Packers: 5 bold predictions for tight end position in 2021 season

It’s clear how important the tight end position is to Green Bay Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur. The team not only used a third-round pick on one in 2020, but also have a deep and talented position group to work with. What can we expect from them in the 2021 season?

At the top of the depth chart is Robert Tonyan–one of last season’s biggest breakout players. He hauled in 52 receptions for 586 yards and a whopping 11 touchdowns, all career-bests by far. Behind him are Marcedes Lewis and Dominique Dafney–two blocking specialists. Josiah Deguara should be ready to go as well and 2019 third-round pick Jace Sternberger is still out there and fighting for a roster spot. Rounding out the position is Isaac Nauta.

After making predictions for individual players, we are going to break it down by position group moving forward. So, without further ado, here are five bold predictions about what will happen at tight end for the Packers in 2021.

The Green Bay Packers’ tight ends played a variety of roles in 2020. What will their 2021 season look like considering the diverse talent they have?

5. Jace Sternberger won’t make the roster.

The Packers are deep at tight end with a number of players who can play different roles. Tonyan has emerged as the receiving threat, Dafney and Lewis are the in-line blocking specialists, and Deguara can play all over the field. That leaves Sternberger as the odd man out. His playing time reflected as such as the 2020 regular season concluded and the playoffs began. He faces an uphill battle to get back in the good graces of the coaching staff and this summer could be his last opportunity as a Packer. It will be hard for Green Bay to keep five tight ends.

4. Dominique Dafney will play at least 200 snaps on offense.

Dafney was an undrafted free agent who emerged extremely late in his rookie season. Nonetheless, he saw himself playing big-time snaps down the stretch and that should continue in 2021. Between Week 13 and the Conference Championship (seven games), he played a total of 105 offensive snaps including 37 total in the playoffs. I don’t think he’ll continue that pace with Deguara back and healthy, but I do think LaFleur will continue to use him as a blocker.

3. The tight ends will combine for fewer receptions, yards, and touchdowns than last year.

Green Bay’s tight ends went for 77 receptions for 845 yards and 16 touchdowns a season ago and were a big part of Aaron Rodgers’ monstrous MVP campaign. However, they won’t quite reach those milestones this season. Rodgers will still get his huge numbers, don’t get me wrong, but a lot more of it will go to the wide receivers and one of his new weapons in Amari Rodgers. Also, Tonyan will regress a little bit with defenses paying more attention to him as he was the key cog in the tight end’s receiving production.

2. Josiah Deguara will play a major role, just not with the ball.

The Packers had big plans for Deguara in his rookie year, but it was all cut short due to injuries. After impressing in the season opener, he missed the next two games with an injury. When he returned in Week 4 he tore his ACL and was forced to miss the rest of the season. LaFleur wants to line him up all over the field and will likely get back to doing so. Expect to see a lot of no. 81 on the field, just not necessarily with the ball in his hands.

1. Robert Tonyan will only have single-digit touchdown receptions.

After only catching one touchdown pass in each of his first two professional seasons, Tonyan exploded for 11 last year. Although I don’t think his season was a fluke by any means, he’ll definitely regress a little bit in 2020. Tonyan will still play a large role in the offense, but don’t expect him to have as much success finding the endzone.