4 Tight Ends or 5 for the Green Bay Packers?

During Matt LaFleur’s three-year tenure as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, the team has rostered four tight ends on their 53-man roster each year–even choosing to cut 2019 third-round pick Jace Sternberger last season as opposed to rostering five tight ends.

Depending on whether or not Robert Tonyan begins the season on the PUP list, perhaps the LaFleur won’t have to make this decision right away when rosters have to be set, and he can collect some more data points as the season progresses. But eventually, Tonyan will return, and the Green Bay Packers will have to decide between having four or five tight ends on their roster.

Before the draft took place, many assumed — including myself — that the tight end position was going to look like it did a season ago, with Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Josiah Deguara, and Dominique Dafney making up this position group.

However, even though Green Bay didn’t draft a tight end, things have changed because we have since learned that Brian Gutekunst, Rich Bisaccia, and Matt LaFleur all think very highly of Tyler Davis.

"“TD — Tyler Davis — we picked up early in the year, and as his opportunities grew not only in the games but in practice, think we really have something there,” said Gutekunst via Packers.com. “So I’m excited about that.”"

With Tonyan injured last season, Davis, who was acquired early on in the season, saw his playing time expand. He would make an impressive 22-yard catch down the seam against Baltimore with Aaron Rodgers under pressure and defenders around Davis, but what he really showcased was that he was an energetic and very willing blocker.

So once Tonyan is healthy, we of course know that he will be on the roster, as will Lewis and Deguara. While Deguara has had his ups and downs as a pass-catcher, he would rank 14th among all tight ends in 2021 in PFF’s run-blocking grade. Tight end is also a position where development can take a little longer because of all the responsibilities that come with it — especially in Deguara’s H-back role — and with him missing most of 2020 with an ACL injury, from a playing time standpoint, last season was essentially his first NFL season.

But after those three is where we run into the unknowns. Will the Green Bay Packers choose to keep Dafney? Will they instead keep Davis? Or will they choose to roster five tight ends?

First off, it’s important to distinguish that Dafney and Davis play different roles–with Dafney more of an H-back like Deguara while Davis is going to be a more traditional tight end, lining up in-line and occasionally from the slot.

Both have limited experience as pass-catchers, but we’ve seen a brief flash from each in this area, with Davis’ reception against Baltimore and Dafney averaging 15.0 yards per catch on four receptions. However, where each has really shined is as a blocker.

Last season, Davis ranked 17th among all tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grade, while Dafney ranked seventh in pass-blocking and fifth as a run-blocker. As we all know, this element of the game, while not flashy, is vital to being a part of LaFleur’s offense.

With that said, with Tonyan, Lewis, and Deguara, playing time for both Davis and Dafney on offense could be limited. So as is often the case with those a little further down the depth chart, special teams play will be important, and this is an area where both players could excel–especially under the tutelage of Bisaccia.

Dafney was on the field for 123 special teams snaps in 2021 and was one of the few Green Bay Packers to not miss a tackle during the season. His blocking ability will come in handy on the field goal kicking team as well as on punt coverage–not to mention that he is a good athlete.

At his Pro-Day when coming out of Indiana State, Dafney ran a 4.61-second 40-time along with a 4.19-second shuttle and a 3-cone time of 6.91 seconds. His RAS as a tight end is 8.15 out of 10, while it jumps to 9.62 as a fullback.

Meanwhile, Davis was on the field for 251 special teams snaps a season ago, and his play in the third phase has already caught the eye of Bisaccia.

"“He certainly made his mark on special teams,” LaFleur said via Packers Wire. “I know he’s a guy that Rich was really excited about when we hired him, just what he can bring. He’s a guy that’s going to give you great effort each and every snap, and he can really run.”"

As it always does, whether the Green Bay Packers decide to keep four or five tight ends and who those players are will largely come down to how Dafney and Davis perform this summer. There is also the trickle-down effect from rostering five tight ends that would force the Packers to reduce the number of players at another position.

But if special teams play is truly going to be an emphasis this season — which it should be — then keeping five tight ends should absolutely be in play for the Packers because under Bisaccia, both Dafney and Davis have the potential to become core members of this unit and help with the turnaround.