Take note Packers, Tight Ends play important role in NFL playoffs
By Paul Bretl
Tight end is one of the Green Bay Packers biggest needs this offseason, both in terms of adding more playmaking as well as overall depth, and the 2022 NFL playoffs just showed us why addressing it with high-end talent is a must.
Throughout the playoffs, 13 different tight ends would average at least six targets per game. For reference, Robert Tonyan had just two games where he was targeted more than that amount in 2022.
Of the 13 tight ends, five averaged greater than 13 yards per catch, with 10 averaging at least 10 yards per catch. Tonyan, meanwhile, ranked 34th out of 43 eligible tight ends during the regular season with 8.9 yards per reception, according to PFF ($$).
To help illustrate the playmaking that we saw from the tight end position in these playoffs, eight of the 13 players referenced averaged at least 1.66 yards per route run, which over the course of the regular season, would have ranked in the top-nine of the NFL. Tonyan, on the other hand, ranked 25th in that category.
You get the idea, but for more proof, just look to the Super Bowl, where Travis Kelce totaled 81 yards, the most on the Chiefs team, while Dallas Goedert had 60 of his own, even with DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown at wide receiver. In the Conference Championship rounds, the Niners had George Kittle, who averaged 16.4 yards per catch in the playoffs, and Joe Burrow was throwing to Hayden Hurst, who had the third most yards of any tight end in these playoffs.
None of this is meant to be a knock on Robert Tonyan, who provided some much-needed reliability to the Green Bay passing game last season by catching over 80% of his targets. But with that said, he was limited as a pass-catcher, again, totaling less than nine yards per catch and forcing just three missed tackles all season.
As I’ve written previously, a contributor to Tonyan’s modest production may have been, in part, how he was utilized. He was asked to help block or chip, especially through the first half of the season while the offensive line dealt with injuries, and he often felt more like a safety net for Aaron Rodgers to dump the ball off to when no one was open downfield. In fact, Tonyan’s average depth of target of 6.0 yards ranked 34th among his position group. However, as evidenced above, he also struggled to make defenders miss, even in the open field.
The construction of the Packers’ tight end room last season left Tonyan as really the only option in the passing game. I do believe that at the right price, there is a path back to Green Bay in 2023 for him because, as already mentioned, there is value in having that reliability that Tonyan provides, especially with this being a position where very rarely rookie tight ends make a significant impact given the difficulty of the transition to the NFL level, where both being a pass-catcher and blocker are vital.
But in no way should bringing in a veteran tight end — whether Tonyan or someone else — through free agency impact how the Packers approach the draft. Adding a playmaking element to this position group should be a top priority for Green Bay, with the NFL playoffs showing us why.
The good news for the Packers is that this is a deep draft class, especially towards the top end, with six tight ends listed on Daniel Jeremiah’s top-50 big board, which includes Dalton Kincaid, Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington, Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, and Davis Allen.
As we look around the NFL at some of the game’s best offenses, having a playmaker at tight end feels like a must, and it’s something that the Packers are still searching for, as has often been the case over the last decade.