NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 14: Georgia Bulldogs Tight End Brock Bowers (19) rushes the ball during the college football game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Vanderbilt Commodores on October 14, 2023, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, TN. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire)
This wasn't the best or most predictable landing spot for Bowers. The Raiders drafted highly-touted rookie prospect Michael Mayer last year with the 35th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It's unclear how the duo will be used in the offense this season. However, Bowers is just so much better than all the other tight ends in this class that he has to be ranked No. 1.
Not only does he have by far the highest ceiling, but he also has the highest floor. Odds are he's the only rookie tight end who will be drafted in re-draft. The rest of this list is mostly names to remember and monitor on the waiver wire this upcoming season.
Sanders was our second-ranked rookie prospect at the position and that's where he remains now. The landing spot is interesting. There are a lot of targets to go around in Carolina and we have no idea how they'll be distributed with all the new weapons.
Don't overlook Sanders as a potential big part of the offense. He's a big, athletic, and skilled pass catcher who will be a mismatch all over the field and could serve as a safety blanket for a young quarterback. We believe he'll be a significant weapon in the NFL. It's just a matter of how quickly he adjusts to the next level.
There are two reasons why All made it up to third in these rankings. The first is that he went to Iowa. Tight ends with an Iowa pedigree tend to transition very smoothly to the NFL and the list of guys they have put out is incredible. There is no doubt they know how to recruit, develop and produce NFL-caliber tight ends who can thrive as pros.
Secondly, we have been waiting for Joe Burrow to have a true tight end in that offense for years and they just keep swinging and missing on mediocre signings. The hope here is that he can beat out any mediocre tight end on the roster and become that guy for Burrow at some point this season. There is a world where that's just not how Burrow plays or the offense runs, but we will roll the dice here with the third rookie tight end for redraft.
Sinnot was our fifth-ranked tight-end prospect and he gets a slight bump post-draft because we like his landing spot. The Commanders over the past handful of regimes have all utilized the position well, and the only thing standing between Sinnot and a starting job is the ancient and oft-injured Zach Ertz.
This young tight end will be training in rookie camp with his new quarterback Jayden Daniels and should develop chemistry as his safety blanket. Don't get us wrong, we still fully expect Ertz to open the season as the starter. However, it's very realistic that isn't the case by the time you need a tight end to help carry you down the stretch in November and December.
We were higher on Bell than most, ranking him as our sixth-best tight-end prospect heading into the draft. This was a sneaky good landing spot on a team that loves to use two tight ends. Yes, there is a new regime in New England, but it was still an in-house signing from a coach who learned under former head coach Bill Belichick as both a player and coach.
Hunter Henry will be the TE1, however, he's a big red zone target. Bell is the perfect compliment to Henry as a smaller, but faster, and more athletic player who can make plays downfield a bit more.
This is simply a potential opportunity ranking. There is a large gap between Johnson and Bell though. Nonetheless, the Giants need weapons to target and it's looking more and more like Darren Waller is going to retire.
At the very least, his status is up in the air. If Waller does retire the starting job on an offense with a lack of weapons could be up in the air. Johnson has a shot to see a lot more snaps and volume than anticipated.
