Three tight ends went in the second round, and they come with different time lines. Mason Taylor looks like a lock to be starting from the jump, while Terrance Ferguson and Elijah Arroyo seem more likely to be eased into the fray.
Taylor started three years at Louisiana State, catching 55 passes last year. I don’t think there’s any question he’s starting on opening day. The Jets don’t have much else at the position. He’s working with Justin Fields, which is admittedly underwhelming, but Cole Kmet caught 123 passes and 13 TDs in his last two seasons with Fields in Chicago. It can be done.
With Ferguson and Arroyo, they’re going to teams that already have other tight ends in place. Tyler Higbee (I think) will continue to be the leading tight end for the Rams, while the Seahawks have Noah Fant and AJ Barner. So I’m expecting will see Ferguson and Arroyo eased into action. Arroyo looks like he could turn into a pass-catching something someday, but he caught only 46 passes in college.
Slower starts are pretty typical for tight ends selected in the second round.
In the 32-team era, 41 tight ends have been selected in the second round. Only 15 of those guys were the most productive tight end on their own team in their first season. (That’s using PPR scoring). Just over half (23 of 41) led their own team in their second season.
Of the last 20 tight ends selected in the second round, only four led their team in production in both their first and second years. But given Taylor’s situation, I think he’ll do it.
Ultimately, for our own fantasy purposes, I think what we’re roughly looking for is a top-12 tight end. There are 12 teams in a typical league, with each starting a tight end each week. We’re trying to find guys who can fill those starting spots.
Of the last 25 tight ends selected with second-round picks, only one (Sam LaPorta) has finished with top-12 numbers in first season. I see one other who just missed (Pat Freiermuth) but only one other higher than 20th. (Mason Taylor will not be a top-15 tight end on my board.)
The hit rate goes way up in the second year, with 6 of the last 25 posting top-12 numbers and another three cracking the top 15.
In the chart below (which admitted is an eclectic mish-mash of different ideas), you’re seeing the last 41 tight ends draft in the second round, along with their rookie-season numbers. Guys who led their own teams as rookies are in bold. Guys who led their own team in the next season tagged with dots.
The final five columns on the right show where they ranked among tight ends in their first five seasons, using PPR scoring. In an effort to make the more notable top-12 seasons pop out, I have put them in bold.
| TIGHT ENDS SELECTED IN SECOND ROUND | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk1 | Rk2 | Rk3 | Rk4 | Rk5 |
| 2002 | • Doug Jolley, Oak. | 32 | 409 | 2 | 84.9 | 18 | 30 | 27 | 26 | 91 |
| 2003 | • L.J. Smith, Phil. | 27 | 321 | 1 | 65.1 | 28 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 39 |
| 2003 | Teyo Johnson, Oak. | 14 | 128 | 1 | 32.8 | 43 | 47 | 81 | -- | -- |
| 2003 | Ben Joppru, Hou. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2004 | • Ben Troupe, Ten. | 33 | 329 | 1 | 71.9 | 26 | 10 | 42 | 78 | -- |
| 2004 | Kris Wilson, K.C. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | 79 | 38 | 41 | -- |
| 2006 | • Tony Scheffler, Den. | 18 | 286 | 4 | 70.9 | 26 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 31 |
| 2006 | Joe Klopfenstein, St.L. | 20 | 226 | 1 | 48.6 | 35 | 76 | 55 | 93 | -- |
| 2006 | Anthony Fasano, Dall. | 14 | 126 | 0 | 26.6 | 55 | 49 | 13 | 24 | 20 |
| 2007 | • Zach Miller, Oak. | 44 | 444 | 3 | 106.4 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 44 |
| 2008 | • John Carlson, Sea. | 55 | 627 | 5 | 147.7 | 7 | 13 | 34 | 75 | 40 |
| 2008 | • Fred Davis, Was. | 3 | 27 | 0 | 5.4 | 84 | 15 | 33 | 13 | 41 |
| 2008 | Martellus Bennett, Dall. | 20 | 283 | 4 | 72.3 | 30 | 54 | 37 | 49 | 12 |
| 2009 | Richard Quinn, Den. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | 97 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010 | • Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 42 | 546 | 10 | 156.6 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 1 |
| 2011 | • Lance Kendricks, St.L. | 28 | 352 | 0 | 62.4 | 37 | 22 | 34 | 25 | 41 |
| 2011 | • Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 26 | 249 | 3 | 68.9 | 34 | 11 | 35 | 38 | 15 |
| 2012 | • Coby Fleener, Ind. | 26 | 281 | 2 | 66.1 | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 15 |
| 2013 | • Zach Ertz, Phil. | 36 | 469 | 4 | 106.9 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 2013 | Gavin Escobar, Dall. | 9 | 134 | 2 | 34.4 | 54 | 49 | 74 | 80 | -- |
| 2013 | Vance McDonald, S.F. | 8 | 119 | 0 | 19.9 | 62 | 98 | 30 | 30 | 53 |
| 2014 | • Austin Seferian-Jenkins, T.B. | 21 | 221 | 2 | 55.1 | 41 | 32 | 54 | 21 | 65 |
| 2014 | Troy Niklas, Ari. | 3 | 38 | 0 | 6.8 | 93 | 76 | 114 | 63 | -- |
| 2014 | Jace Amaro, NYJ | 38 | 345 | 2 | 84.5 | 24 | 86 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2015 | Maxx Williams, Balt. | 32 | 268 | 1 | 64.8 | 39 | 62 | 56 | 47 | 69 |
| 2016 | • Hunter Henry, S.D. | 36 | 478 | 8 | 131.8 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 10 |
| 2017 | • Gerald Everett, LAR | 16 | 244 | 2 | 53.7 | 42 | 22 | 26 | 24 | 20 |
| 2017 | Adam Shaheen, Chi. | 12 | 127 | 3 | 42.7 | 49 | 78 | 77 | 49 | 66 |
| 2018 | • Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 22 | 202 | 0 | 42.2 | 49 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 23 |
| 2018 | Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 33 | 334 | 4 | 90.4 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 9 | 12 |
| 2019 | • Irv Smith, Min. | 36 | 311 | 2 | 79.1 | 33 | 23 | 44 | 59 | -- |
| 2019 | • Drew Sample, Cin. | 5 | 30 | 0 | 8.0 | 92 | 30 | 73 | 112 | 46 |
| 2020 | • Cole Kmet, Chi. | 28 | 243 | 2 | 64.0 | 42 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 19 |
| 2021 | • Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 60 | 497 | 7 | 153.7 | 13 | 8 | 30 | 9 | ? |
| 2022 | • Trey McBride, Ari. | 29 | 265 | 1 | 61.5 | 40 | 7 | 2 | ? | ? |
| 2023 | • Sam LaPorta, Det. | 86 | 889 | 10 | 239.3 | 1 | 8 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2023 | • Brenton Strange, Jac. | 5 | 35 | 1 | 14.5 | 79 | 31 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2023 | Michael Mayer, L.V. | 27 | 304 | 2 | 71.4 | 35 | 53 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2023 | Luke Musgrave, G.B. | 34 | 352 | 1 | 75.2 | 31 | 87 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2023 | Luke Schoonmaker, Dall. | 8 | 65 | 2 | 26.5 | 67 | 44 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2024 | Ben Sinnott, Was. | 5 | 28 | 1 | 13.8 | 82 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan