Today, I wanted to look at tight end (TE) prospects in the upcoming draft. The chart below is 2024 Pro Football Focus Grades and current Big Board that updates through the draft process:
Brock Bowers – Georgia (No. 7). Games played since 2021 (15, 15, 10). Inline snaps (143, 133, 121). Slot snaps (160, 259, 148). Catches (56, 63, 56). Targets (71, 82, 71). Yards (882, 942, 717). Yards/rec (15.8, 15.0, 12.8). Touchdowns (13, seven, six). Best 84.4 OVR of the group. In 2023, excellent 2.65 yards per route run (YRR). Great 87.1 receiving grade (REC). Good 62.4 run block grade (RBLK). Above average 5.1 drop rate (DROP). Poor 22.2 contested-catch rate (CCR). Second with 18 missed tackles forced (MTF). T-seventh with 8.7 yards after catch (YAC). Three deep catches (T-23rd). Niney-eight deep yards (29th). Measured in at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Ja’Tavion Sanders – Texas (No. 51). Games played since 2022 (13, 14). Inline (265, 276). Slot (115, 90). Catches (54, 45). Targets (72, 67). Yards (613, 682). Yards/rec (11.4, 15.2). Touchdowns (five, two). Perfect 0.0 DROP. Good REC, 1.86 YRR, OVR, and 53.8 CCR. Above average 61.5 RBLK. Seven contested catches (T-seventh). A 7.7 YAC (T-18th). Three deep catches (T-23rd). Shrine Bowl invite. Combine participant.
Erick All – Iowa (No. 103). Games played (13, three, seven). Inline (103, 19, 50). Slot (95, 16, 68). Catches (38, three, 21). Targets (48, four, 34). Yards (437, 36, 299). Yards/rec (11.5, 12.0, 14.2). Touchdowns (two, zero, three). Excellent 2.62 YRR. Good 70-range REC and OVR. 58.6 RBLK. Below average 33.3 CCR. Bad 16.0 DROP. Four deep catches (T-14th). Close to 120 (116) deep yards (25th). Measured in at the Combine.
Cade Stover – Ohio State (No. 113). Games played (12, 13, 12). Inline (80, 207, 159). Slot (15, 147, 147). Catches (five, 36, 41). Targets (eight, 49, 51). Yards (76, 406, 576). Yards/rec (15.2, 11.3, 14.0). Touchdowns (zero, five, five). Perfect 0.0 DROP. Great 2.04 YRR and REC. Good OVR and 60.0 CCR. Below average 54.4 RBLK. Six contested catches (T-11th). Eight MTF (T-16th). Over 120 (123) deep yards (21st). Three deep catches (T-23rd). Combine participant.
Ben Sinnott – Kansas State (No. 141). Games played (12, 14, 12). Inline (46, 228, 202). Slot (10, 120, 130). Catches (two, 31, 48). Targets (four, 46, 73). Yards (15, 447, 669). Yards/rec (7.5, 14.4, 13.9). Touchdowns (zero, four, six). Excellent 76.1 RBLK. Great OVR, REC, and 2.02 YRR. Above average 4.0 DROP. Below average 35.7 CCR. 14 MTF (T-fourth). Five deep catches (T-sixth). Over 130 (131) deep yards (19th). Five contested catches (T-20th). Up-and-down run blocking in my Senior Bowl notes, allowing a TFL and on the ground too. Nice flat catch, churning out YAC for a first down. Combine participant.
Theo Johnson – Penn State (No. 150). Games played (13, 11, 13). Inline (144, 113, 153). Slot (124, 93, 121). Catches (18, 20, 34). Targets (27, 24, 45). Yards (212, 328, 341). Yards/rec (11.8, 16.4, 10.0). Touchdowns (one, four, seven). Great 75.0 CCR with 62.5 OVR. Average 67.2 REC, 1.26 YRR, 5.6 DROP, and 55.9 RBLK. Made a catch despite a huge hit in the Senior Bowl after a nice route to get wide open (off-target incompletion) but noted three lost run blocks that led to tackles (one TFL). Combine participant.
Dallin Holker – Colorado State (No. 156). Games played (13, three, 12). Inline (72, 28, 142). Slot (27, 24, 267). Catches (13, nine, 64). Targets (20, 10, 105). Yards (202, 86, 766). Yards/rec (15.5, 9.6, 12.0). Touchdowns (one, one, six). Above average 1.58 YRR, 50.0 CCR, 69.6 REC. 68.5 OVR. Average 5.9 DROP and 57.2 RBLK. Ten contested catches (third). Fifteen MTF (third). Five deep catches (T-sixth). Over 140 (141) deep yards (15th). Debatable run block hold in the Shrine Bowl, along with a pass off his hands down the seam (good coverage) and noted a good run block. Combine participant.
Jaheim Bell – Florida State (No. 173). Games played (13, 12, 13). Inline (78, 26, 128). Slot (61, 64, 132). Catches (30, 24, 39). Targets (41, 28, 52). Yards (488, 235, 503). Yards/rec (16.3, 9.8, 12.9). Touchdowns (five, two, two). Good 1.97 YRR, 75.3 REC, 73.4 OVR, and 64.0 RBLK. Above average 50.0 CCR. Below average 9.3 DROP. Twelve MTF (eighth). Over 140 (143) deep yards (T-13th). An 8.1 YAC (T-13th). Four deep catches (T-14th). H-back type who could fit with Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith’s past usage of the position. Nice corner route and catch on a low pass in the Senior Bowl. Combine participant.
AJ Barner – Michigan (No. 180). Games played (11, 10, 15). Inline (57, 179, 162). Slot (50, 203, 67). Catches (14, 28, 22). Targets (22, 49, 32). Yards (162, 199, 249). Yards/rec (11.6, 7.1, 11.3). Touchdowns (one, three, one). Excellent 81.4 RBLK. Great 82.2 OVR. Above average 69.3 REC. Average 42.9 CCR. Below average 1.19 YRR and 8.3 DROP. Displayed strong run blocking in the Senior Bowl, including on pulls, but lost on a pulling pass block. Had nice YAC on a flat route but QBs struggled to get him the ball with inaccuracy. Measured in at the Combine.
Tip Reiman – Illinois (No. 187). Games played (12, 13, 12). Inline (34, 188, 211). Slot (14, 98, 111). Catches (three, 19, 19). Targets (Five, 30, 24). Yards (43, 172, 203). Yards/rec (14.3, 9.1, 10.7). Touchdowns (one, one, three). Perfect 0.0 DROP. Sixty-range REC and OVR. Below average 54.6 RBLK. 0.84 YRR and 25.0 CCR. Noted a good run block in the Shrine Bowl. Combine participant.
Tanner McLachlan – Arizona (No. 240). Games played since 2022 (12, 13). Inline (298, 343). Slot (104, 110). Catches (34, 45). Targets (51, 55). Yards (456, 530). Yards/rec (13.4, 11.8). Touchdowns (two, four). Perfect 0.0 DROP. Good 73.7 REC. A 69.7 OVR. Above average 1.36 YRR and 44.4 CCR. Below average 53.8 RBLK. An 11 MTF (T-ninth). Pulled out of the Senior Bowl (training injury). Combine participant.
Trey Knox – South Carolina (No. 243). Games played (12, 12, 10). Inline (62, 207, 229). Slot (44, 111, 80). Catches (20, 26, 37). Targets (22, 40, 46). Yards (141, 295, 312). Yards/rec (7.1, 11.3, 8.4). Touchdowns (one, five, two). Above average 70.4 REC and 5.1 DROP. A 64.2 OVR. Average 1.28 YRR. Below average 51.8 RBLK. Poor 25.0 CCR. Six MTF (T-26th). Combine participant.
The rest would be undrafted. Jared Wiley – TCU (No. 269), Isaac Rex – BYU (No. 285), Brevyn Spann-Ford – Minnesota (No. 291), and Marshel Martin IV – Sacramento State (No. 309). Rex had a few nice run blocks in the Shrine Bowl, but also a lost rep (TFL) and had a holding penalty that negated a two-point conversion. Spann-Ford had a “wow” catch thrown behind him for a one-yard touchdown in the Senior Bowl but noted mostly lost reps as a run blocker, though he did have one pancake.
Not a huge positional need, but it’ll be interesting to see if Pittsburgh adds a TE in the 2024 draft. While the big board will certainly change, I hope you enjoyed reading about it and learned something from the grade data and notes from the All-Star games.
