NFL: Are Tight Ends The Most Underrated Position On Offense?

When it comes to the NFL, there’s no more significant position in most people’s eyes than a franchise quarterback. After all the offense goes through the signal caller, he dictates the field’s play in real time. Then more would claim a true #1 receiver is key to the QB’s success. Some would also claim an “every down” running back is one of the greater needs on offense. However, when it comes to the championship teams, should more teams be focused on finding an above-average tight end to fix their offensive woes?

Look, no one is going to sit here and claim that a tight end is more important than the guy under center. If your QB has no grip on today’s NFL, chances are you aren’t winning a ton of football games. That’s a given. With that being said, out of all the skill positions is the tight end the most overlooked?

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Let’s be honest, take a look at some of the greatest seasons with Tom Brady. He’s had his skilled wide receivers, the best of which came in his record-setting season with Randy Moss. Other than that, his favorite target was Rob Gronkowski and it’s not even close. What Rob Gronkowski meant to Tom Brady’s success showed up time and time again throughout his career. Take a small sample of his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The offense with Gronk vs without is night and day. But it’s not just his time in Tampa. Go all the way back to the season Gronkowski missed a good portion of games in the middle of the Patriots season. The Pats went from a top 5 offense all the way down to 28th (give or take 1-2).

Sure, you can say that Brady to Gronkowski was something special, so switch to Patrick Mahomes. Even after losing one of his most explosive WRs in Tyreek Hill, the Kansas City Chiefs still rolled the rest of the NFL as Mahomes still kept plays alive with Travis Kelce. Okay, so he’s another elite quarterback so let’s use another example. The 49ers went through 3 starting quarterbacks this season and rookie sensation Brock Purdy looked like an NFL-ready quarterback despite being “Mr. Irrelevant”. How much did having a TE like George Kittle help him push the ball upfield?

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How much did Dallas Goedert help Jalen Hurts? The same could be said of Dallas Clark and Peyton Manning. What about Troy Aikman and Jay Novacek? Falcons fans will never forget Matt Ryan’s success with Tony Gonzalez. Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham. Cam Newton to Greg Olsen. John Elway to Shannon Sharpe was money. Tony Romo to Jason Witten again and again. The list can go on and on.

But on the flip side of that, take a look at the bad teams in the NFL who have remained basement dwellers in their division. Not to disrespect any of the guys who played for these teams, but name me the last tight end for the New York Jets you’d consider a top 5 guy at his position each season. The same can be said of the Miami Dolphins. The Buffalo Bills have been on their way to the Super Bowl for 3 seasons in a row and I wouldn’t put Dawson Knox on the same level as Goedert, Kelce, or Kittle. Matthew Stafford had great seasons with Calvin Johnson, but how many wins did Detroit rack up during those years? Dig through your sports trivia and name their best TE. Name the greatest tight ends on the Browns, Cardinals, Bears, or Texans. Go back to the teams with the worst records in the NFL season after season and tell me who their top tight end was.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about the TE position or their place in the NFL. The teams that are truly great have a top-tier tight end on their team. These guys aren’t the flashiest players on the field, but they keep the chains moving when plays break down. If playoff teams want to get over the hump, maybe it’s time to invest some resources into their next big tight end.