A tight end in the NFL has a lot to do out there. He’s an “end” (a player who lines up on the end of the line of scrimmage to run passing routes) but he’s also “tight” to the line. Because they are both ends and tight to the line, the tight end is a hybrid player unlike many others in gridiron football.
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They not only have to contribute in the passing game by running routes and catching passes like a split end (wide receiver that lines up on the line of scrimmage), but they also have to know how to block 250-pound defensive ends and linebackers in the running game. Or even if they’re kept in for pass protection themselves. Predictably, it is rare to find ones that are great at both, though some certainly have been.
However, the ones that get all the plaudits and all the recognition and are considered “the greatest” are often one-dimensional. Their dimension just happens to be the running routes and catching passes aspect, which is far more exciting and impactful than nailing a good block. Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter (No. 4 on the all-time receiving TDs list) recently talked about how blocking plays into the conversation around the greatest tight ends.
“I’ll use blocking as a point to make a difference between [two] guys. Number 2-3, or 1-2. So, it will play a role in that. If I’m gonna go for the best tight ends, I’ll have Shannon Sharpe on that list… Now, I’m not gonna hold him down on the list because he couldn’t block. But there are other guys that were just as capable receivers and better blockers, like Gronk,” Carter started his argument on the Fully Loaded podcast.
Carter went on to talk about arguably the greatest to ever play the position, Tony Gonzalez, and how he was an elite receiver who could also block capably. Not great, but capably. Meanwhile, Sharpe was an elite receiver who didn’t really block at all. So, in that situation, the blocking prowess becomes the difference.
“And then there are other guys that I think were better receiving tight ends, like Tony Gonzalez, I believe he’s ahead of Shannon—not to discredit Shannon and what he’s doing—but he wasn’t a great blocker.”
“Maybe a little bit better blocker than Shannon. So it’s one of the traits, it’s one of the intangible things that you’re going to use. But you can’t be no great blocking tight end and be in the top five, and you ain’t got no subsequent receiving numbers.”
There is a combination of characteristics that one must consider, more so than for other positions, when comparing and ranking tight ends.
No doubt the receiving aspect is the most impactful if they create those mismatch nightmares—too big for a DB, too fast for an LB—but that blocking part of it is important too. That’s why many still believe that Rob Gronkowski remains above Travis Kelce on the TE rankings. And there are many other such TE debates as well.
