It's a good year to be looking for a top tight end in the draft. There are two players at the position expected to be selected in the first round. That doesn't happen very often.
Penn State's Tyler Warren (pictured) won the John Mackey Award as college's top tight end. He caught 104 passes for 1,233 yards and 8 touchdowns, with 4 more rushing (plus 218 yards on the ground, and a passing score to boot).
Michigan's Colston Loveland put up comparatively modest numbers, catching 56 passes for 582 yards and 5 touchdowns. But he's a similarly athletic receiving prospect and he's 2 years younger -- won't even turn 21 until next week. Different scouts have different players atop their class; landing spot might determine which will be the better fantasy prospect.
This century, there have been just six other occasions when multiple tight ends were selected in the first round. How have those players turned out?
Most recently, pretty well. While the first couple of duos were generally disappointing, both of those instances were more than 20 years ago. Of the last four drafts with multiple first-round tight ends, comprising 9 total players at the position, most of those guys have been successful pros.
Table shows the six groups of multiple first-round tight ends in the same draft this century, with both their rookie numbers (Receptions-Yards-TDs) and then their best seasons (in PPR leagues), along with their fantasy rankings in those best seasons. (Listed teams are the ones they had their best season with.)
Only three of the 14 players failed to have at least one top-10 season during their careers. More than half had at least one top-5 campaign.
| MULTIPLE FIRST-ROUND TES, 2000-PRESENT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | Pk | Player | Rookie | Best | Rk |
| 2000 | 14 | Bubba Franks, G.B. | 34-363-1 | 54-442-7 | 5 |
| 2000 | 27 | Anthony Becht, NYJ | 16-144-2 | 36-321-5 | 13 |
| 2002 | 14 | Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 74-894-2 | 65-891-7 | 3 |
| 2002 | 21 | Daniel Graham, N.E. | 15-150-1 | 30-364-7 | 10 |
| 2002 | 28 | Jerramy Stevens, Sea. | 26-252-3 | 45-554-5 | 12 |
| 2004 | 6 | Kellen Winslow, Cle. | 5-50-0 | 89-875-3 | 3 |
| 2004 | 32 | Benjamin Watson, N.O. | 2-16-0 | 74-825-6 | 7 |
| 2006 | 6 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 20-265-3 | 56-914-7 | 2 |
| 2006 | 28 | Marcedes Lewis, Jac. | 13-126-1 | 58-700-10 | 4 |
| 2017 | 23 | Evan Engram, Jac. | 64-722-6 | 114-963-4 | 2 |
| 2017 | 29 | David Njoku, Cle. | 32-386-4 | 81-882-6 | 5 |
| 2017 | 19 | O.J. Howard, T.B. | 26-432-6 | 34-565-5 | 15 |
| 2019 | 8 | T.J. Hockenson, 2TM | 32-367-2 | 86-914-6 | 2 |
| 2019 | 20 | Noah Fant, Den. | 40-562-3 | 62-673-3 | 8 |
| 2025 | ? | Tyler Warren | -- | -- | ? |
| 2025 | ? | Colston Loveland | -- | -- | ? |
It's worth noting that rookie year numbers shouldn't be assumed with either player. What Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers have done the last two years are a far cry from what the vast majority of these first-rounders did initially. Only three reached 500 receiving yards as rookies, and only two caught 5 touchdowns. Guys like Bowers make it clear that top prospects are coming in readier to produce than in the past at this position, but a learning curve wouldn't be surprising.
Considering his college production (he averaged 6.5 catches per game last yera), I'll take Warren as the preferred pick in a rookie draft (if I were drafting today, which I wouldn't be). But let's see where these guys end up -- what kind of offense, and who else the team has on the roster at the position. But both look like they'll be significant players in fantasy leagues.
--Andy Richardson