8% |
| Steve Jordan | 498 | 28 | 5.6% |
| Frank Wycheck | 505 | 28 | 5.5% |
| Freddie Jones | 404 | 22 | 5.4% |
—Ian Allan