The tight end position has drastically evolved of late in the NFL, and it's become extraordinarily top-heavy. There was no way the 2024 class could match the extreme amount of talent in 2023, but that doesn't mean rookies will fail to contribute in Year 1 at the position.
Let's rank the five rookie tight ends who'll be most productive in the 2024 season.
5. Jared Wiley, Chiefs
The Chiefs ran "12" or "13" personnel -- either two or three tight ends -- on 35.1% of their offensive snaps in 2023. Given that rate, you can call it an offensive emphasis for Andy Reid and Co. While Big Red is always evolving, and Kansas City did trade up to select Xavier Worthy in Round 1 in April.
Travis Kelce reminded everyone in the playoffs, he's not slowing down into his 30s, and he'll of course be the backbone of the Chiefs passing game. But with that much tight end usage in the Chiefs offense, Wiley fell into about as luxurious of a situation as possible for a fourth-round tight end.
Wiley didn't offer much after the catch, Wiley's a high-end athlete with enough acceleration off the snap and at the top of his route to get open underneath and at the intermediate level with most of the attention on Kelce at those portions of the field.
4. Tip Reiman, Cardinals
Guess which team deployed 13 personnel at the highest rate in 2023? Well, you probably know now. Yes, the Cardinals. At over 10%. And 12 personnel -- nearly 20%. Drew Petzing clearly wants to prioritize the tight-end position in Arizona.
And Reiman possesses what the vast majority of young tight ends do not -- serious blocking skills that he could be able to parlay into plenty of playing time early.
What's so fascinating too about Reiman -- he's a plus athlete who demonstrated glimmers of receiving prowess in his limited opportunities at Illinois. His 40-yard dash, broad jump, three-cone, and short shuttle, were all above the 77th percentile at the tight end spot at the combine since 1999.
Trey McBride started to meet expectations down the stretch in 2023 with at least three catches in his final 10 games, which included three contests with at least 90 receiving yards. So that's the obstacle in front of Reiman and a hit-the-ground-running Year 1. But given that Reiman can be penciled into a TE2 role right away, the uniquely shaped 6-foot-4, 270-pound Reiman will surprise as a rookie in the desert.
3. Ben Sinnott, Commanders
Sinnott was such a fun watch on film. Felt like he was moving at a different pace than all the other Kansas State skill-position players and most of the defenders tasked with stopping him. Turns out, that was true -- Sinnott's 40-inch vertical and 126-inch broad jump and stupid-fast 6.82 time in the three-cone drill were all spectacular, heck, even for the receiver spot.
The Commanders have Terry McLaurin, a TD-producing-but-not-much-else Jahan Dotson and loads of uncertainty at the wideout position. At tight end, there's soon-to-be 34-year-old Zach Ertz, then Sinnott with dynamic rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels suddenly in the shotgun, who provides more upside for the skill-position group in Washington since, say, Kirk Cousins in 2015 or 2016.
Sinnott showed shades of Sam LaPort-ian skills in his final season for the Wildcats. The suddenness, the assertive cutting and tackle-breaking talent after the catch, and strong hands. With over 1,100 yards in his final two seasons at Kansas State, Sinnott is plenty advanced as a receiver to be an instant hit with the Commanders.
2. Jaheim Bell, Patriots
I was completely in on Bell before the the draft. And I mostly still am -- the only reason I'm not quite as high now as I was pre late April -- he was a seventh-round selection, and I'm well aware of the uninspiring history of seventh-round tight ends. But, remember, here I'm attempting to pinpoint the rookie tight ends who can be most productive in Year 1, not necessarily those who can or will become All-Pros in the long-term future.
And I adore Bell's opportunity in New England. Sure, Hunter Henry will still be running routes in Foxboro this season, but he'll be 30 in December, and he had a career-low 419 yards in 2023. His 6.9 yards per target was the lowest in his NFL career.
Even if a now fully healthy Henry experiences a minor rebound this year, he provides essentially zero after the catch, which is precisely where Bell absolutely shines. Henry forced one missed tackle in 2023 and has a grand total of four missed tackles forced since the beginning of 2021.
Bell is part H-back, part-tight end, a fun, new-age hybrid in an almost fully rebooted, youth-driven offense that will be doing everything in its power to manufacture easy, high-percentage throws for either Jacoby Brissett or No. 3 overall selection Drake Maye. And no one really knows who's going to garner the majority of the targets. Probably no one, right? Plus, Bell was a nightmare to corral in space at both South Carolina and Florida State -- he forced a gargantuan 36 missed tackles on 94 career catches in college. Etching it in stone now -- Bell will have the most productive rookie season we've seen from a seventh-round pick in a long time.
1. Brock Bowers, Raiders
I carefully went out on a limb by slotting Bell at No. 2, but I'm going Chalk City at No. 1. Bowers was the first tight end off the board -- probably the most chalk development of the entire draft -- and every human being who watched even one quarter of any Georgia game Bowers participated in since his true freshman season knew he was going to be a first-round pick whenever he declared for the NFL.
Now, Bowers does have some hurdles to clear before he's on his way to a monstrous rookie campaign -- the quarterback situation in Las Vegas doesn't feature a shiny young uber-talented rookie AND Davante Adams is still the top dog in the pass-catching contingent. However, Adams is almost 32 and had his lowest yards-per-catch average last year (11.1) since 2015. Now, I don't expect either of those facts to totally dissuade the Raiders from feeding Adams the football. But if his efficiency continues to be sub Adams-in-his-prime standard while Bowers proves to be a down-the-seam menace on a weekly basis, it very well could lead to the rookie tight end emerging as more of an offensive focal point as the season progresses.
Bowers has incredible burst, route-running chops, hands, and thunderous YAC capabilities to prove himself as a three-level winner for whoever's throwing him the football as a rookie -- Aidan O'Connell or Garner Minshew. And because of his deceptive power coupled with ferocious athleticism, Bowers is a mismatch for essentially every type of defender.
