In this next edition of Tight End Confidential, we move into the top 10 units in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars long, athletic duo helps them check in at number ten.
Many believe Jacksonville is a team on the rise. They have accumulated many weapons on both sides of the ball. Although it has not affected the win/loss column yet, the offense has the ability to be explosive. Much of that is thanks to the work of these mid-level guys in Marcedes Lewis, and Julius Thomas.
Lewis is the elder statesman of the team. At 32 years old, he has spent his entire 11-year career with the Jaguars. In that time he has seen the team point up, and down, and now he hopes that he can help them push to the top of the AFC South before he retires. At 32, Lewis is still very effective in an offense that spreads the ball around to several receiving options, including two other tight ends. He still has the ability to get down the field and the toughness to pick up the hard yards. He has been a consistent in-line blocker and works well into the Jaguars run game. Lewis continues to be a matchup nightmare for defenses because of his size. At 6’6 270 pounds, he is physically imposing and hard for defensive backs to get their hands on him or knock him off his route; he even makes linebackers look small.
Julius Thomas was a free agent signing last season after spending his last two seasons in the league catching passes from Peyton Manning. He was able to parlay those double digit touchdown seasons into a nice payday from Jacksonville. He was able to put together a solid season, but fell way short of his touchdown production in Denver. Part of that was due to injury, and the other part was sharing time with other tight ends. A second season in the offense should see his numbers improve. We should also look for more red zone targets for the 6’5 260 pound former basketball player this season.
With the exit of Clay Harbor, who signed with New England, and a few no-name guys aligned behind them, Lewis and Thomas will need to stay healthy. If they do, they will be a handful for any defense. Hopefully quarterback Blake Bortles takes a page out of Peyton Manning’s playbook and targets the tight ends more. If he does, then maybe they can erase their perennial top 10 draft pick appointment.
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Bills head coach Rex Ryan’s calling card has always been defense and an effective run game. But one of the byproducts of an effective run game is equally good play-action passing. That passing game became more potent last season with the addition of former Miami Dolphins tight end Charles Clay. Clay was a weapon for the Dolphins and has brought his play-making ability to Buffalo. He is a first down machine averaging over 10 yards per reception. This is extremely valuable to a team with a conservative offense. Clay has the toughness to play between the hashes but the explosiveness to stress safeties. Those skills help a quarterback like Tyrod Taylor, who may throw the best deep ball in the NFL, stretch the field when necessary. That has resulted in nine receptions of over 20 yards.
The Titans tight end corps is anchored by two veterans who have continued to improve in their roles over the years. As a result, they probably have one of the more seasoned group of tight ends in the NFL. Both Delanie Walker and Anthony Fasano are over 30; 31 and 32 respectively. Not only does it seem that both have much more left in the tank, but one could say that both are in the prime of their careers.
After four seasons with the San Diego Chargers and playing second fiddle to future hall of famer Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green joins the Steelers to finally be the man at tight end. I’m sure Green thought he was going to be the heir apparent to Gates, but Gates doesn’t seem like he wants to retire so Green has to find his shot elsewhere. He could not have landed in a better position than with the Steelers. It is not only an upgrade at the quarterback position for Green, but because they have a much more potent running game, he will see a far more vacant secondary as defenses have to focus on stopping the run. At 26 years old, Green’s best days are still ahead of him and anything less than 1000 yards, and 10 plus touchdowns, should be seen as a disappointment for him.
Many would believe that losing Coby Fleener would make the Colts worse in their unit, but it actually opens up more opportunity for Dwayne Allen and the other tight ends on the roster. Allen has shown flashes of elite ability. In quarterback Andrew Luck’s two best seasons, Allen was a major factor in his success. In 2012, both of their rookie seasons, Luck hooked up with Allen 45 times for 521 yards and three touchdowns. In 2014, they connected on eight of Luck’s 40 touchdowns. Now that he doesn’t have to share time with Fleener, and if he is able to stay healthy, Allen can be a 1000 yard receiver with double-digit touchdowns. That, mixed with his excellent blocking ability inline and in space, would make him a top five tight end in the league.
The Seahawks have a good core of tight ends to work with anchored by Jimmy Graham. Graham had a difficult adjustment coming to Seattle from New Orleans where they never really asked him to block. He actually did most of his damage with the Saints detached from the offensive line. Seattle wanted him to make a larger contribution to their balanced offense by doing more inline blocking. He struggled to adjust to his new role and with an injury, but with one year under his belt, he will be much better in that system. He is still an elite level athlete and mixed with his height, it makes him an absolute nightmare in the red zone. Especially when teams have to concern themselves with the quarterback’s ability to run the ball.