Quietly, the AFC North has some star power at the tight end position, thanks to names like Baltimore’s Mark Andrews and Cleveland’s David Njoku.
Prior to the 2023 season, Pittsburgh’s Pat Freiermuth could even have been included in that, and not too long ago Cincinnati’s Mike Gesicki seemed destined to be one of the best pass-catching TEs in football.
It’s not just about the big names at the position though. The AFC North is rather deep at tight end, making it one of the stronger position groups in the division.
So, how does it shake out? Let’s find out in this year’s edition of the Ranking The Rooms: AFC North TEs series.
Ranking The Rooms: AFC North QBs
Ranking The Rooms: AFC North RBs
Ranking The Rooms: AFC North WRs
1. Baltimore Ravens
Having a dynamic 1-2 punch in All-Pro Mark Andrews and the emerging Isaiah Likely is a heck of a way to start out the depth chart at the position for the Baltimore Ravens.
Andrews, despite suffering a major ankle injury last season that knocked him out for a long stretch of the season, remains one of the best tight ends in football. He always finds a way to get open and is incredibly reliable for quarterback Lamar Jackson. Before getting hurt last season in Week 11, Andrews had 45 receptions for 544 yards and six touchdowns, once again dominating with Jackson.
Once Andrews went down, Likely emerged for the Ravens.
Likely had 30 receptions for 411 yards and five touchdowns, becoming one of Jackson’s more dependable weapons. He added another four receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs. Ahead of Year 3, expectations are very high for Likely.
Behind the dynamic top two, the Ravens have very solid depth.
Charlie Kolar enters Year 3 as a dependable blocker for the Ravens in the run game. He also took a step forward as a receiver last season, hauling in seven receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Baltimore has former Steelers TE Scotty Washington, and undrafted rookie free agents Mike Rigerman and Riley Sharp battling it out for a practice squad role.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Freiermuth had a really tough third season, in large part due to injuries, but also due to the scheme under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who seemingly refused to attack the middle of the field. Freiermuth had just 32 receptions for 308 yard and two touchdowns last season. Nine of those receptions and 120 of those yards came in one game against the Bengals.
With Arthur Smith calling the plays now offensively, Freiermuth should be in for a big fourth season.
Behind Freiermuth, there was a lot of excitement about Darnell Washington as a potential unicorn at the position, but he’s largely a blocker. He doesn’t add much as a receiver, but he handles the in-line blocking role quite well and was key late in the season helping the run game take off.
Connor Heyward should take a step forward as a receiving option under Smith. He played quite well last season taking on a larger blocking role, handling his own as an in-line blocker. But he’s at his best as that pass-catching weapon who finds the soft spot in zones and makes tough catches in traffic. He should return to that this season.
The Steelers added MyCole Pruitt in free agency, giving them a familiar face for Smith to work with. Pruitt is more of an H-back type who could handle fullback duties in a pinch and function in line as a blocking tight end. Rodney Williams earned his way onto the roster last season and performed well on special teams, so he should not be overlooked. But he has to improve as a blocker if he wants to stick again.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
The tight end position has been a bit underwhelming in recent years for the Bengals, but this offseason Cincinnati threw as much as possible against the wall at the position to see if it could correct it.
In comes Mike Gesicki, who has been a bit of a disappointment since early in his career in Miami. Landing with Joe Burrow is a great spot for the true move TE. In his career, Gesicki has 20 touchdowns, but he is coming off of a dreadful 2023 season in New England, where he hauled in just 29 passes for 244 yards.
Outside of Gesicki, Drew Sample returns for the Bengals and was rather steady last season as was Tanner Hudson. Sample hauled in 22 passes for 163 yard and two touchdowns while Hudson had a career-best 39 receptions for 352 yards and one touchdown last season. Those two form a solid duo as good blocking options with some abilities as pass catchers.
Where the Bengals did really well at the position this offseason was through the 2024 NFL Draft. Cincinnati landed Iowa’s Erick All and Arizona’s Tanner McLachlan in the draft. All is recovering from a knee injury and might not be much of a factor in 2024, but the future is very bright for him. McLachlan is quite an intriguing piece, though he’s on the older end for a prospect.
With Burrow back healthy and plenty of weapons on the outside, the Bengals’ tight ends should see a bit of a revitalization in 2024.
4. Cleveland Browns
David Njoku is a star tight end. There is no denying that, no matter how hard one tries.
The former first-round pick has really emerged in recent seasons and put up a career-high 81 receptions for 882 yards and six touchdowns last season. He plays well as an in-line blocker, but he does his best work as a pass-catching tight end. Njoku is a major mismatch for linebackers and safeties and even gave some cornerbacks fits last season.
He’s only going to get better from here. He’s a Browns fan favorite, too.
Behind him though, depth is a real concern.
The Browns lost Harrison Bryant to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, losing their No. 2 option. The Browns never quite replaced him. Instead, they’ll turn to veteran Jordan Akins, who had just 15 receptions for 132 yards last season in a limited role as the TE3.
Akins has great experience overall, but he is 32 and coming off a tough year.
The only other tight ends on the Browns’ roster are Zaire Mitchell-Paden and undrafted free agent Treyton Welch out of Wyoming, two guys who absolutely do not move the needle.
This feels like a position the Browns will address before the start of the 2024 season with a veteran addition on roster cutdown day.
2023 AFC North TE rankings:
No. 1 – Baltimore Ravens
No. 2 – Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 3 – Cleveland Browns
No. 4 – Cincinnati Bengals
