Ranking the opposing tight end groups on New York Jets’ 2020 schedule

Which teams can create mismatches against the New York Jets' safeties and linebackers? 13. New England Patriots Italicized players were added in the 2020 offseason. 2019 TE overall rank: 29th 2019 TE receiving rank: 26th 2019 TE blocking rank: 24th Projected depth chart: Matt LaCosse, Devin Asiasi (third-round pick), Dalton Keene (third-round pick), Ryan Izzo Notable losses: Benjamin Waston (retired) New England used a pair of third-round picks to try and boost a tight end group that was abysmal in 2019. Devin Asiasi offers receiving upside after posting 44 catches, 641 yards, and four touchdowns as a redshirt junior at UCLA, while Keene's skill-set leans more towards the blocking side. The Patriots need help in both areas after ranking last in receiving yards from the tight end position (418) and also placing in the bottom half of every tight end blocking category. 12. Miami Dolphins 2019 TE overall rank: 25th 2019 TE receiving rank: 27th 2019 TE blocking rank: 15th Projected depth chart: Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe, Chandler Cox, Michael Roberts (FA) Gesicki had an improved second season in 2019. He caught 51 passes for 570 yards and five touchdowns, soaring beyond his 22/202/0 line as a rookie. From Weeks 9-17, Gesicki ranked eighth among tight ends with 417 yards (46.3 per game) and tied for third with five touchdowns. Miami's receiving ranking at tight end was dragged down by the lack of a strong second target beyond Gesicki. Durham Smythe ranked second among the team's tight ends with just 65 yards. However, Smythe's respectable performance as a blocker lifted the unit up to a league-average level there despite Gesicki's poor blocking. With the only key addition being Michael Roberts, who has 13 catches over three years since being drafted, it does not seem like Miami is poised to rise much further beyond its No. 25 ranking at the tight end position from a year ago. Gesicki has become a solid volume receiver, but he is a weak blocker has yet to showcase viable efficiency, posting very poor numbers of a 28.1% first down rate and 6.4 yards per target in 2019. Beyond Gesicki, all the group has to offer is some decent blocking from Smythe, who is a horrendous pass-catcher (16.0% first down rate / 4.6 yards per target for career). Chandler Cox, a 2019 seventh-round pick, had a poor rookie season as both a receiver and blocker. Look for Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, C.J. Mosley, and Avery Williamson to smother this unit both in coverage and against the run. 11. Buffalo Bills 2019 TE overall rank: 21st 2019 TE receiving rank: 28th 2019 TE blocking rank: 3rd Projected depth chart: Dawson Knox, Tyler Kroft, Lee Smith, Tommy Sweeney Buffalo's tight ends blocked excellently in 2019, ranking top-10 in all four blocking metrics that I analyzed and thus landing at No. 3 overall in that phase. That was a group effort involving positive contributions from each of the four tight ends listed above, who are all poised to return in 2020. In Week 1, Lee Smith's blocking was a driving force behind Buffalo's second-half comeback win over the Jets, which I broke down here. As good as Buffalo's tight ends were in the blocking game, they were about as poor on the receiving side of things. Drops were a major issue, as the unit led the league with 11 drops and a 19.3% drop rate. That drop rate was 6.5% higher than the 31st-ranked Browns - a larger difference than the gap between the seventh-ranked Jets (4.3%) and 30th-ranked Redskins (10.2%). Second-year man Dawson Knox holds the keys to turning around this unit's performance in the passing game. Knox flashed exciting upside throughout his rookie season, making some spectacular grabs on his way to 388 yards on a solid 7.8 yards per target, but he was solely responsible for those terrible drop totals. Knox dropped a position-leading nine passes, a total equal to or greater than each of the other 31 tight end units in the league. With only 29 catches, Knox's drop rate was an unfathomable 23.7%. 10. Denver Broncos 2019 TE overall rank: 16th 2019 TE receiving rank: 15th 2019 TE blocking rank: 21st Projected depth chart: Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman, Nick Vannett (FA - PIT), Albert Okwuegbunam (fourth-round pick), Jake Butt After ranking around the middle of the pack, the Broncos' unit could be in for a sizable leap as 2019 first-round pick Noah Fant heads into his second season. Fant ranked 13th among tight ends with 562 receiving yards, the sixth-best total by a rookie tight end over the past 20 seasons. With an average of 8.5 yards per target, Fant was one of only seven tight ends to post 500+ yards on 8.5+ yards per target in 2019. Jeff Heuerman's blocking makes up for Fant's massive struggles in that area. 9. Seattle Seahawks 2019 TE overall rank: 14th 2019 TE receiving rank: 14th 2019 TE blocking rank: 17th Projected depth chart: Will Dissly, Greg Olsen (FA - CAR), Jacob Hollister, Luke Willson This unit's upside relies heavily on the health of Will Dissly. The 2018 fourth-round pick has star potential, but he is incredibly injury-prone, playing in just 10 out of a possible 35 regular season and playoff games (28.6%). Dissly has been remarkably efficient. He has posted a 46.3% first down rate and 10.2 yards per target over his career to date. In the eight games that he did not leave early due to injury, Dissly averaged 51.6 yards and 0.75 touchdowns, pace for 826 yards and 12 touchdowns over 16 games. Greg Olsen might still have some gas left in the tank at 35 years old. His career seemed to be nearing a close from 2017-18, as he appeared in only 16-of-32 regular season games and averaged less than half as many yards (30.1) as he did from 2014-16 (66.4), but he resurged in 2019. Olsen appeared in 14-of-16 games and ranked 11th among tight ends with 597 receiving yards. 8. Arizona Cardinals 2019 TE overall rank: 6th 2019 TE receiving rank: 13th 2019 TE blocking rank: 1st Projected depth chart: Maxx Williams, Dan Arnold, Darrell Daniels Notable losses: Charles Clay (currently unsigned) Maxx Williams' dominant blocking is what powered the Cardinals to their surprisingly high ranking. Williams earned the best run-blocking grade from PFF by a wide margin, with his score of 84.7 besting second-ranked Dallas Goedert's 79.9 by nearly five points. He also earned the third-best pass-blocking grade (82.1) and recorded the second-most snaps in protection without allowing single sack or quarterback hit (55). Thanks to Williams, Arizona led the league with an average of 3.5 yards before contact per rush attempt on carries directed outside of the tight end. The Cardinals did not use their tight ends often in the passing game, as the unit ranked 25th in receiving yards per passing play. However, when Kyler Murray did target his tight ends, the results were fantastic. Arizona's tight end unit led the league in yards per target (9.8) and first down rate (51.7%). Williams' 10.2 yards per target and 57.9% first down rate (on only 19 targets) drove that success. Charles Clay led the group with 237 yards, 24 targets, and 12 first downs, while his run-blocking was solid as well, so he will be a minor loss if not retained. Arizona would be looking for third-year former undrafted free agent Dan Arnold to take his place. Arnold closed the 2019 season with four catches for 76 yards and three first downs in Week 17. 7. Los Angeles Chargers 2019 TE overall rank: 13th 2019 TE receiving rank: 12th 2019 TE blocking rank: 14th Projected depth chart: Hunter Henry, Virgil Green, Andrew Vollert, Stephen Anderson After missing all of 2018, Hunter Henry bounced back to rank eighth among tight ends with a career-high 54.3 yards per game, scoring five touchdowns and producing a phenomenal first down rate of 47.4%. He did, however, miss four games early in the season due to a knee injury. Four years in, Henry has yet to play a full 16 games. Virgil Green returns as Los Angeles' primary blocking tight end after grading out at about an average level in both phases. 6. Los Angeles Rams 2019 TE overall rank: 9th 2019 TE receiving rank: 6th 2019 TE blocking rank: 19th Projected depth chart: Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett, Johnny Mundt, Brycen Hopkins (fourth-round pick) Never much more than a security blanket over his first three-plus seasons, Tyler Higbee exploded in December of 2019. From Weeks 13-17, Higbee led the entire league (not just tight ends) with 522 receiving yards. He posted at least seven receptions and 80 yards in all five games, including a four-game streak of 100-yard games. It was the first four-game streak of 100+ yards by a tight end since Travis Kelce in 2016. Johnny Mundt is a fantastic blocker. He was one of only three tight ends to rank top-11 at the position in both pass-blocking grade and run-blocking grade at Pro Football Focus in 2019. 5. Indianapolis Colts 2019 TE overall rank: 8th 2019 TE receiving rank: 11th 2019 TE blocking rank: 5th Projected depth chart: Jack Doyle, Trey Burton (FA - CHI), Mo Alie-Cox Notable losses: Eric Ebron (FA - PIT) Eric Ebron is out after a disappointing year that saw his touchdown total dip from 13 to three with the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck. Ebron also averaged his fewest first downs (1.8), receptions (2.8), and yards (34.1) per game since his rookie season. In to replace Ebron is Trey Burton, whose 2019 season was even more disappointing than Ebron's. Burton averaged 10.5 yards per game and 3.5 yards per target over eight appearances, scoring zero touchdowns and registering a 20.8% first down rate. Indianapolis will be hoping that Burton can ascend back to the success of his 2018 season with the Bears, in which he caught 54 passes for 569 yards and five touchdowns. Jack Doyle returns for his eighth season with the Colts. In 2019, Doyle earned PFF's 11th-best run-blocking grade among tight ends (68.2) while tying with George Kittle for the third-most run-blocking snaps at the position (368). He earned the fourth-best run-blocking grade in 2018 (75.2). Mo Alie-Cox was not far behind Doyle, ranking 15th (out of 79 qualifiers) with a 65.4 run-blocking grade in 2019. The Colts' No. 11 ranking in the receiving department was a result of their reliance on the tight end position. Doyle (448 yards) and Ebron (375) ranked third and fourth, respectively, on the team in receiving yards. That helped pushed Indianapolis' tight ends up to eighth in receiving yards per passing play and fifth in receiving first downs per passing play. Philip Rivers loved to use his tight ends as a Charger. Expect the Colts to again feature their tight ends at a high rate. 4. Cleveland Browns 2019 TE overall rank: 27th 2019 TE receiving rank: 25th 2019 TE blocking rank: 20th Projected depth chart: Austin Hooper (FA - ATL), David Njoku, Pharoh Brown, Harrison Bryant (fourth-round pick) Notable losses: Demetrius Harris (FA - CHI), Ricky Seals-Jones (FA - KC) Cleveland shelled out for Austin Hooper (4 years, $42 million) after dealing with incompetence at the tight end position in 2019. The unit had the second-highest drop rate (12.8%) and fifth-fewest receiving yards (498), with no player averaging more than 16.4 yards per game (Ricky Seals-Jones). Hooper ranked fifth among tight ends with 60.5 receiving yards per game in 2019, and also ranked third in touchdowns per game (0.46) with six scores over 13 appearances. Fourth-round selection Harrison Bryant grabbed 65 passes for 1,004 yards and seven scores in his senior season at Florida Atlantic. 3. Kansas City Chiefs 2019 TE overall rank: 3rd 2019 TE receiving rank: 3rd 2019 TE blocking rank: 11th Projected depth chart: Travis Kelce, Ricky Seals-Jones (FA - CLE), Deon Yelder Notable losses: Blake Bell (FA - DAL) Travis Kelce may not be quite the blocker that George Kittle is, but he is still darn good for a TE1, ranking top-15 in pass-blocking grade and top-25 in run-blocking grade in each of the past two seasons (5th and 17th, respectively, in 2019). Kelce's 80.2 yards per game over the past two seasons stands just 0.8 behind Kittle's average (81.0) for the positional lead - having missed no games while Kittle missed two, Kelce leads the position with 2,565 yards over that span. Kittle has Kelce beat in yards per target (10.0 to 9.0), but Kelce has been more efficient moving the chains (49.0% to 46.5%). Over the past two seasons, Kelce leads tight ends and ranks fourth among all players with 130 receiving first downs, trailing only DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, and Michael Thomas. Kansas City has questionable depth behind Kelce. Ricky Seals-Jones has posted atrocious run-blocking grades throughout his career and also owns very poor drop (11.8%) and first down (28.6%) rates. Deon Yelder is a third-year undrafted free agent who has barely played at all (58 career offensive snaps). If Kelce gets hurt, this position turns from a primary strength to a pressing weakness for the Chiefs. 2. San Francisco 49ers 2019 TE overall rank: 4th 2019 TE receiving rank: 5th 2019 TE blocking rank: 7th Projected depth chart: George Kittle, Ross Dwelley, Daniel Helm Notable losses: Levine Toilolo (FA - NYG) Nobody in the league mixes blocking and receiving impact like George Kittle. He takes on as much responsibility as any other player in both phases and executes those assignments more efficiently than anybody else. That is the formula for a superstar. In each of the past two seasons, Kittle ranked fourth among qualified tight ends in PFF's run-blocking grade. He achieved that while ranking second at the position with 23.5 run-blocking snaps per game from 2018-19. Kittle leads tight ends with 81.0 yards per game over the past two seasons. He has reached that groundbreaking volume with sublime efficiency, posting 10.0 yards per target and a 46.5% first down rate. Like Kansas City, San Francisco lacks depth behind its star tight end. The poor performance of Kittle's replacements over his two-game absence was the reason that their unit ranked only fourth-best in 2019. 1. Las Vegas Raiders 2019 TE overall rank: 2nd 2019 TE receiving rank: 2nd 2019 TE blocking rank: 16th Projected depth chart: Darren Waller, Jason Witten (FA - DAL), Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier Las Vegas' tight end group may be the most well-rounded in the league, rivaling Baltimore's. Leading the charge is Darren Waller, who had a breakout 2019 season. Waller ranked third behind Kelce and Kittle with 71.6 yards per game and second behind only Kelce with 1,145 receiving yards, doing it efficiently with 9.8 yards per target and a 45.3% first down rate. Fourth-round rookie Foster Moreau was the thunder to Waller's lightning, giving Derek Carr a reliable short-range target. Moreau caught 14 first downs (5 of them being touchdowns) over just 25 targets for a 56.0% first down rate. His average first down grab resulted in a gain of just 9.7 yards, a mark of his short-range proficiency. Altogether, Moreau hauled in 21 of the 25 passes thrown his way (84%) without a single drop. Derek Carrier brings the punch as a blocker, ranking 11th out of 86 qualified tight ends with a 68.7 run-blocking grade in 2019. Jason Witten may still have some security blanket grabs left in his tank at 38 years old. In his 2019 return season with Dallas, he caught 63-of-83 targets for 529 yards, 27 first downs, and four touchdowns. That is far from groundbreaking, but with Waller and Moreau around to spearhead the position, Witten will likely be the No. 3 option at the position - and not many teams have a No. 3 tight end that is capable of producing at the level Witten did in 2019. The Raiders' tight ends ranked third in the league with 1,429 receiving yards in 2019. With the wide receiver position still lacking a true No. 1 target (until Henry Ruggs proves capable), Las Vegas will likely be relying heavily on its tight ends yet again. Waller should continue to be one of Carr's top targets, but he may not be as heavily involved as a year ago. Ruggs will likely be stealing a good chunk of targets, while Moreau could see his role increase and potentially take some targets from Waller. Witten is well-suited to comfortably slide into a small role where he can provide good efficiency as a short-range and red-zone target over a sparing diet of targets. Which tight end group do you think will cause the most issues for Gregg Williams' defense?