Explanation of Evals/Grading
Hey all, today we're going to be starting my 2024 tight end evaluations and rankings. The biggest difference in evaluating tight ends is that I grade players on their hands, route running, release, yards after catch potential, jump ball/contested catch ability, body control and ball tracking, athleticism/size/RAS, and their ability to have a future role in the NFL. For those new to my rankings, I have more details on my process in part 1 of my receiver rankings, which you can find at this link.
For tight ends, I put more weight on if they can make it on the field and stay on the field. So, while I do like players if they show good receiving skills, I want a player who is at least a competent or willing blocker. Also, I’ll be referring to “functional athleticism” a number of times throughout this. I feel out of all positions, tight end is one where there are players that ace the combine then I go back to watch their games and they look way less athletic than players that tested much worse from them. So, I try to look at functional athleticism or what players actually have their testing numbers show in their game.
TE1 - Brock Bowers
Georgia
Height: 6’3”; Weight: 243 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 21 years and four months
Class: Junior
Overall Grade: 3.5/4 (Future All-Pro)
Comp: Aaron Hernandez
- Hands: A-
- Route Running: A-
- Yards After Catch Potential: A-
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B+
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: A-
- Blocking: B
- Future role: A-
- RAS: B+
Strengths
Let me just start this off by saying that I have been a huge Brock Bowers fan since his freshman year at Georgia and already decided during that year that I would likely have him as the top tight end for whenever he decided to declare. Can you really blame me, though? I personally don’t like the idea of tight ends getting drafted in the top 10 of drafts, but Bowers is worthy of that consideration.
Bowers is a natural route runner and could fool people into thinking he’s a wide receiver if they never heard about him and didn’t know his position. He ran a diverse route tree during his tenure and was used all over the formation, both in-line and in the slot, in motion, and even out wide. Bowers has great footwork in his cuts to make concise, quick cuts and has great burst to create initial separation. His footwork and great tempo in his routes also make it difficult for defenders to get a read on his routes.
Along with great footwork and tempo, Bowers also has wide receiver nuance with head fakes, stutter steps, and jab steps to create deception at the top of his stem. Despite the talk about him being on the smaller side, Bowers consistently maintains his balance and route through contact and can still navigate around contact to get to his spot quickly and efficiently. He consistently establishes leverage regardless of the route run or where he runs it and has a good eye for holes against zone coverage.
When the ball is thrown Brock Bowers’ way, he can contort to misplaced balls and make quick adjustments with his hands and body if needed. Bowers can go down low to finish tough catches away from his frame. He also showed great sideline awareness with his feet.
Bowers also has really reliable hands that will turn him into a quarterback’s favorite target. He plays with late, quick hands and consistently catches the ball away from his body and with good hand technique regardless of where it falls on his frame. Bowers isn’t afraid to absorb hits while finishing catches and is quick at securing and protecting the ball. His contested catch numbers were a career low this year, but historically, he has been a very strong contested catch receiver.
Bowers is also a threat with the ball in his hands with a quick and smooth transition from receiver to runner and great peripheral vision to plan his first move. Bowers runs with fantastic contact balance and uses great pad level and a great base while adjusting his body to defenders’ trajectory to soften the blow and shake off would-be tackles. Bowers also keeps his legs churning and runs with great vision behind his blockers to maximize every opportunity.
Bower’s blocking is his weakest attribute and his 2023 year was his worst blocking year per PFF, but he is still so good at it. Bowers mostly has great technique with a good base with quick feet and consistent hand placement and arm extensions to keep his defender away from his pads. He can get great leverage as an in-line blocker and is also very effective as a move blocker when used in motion, thanks to his quick tracking and recognition skills.
Areas of Improvement
Now even though I’m clearly fanboying over Bowers, I have to admit there are some areas of growth. Bowers doesn’t seem to have the best vertical in games and doesn’t seem to be capable of contributing much in 50/50 and jump-ball situations with his limited size and ability to rise through defenders. Bowers makes things more difficult for himself with some suboptimal positioning in 50/50 ball scenarios. He does a really nice job of establishing his positioning in short and intermediate pattern scenarios but needs to bring that to downfield 50/50 scenarios.
Also, as I mentioned, Bowers’ biggest weakness is his blocking, and part of this is due to a tendency to duck his and can get caught reaching at times when taking on defenders in space. For in-line situations, Bowers consistently establishes blocking angles, but he will need to make sure he does it as consistently when taking on defenders in the second level. Also, though his strength isn’t a liability, Bowers doesn’t have top-tier strength to pummel guys in the run game.
Bowers also lacks elite straight-line speed, which can make it a bit easier for defenders to keep up with his routes at times. Also, I wouldn’t consider Bowers to have a small catch radius, but he isn’t able to fling himself to balls far distances from him. Also, it didn’t happen a lot, but there were a few times when he could have finished a catch over his shoulders but instead went up to attack the ball which stopped him from finishing the catch. Finally, NFL teams can determine how much of a concern this is, but he had TightRope surgery during the 2023 season.
Conclusion
Players who are viewed as “clear consensus #1 at their position” for every draft always seem set up to disappoint. Maybe Bowers follows that route, but he feels like such a complete tight end that it was difficult to find too many faults outside of some physical limitations. He’s capable of wearing multiple hats and helping a team whether they need help in the air or on the ground.
Due to Bowers’ all-around game and great YAC ability, I have Aaron Hernandez as his comp. Look at Hernandez strictly as a player; both lacked the ideal size but had very good speed and contact balance to be monsters in the YAC game. Also, both have great hands to supplement their nuanced route running. I’ve been waiting three years to see Bowers in the NFL, and I can’t wait to see him tear it up for whatever team drafts him.
TE2 - Ben Sinnott
Kansas State
Height: 6’4”; Weight: 250 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 21 years and 10 months
Class: RS Junior
Overall Grade: 3.17/4 (Good Starter)
Comp: Pat Freiermuth
- Hands: A-
- Route Running: B
- Yards After Catch Potential: B-
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: B-
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B-
- Blocking: B
- Future role: B+
- RAS: A
Strengths
Ben Sinnott has been one of my favorite players to follow with the growth he had to develop into a big-time contributor. Sinnott got on a lot of people’s radar after his combine testing, but he first stood out to me during the season thanks to his reliable hands. Sinnott catches the ball with really good hand technique and consistently catches the ball away from his body. He also uses his long arms to reach out and snag the ball before defenders can get their hands on him or the ball.
When Sinnott is thrown the ball, he can rise up for balls above his head and follow the ball downfield. With the ball, Sinnott has good acceleration to get to full speed quickly. He also isn’t afraid to use his strength and plow into defenders.
As a route runner, Sinnott showed that he can effectively run a diverse route tree and seemed to have a good feel for coverage layers and zone coverage to find openings in the defense. In Sinnott’s routes, he has relatively concise cuts and does a good job maintaining his route path through contact and navigating around contact in the intermediate part of the field. He also got consistent leverage in his routes and had good uses of head fakes to have some deception to his routes.
Sinnott is also a capable blocker who blocks with consistent hand placement. Sinnott is also good at establishing blocking angles to get quality blocks on his target. He doesn’t possess a lot of power as a blocker but does block with good leverage and active feet to get push. Finally, he played all over the formation as an in-line tight end, in the slot, out wide, and as a fullback to show that he can play any role a team needs of him in the NFL.
Areas of Improvement
As someone who watched Sinnott for a lot of the year, the combine testing admittedly took me by surprise. Every year, there are a few tight ends who ace the combine testing requiring rewatches of their games and puzzling some people with the testing not lining up with the game speed. Sinnott isn’t unathletic as a player, but his play speed and style don’t match his testing numbers. I won’t go over my rant about functional athleticism for tight ends since I talk about it whenever I talk about tight ends, but I would much prefer a tight end who looks athletically gifted on the field than a player who tests like one.
On the field, Sinnott doesn’t offer that much in YAC situations despite his athletic testing. Sinnott doesn’t have great shiftiness of fluid hips to make guys miss in space. Also, he can run with better vision to better follow his blocks. He also seems to have a bit of a skip at times when making catches that slightly slows down his transition from a receiver to runner.
Sinnott’s route running is also really solid but he can be a bit slow out of his breaks and his cuts lack the explosion we saw in his testing. Honestly, Sinnott’s routes are the biggest thing that causes a bit of disconnect from his testing to game speed as he can look a bit lumbering at times in his routes causing inconsistent success in gaining separation. He also doesn’t sell vertical routes which allows defenders to sit and wait to break on his route and can also take sharper angles in his cuts to create easier throwing windows. They may not be things he has to do frequently in the NFL, but Sinnott also really struggled to disengage from press and doesn’t seem to have much creativity after his route or when his quarterback starts to scramble.
Sinnott also seems to struggle in 50/50 ball situations due to struggling to establish positioning and not having the strongest attacks at balls. Sinnott can rise up for balls, but his hand strength seems to waver when catching above his head. He also just seems to not have an overly wide catch radius outside of directly above his head as he is a bit stiff adjusting to balls and also seems a bit delayed adjusting to balls, which may be due to some ball tracking issues since he also had a few balls sneak up on him. He also didn’t seem to show great sideline awareness either.
Sinnott is a solid blocker but still has a few too many technical inconsistencies. Sinnot tends to duck his head, which leads to a number of whiffs. Also, he tends to reach for his blocks, which can also lead him to just completely whiff his target.
Conclusion
Sinnott proved that he is a versatile player who is capable of handling any role that is required of him in the NFL. Though I don’t think Sinnott is as athletic as his testing indicates, the combine testing was gravy for his draft stock. Alignment versatility and athleticism are both extremely attractive for teams and could lead to his name being called in the 2nd round.
Due to both players having very good athleticism, good size, and being able to be used in different alignments, I have Pat Freiermuth as Sinnott’s comp. Both Freiermuth and Sinnott have very reliable hands and capable receiving and solid blocking skills to be depended on. Also, both were solid after the catch but lacked elite game speed to pick up big games and had some struggles to create consistent separation. Freiermuth’s career has been all over the place in part due to the Steelers offense struggling, but Sinnott could look like rookie-year Freiermuth if he goes to a more consistent offense.
TE3 - Cade Stover
Ohio State
Height: 6’4”; Weight: 247 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 23 years and 10 months
Class: RS Senior
Overall Grade: 3.04/4 (Good Starter)
Comp: Hayden Hurst
- Hands: A-
- Route Running: C+
- Yards After Catch Potential: B-
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: A-
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B+
- Blocking: B-
- Future role: B
- RAS: B
Strengths
Cade Stover is one of the most dependable tight ends in the draft. If the ball hits Stover’s hands, he’s hauling it in with good hand technique. At times, he feels automatic as a ball catcher. Stover also consistently catches the ball away from his body and uses arm extension to catch the ball at the very end of his frame to protect it from defenders. Stover does a good job setting himself for success with good positioning and boxes out defenders in 50/50 situations. He has great hand strength to even finish catches when he is draped by defenders.
Stover can also stretch out and make plays on balls in his vicinity. Stover has a great eye for following deep balls and can also follow it through defenders and deflections. He also has good foot awareness around the sidelines.
Stover’s route running is decent with experience running a diverse route tree. Stover also does a good job working back to the quarterback and quickly has his head turned and hands ready. He also does a good job drifting with the quarterback when they scramble and has a good understanding of how to find holes in the defense. Stover doesn’t have a lot of nuance in his routes, but he does use good tempo.
Stover brings a physical element with the ball in his hands and isn’t afraid to lower his pads into a defender. Stover brings some of this physicality to his blocking as a willing blocker that uses great effort on every rep. He blocks with active feet and does a good job getting square with defenders. For someone that just started playing tight end a few years ago, he has seen some pretty impressive improvements in such a short amount of time.
Areas of Improvement
However, there are still a lot of signs that Stover still hasn’t pulled it all together as a tight end. Stover bloods with inconsistent technique bending at the waist, blocking with inconsistent leverage, and ducking his head too frequently. He also allows defenders to get their hands on his pads too easily to make it hard for him to keep his ground. Stover has good size but doesn’t have much in his hits as a move blocker and sometimes is too slow to get to his target.
Stover’s route running has gotten better over the years, but his routes are too slow developing and lack nuance, making it easy for defenders to be ready to pounce after his cut. Stover’s cuts lack explosiveness and can be a bit rounded while also lacking conviction. He is too sluggish getting to his stem and it also seems like he tries to set up before his break which gives the defender a head start of where the break is heading. This predictability is also shown in his routes when used in motion, and his lack of game speed makes it really difficult for him to separate or get consistent leverage.
Stover’s lack of game speed also shows in YAC situations where he looks sluggish in open space and has defenders quickly close the distance. Stover seems to have stiff hips as a runner, which doesn’t let him make guys miss and have to rely on going through them. It also doesn’t help that he is a slow accelerator in games and is also a bit stiff in his transition from receiver to runner.
Conclusion
Stover is a perfectly fine player that I think will likely even stick with a team that falls in love with him or become a journeyman starter that is reliable everywhere he goes. That might not be the most exciting outcome, but I think there is a clear path to a lengthy career for Stover in the NFL. If he continues to learn the position, he may even exceed that expectation.
Due to their athletic testing and builds being uncannily similar, I have Hayden Hurst as Stover’s comp. Both are also older prospects that have very reliable hands and tested better than they are athletically in games. Also, both can be physical with the ball in their hands but have inconsistencies as blockers and separators. Hayden Hurst has bounced around but was reliable everywhere he went, and I feel the same could happen for Stover.
TE4 - Ja’Tavion Sanders
Texas
Height: 6’4”; Weight: 245 pounds
Age on Draft Day: 21 years and 1 months
Class: Junior
Overall Grade: 2.92/4 (Good Role Player)
Comp: Ed Dickson
- Hands: B+
- Route Running: B-
- Yards After Catch Potential: B+
- Jump Ball/Contested Catch: A-
- Body Control/Ball Tracking: B+
- Blocking: B-
-Future role: B
- RAS: D+
Strengths
Ja’Tavion Sanders has been viewed as the clear second-best tight end for this draft class since the summer but has seen his stock drop after poor testing at the combine and his pro day. However, Sanders looks like a much better athlete in games, with a natural and smooth transition from receiver to runner and very good straight-line speed and acceleration. He can deal some good hits to defenders and has a nice stiff arm to help pick up extra yards. He also runs with great vision and has nice curvilinear movement to weave around defenders.
Sanders also has very reliable hands and uses good hand technique. Sanders especially uses great hand technique when going up for balls and high pointing them at the top of his frame. He can catch the ball away from his frame and isn’t afraid to attack the ball and finish catches, even if it means taking a hard hit from a defender.
Sanders can also make adjustments to misplaced balls and get his hands on them. Sanders also showed really great ball tracking skills, being able to track balls over defenders and follow balls downfield to finish catches near the end of his frame.
Sanders also ran a diverse route tree and was used all over the formation providing nice versatility for a team. Sanders uses his fluid hips to get consistent leverage in his route running, and his cuts are relatively concise with good footwork. Sanders also has really good release skills that will require a safety to cover him as he will otherwise burn a linebacker off the line. He also seemed to have a solid eye for zone coverage and ran his routes with good tempo.
Also, Sanders has a decent foundation as a blocker with good strength and recovery skills. This lets Sanders hold his ground even when he is often initially pushed back. He also generally takes good angles to get square with defenders.
Areas of Improvement
Though Sanders has a decent foundation as a blocker, he isn’t all the way there yet with inconsistent hand placement and his hands being too slow allowing defenders to get quick access to his pads. Sanders can also improve his blocking leverage to get more drive and command of his defender. When he tries to generate his own drive, he tends to duck his head, drop his shoulder, or get his feet tangled up leading to some whiffs. He can also improve the consistency of his base as a blocker as he will too often allow defenders around him due to having too narrow of a base to set a firm block.
Sanders will also need to greatly improve his route running if he will likely become a receiving-first tight end. Sands can improve his use of head fakes and jab steps, as he is too often focused on his route path and doesn’t do enough to create consistent separation. Sanders also struggles with separation due to his cuts often lacking explosion and due to not being strong enough at the top of his stem to keep the defender backpedaling. He will also often let defenders move him off his route path and will need to work to improve his balance.
Though Sanders has solid hands, he can be a bit delayed in getting his head turned around and hands ready leading to him needing to trap the ball against his body. Also, Sanders can make adjustments to balls, but he didn’t routinely finish these catches and seemed to especially struggle to finish catches when going to the ground. His pro day confirmed this, but Sanders also lacks great jumping ability which limits how dynamic he can be with his snatching skills.
I also wish that Sanders was more dynamic with the ball in his hands. Sanders is shifty and strong but isn’t overly capable of consistently breaking through tackles. He can also improve his peripheral vision, as there were a number of times when he led himself towards defenders right after moving upfield after the catch. Finally, his legs get too static with contact, causing him to lose his momentum and power.
Conclusion
His overall score doesn’t indicate it, but I do really like Ja’Tavion Sanders. He isn’t in his own 2nd tier like a lot of people had him over the summer, but he is a much better athlete than his testing indicates and is a solid receiving tight end. Unfortunately, with the way I grade players, his RAS score tanked his overall score, similar to Bucky Irving, who I also really liked. The hardest thing for a player like Sanders is when his calling card is your athleticism; it gets a bit hard to stay as excited about him when his agility and explosive/jump testing were so underwhelming.
Due to similar size and athleticism on the field despite neither doing great at the combine, I have Ed Dickson as Sanders’ comp. Both were receiving first tight ends with good hands and could be used all over the formation. Also, both could develop as blockers but had some technique issues they needed to improve. As I mentioned, Sanders’ overall score isn’t great, but if his RAS score ended up in the B range where most expected it to, he would easily score as a good starter, which I think is an appropriate projection for him in the NFL.
