I notice Dallas Goedert averaged 10.9 yards per target last year. That’s an unusually big number for a tight end.
Only four times in the last 40 years, in fact, has a tight end finished with an even better number (at least among those with at least 50 passes thrown their way). They’ve got the target data going back to 1992 at pro-football-reference.com.
According to the available numbers, only 18 tight ends have averaged over 10 yards per target. Rob Gronkowski has done it three times, while George Kittle and Antonio Gates have done it twice. Gates (2010 version) also goes down as the only tight end to reach the 12 level.
Anytime you’re putting up numbers on par with guys like Gates and Gronk, that’s a good thing. I do notice, however, that a bunch of the other guys who’ve graded up well using this metric have been more ordinary guys. Visanthe Shiancoe, Jeb Putzier, Tony Scheffler, Ken Dilger. Not that these guys are undertalented nobodies, but they didn’t ascend to the uber-elite level.
Of the 18 on the list, two thirds of them played in multiple Pro Bowls (and I’ve got them flagged with black dots). But the other third, of course, did not.
I’m not ready to move Goedert up into the top tier at this position, but he’s a talented guy who got downfield for a number of big plays last year (helping that yards-per-target numbers).
For fantasy purposes, I would like him more if he were in a different offense with a different quarterback. His best game (by far) last year came when Jalen Hurts was out, with Goedert and Gardner Minshew clicking to the tune of 6 catches for 107 yards and 2 TDs.
| TIGHT ENDS, YARDS PER TARGET (last 40 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Yards | TD | Yd/Tgt |
| 2010 | • Antonio Gates, S.D. | 65 | 50 | 782 | 10 | 12.0 |
| 1995 | Ken Dilger, Ind. | 55 | 42 | 635 | 4 | 11.5 |
| 1997 | Troy Drayton, Mia. | 50 | 39 | 558 | 4 | 11.2 |
| 2018 | • Mark Andrews, Balt. | 50 | 34 | 552 | 3 | 11.0 |
| 2021 | Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 76 | 56 | 830 | 4 | 10.9 |
| 2019 | • Jared Cook, N.O. | 65 | 43 | 705 | 9 | 10.8 |
| 2011 | • Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 124 | 90 | 1,327 | 17 | 10.7 |
| 2004 | Jeb Putzier, Den. | 54 | 36 | 572 | 2 | 10.6 |
| 2008 | Tony Scheffler, Den. | 61 | 40 | 645 | 3 | 10.6 |
| 2004 | • Alge Crumpler, Atl. | 74 | 48 | 774 | 6 | 10.5 |
| 2017 | • Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 105 | 69 | 1,084 | 8 | 10.3 |
| 2009 | • Antonio Gates, S.D. | 114 | 79 | 1,157 | 8 | 10.1 |
| 2018 | • George Kittle, S.F. | 136 | 88 | 1,377 | 5 | 10.1 |
| 2001 | Marcus Pollard, Ind. | 73 | 47 | 739 | 8 | 10.1 |
| 2013 | • Vernon Davis, S.F. | 84 | 52 | 850 | 13 | 10.1 |
| 2008 | Visanthe Shiancoe, Min. | 59 | 42 | 596 | 7 | 10.1 |
| 2020 | • George Kittle, S.F. | 63 | 48 | 634 | 2 | 10.1 |
| 2012 | • Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 79 | 55 | 790 | 11 | 10.0 |
—Ian Allan