Packers: Ranking NFC North tight ends ahead of 2021 NFL season
Dairyland Express is continuing our ranking of each position in the NFC North. After covering quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, we move on to the last offensive skill position in tight ends.
Entering the 2020 season, the Green Bay Packers had a plethora of options at tight ends with each guy seemingly possessing a specialty skillset. It wasn’t initially clear who would emerge as the guy at tight end, but Robert Tonyan quickly changed that perception. He separated himself almost immediately and jumped to the top of the depth chart.
Tonyan isn’t the only player at his position to have a breakout season in the North as T.J. Hockenson showed why he was the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, the other two teams lack a quality tight end which leads us to rank the four starters in the division.
How does the Green Bay Packers’ emerging tight end stack up against the rest of the division? Let’s rank the best in the NFC North.
4. Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears
Yes, this dude is still playing. When he came to Green Bay three years ago he was clearly on the decline and things didn’t change in one year in Chicago (sorry, Jimmy). Graham may have racked up eight touchdowns, but there is little reason to believe he’ll be able to do that again in 2021. He comes in as the worst starting tight end in the NFC North.
3. Irv Smith Jr, Minnesota Vikings
In a changing of the guard, Kyle Rudolph has moved on from the Vikings after playing the first 10 seasons of his career there and earning two trips to the Pro Bowl. The position is now Irv Smith Jr.’s, and boy does he have a lot to prove. Smith is entering his third professional season–a time when a lot of tight ends take that next jump. If he can take advantage of the single coverage he’ll almost assuredly see, the Vikings will be an unstoppable offense.
2. Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
Tonyan has had an unprecedented rise during his time in the NFL. After entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana State, he only recorded four receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown in his initial season in 2018. That’s a huge contrast when you fast forward to 2020 when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. At 27-years-old, Tonyan could continue to get better and better and should be able to closely replicate what he did last year (even if the touchdown numbers drop a tick).
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1. T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions
Hockenson established himself as the cream of the crop in the division. He caught 67 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns a year ago. It will be interesting to see how he does with Jared Goff now behind center but there are reasons he could become Goff’s safety valve, as the quarterback loves to drop it underneath. Hockenson isn’t just a good pass-catcher, as he’s a well-rounded player at the position. His ability to do work as a blocker makes him lethal in both facets of the game.