How often has the first TE drafted been the best TE drafted?

The Los Angeles Rams could be a team to watch with regards to 2025’s loaded tight end class in the draft. Though the Rams won’t be anywhere near Tyler Warren, the top-rated tight end and a possible top-10 pick, and probably won’t be able to draft Colston Loveland either, all are options should be on the board.

How often was the first tight end drafted the best tight end of the class?

I looked at the last 10 years to find out.

2015

First TE drafted: Devin Funchess, Panthers, 2.41 OR Maxx Williams, Ravens, 2.55

Best TE drafted: C.J. Uzomah, Bengals, 5.157

Funchess was more of a big receiver than a tight end, so we could say that Williams was the first tight end in a class that obviously didn’t have a lot of high end talent.

Clive Walford, Tyler Kroft, and Jeff Heuerman were the only others picked on day two and Kroft is the only one still in the league. He was clearly a standout before day three, but the Bengals made an even better tight end selection in the fifth round with Uzomah.

He leads all 2015 tight ends in career yards (1,881) and touchdowns (16), if we don’t include Funchess.

Seventh rounder Geoff Swaim is also active and a great steal for the Cowboys.

2016

First TE drafted: Hunter Henry, Chargers, 2.35

Best TE drafted: Henry

You could definitely argue Tyler Higbee in 2016 as pick 110. He was a far better value than Henry, who was also the only tight end drafted in the top-80 picks.

The Falcons chose Austin Hooper at 81.

Henry’s 4,527 yards is almost 1,000 more yards than Higbee and his 40 touchdowns is 16 more than Higbee. Maybe Henry is also a better blocker than Higbee, but I can’t be certain.

2017

First TE drafted: O.J. Howard, 1.19

Best TE drafted: George Kittle, 5.146

Every analyst said there was a generational tight end prospect in the 2017 draft, but none of them said it was George Kittle.

Howard came out of Alabama with comparisons to Tony Gonzales and Antonio Gates — at worst Greg Olsen — but all that did was make him one of the most memorable busts of the last ten years. Howard was drafted by the Bucs (over players like T.J. Watt, Tre’Davious White, and Budda Baker) and after a promising-ish rookie season with six touchdowns, just got progressively worse each year.

Howard spent five years with the Bucs and totaled 1,737 yards and 15 touchdowns, before puttering out of the league in 2023 after just one season with the Texans. This was AFTER he failed to make the roster in Buffalo and before he was signed by the Raiders in 2023 and again failed to make a 53-man roster.

There were two more tight ends in the first round, both of whom are Pro Bowlers, with Evan Engram at 23 and David Njoku at 29. Both are perfectly good tight ends and have had better careers than Gerald Everett, the 44th overall pick by the Rams.

There was another good value in the third with the Titans picking Jonnu Smith.

But nobody has done better than George Kittle despite — get this — being the highest-ranked tight end in the entire class based on Next Gen Stats’ Athleticism score! And coming out of IOWA!

Lance Zierlein said Kittle lacked the size for blocking and compared him to Charles Clay:

H-back type who lacks the desired size for in-line blocking but certainly has the technique and willingness to do it. He has good hands and flashes an ability to challenge as a pass catcher on all three levels. Kittle has the athleticism and blocking ability to become an effective move tight end if paired in the right system.

But Kittle had just 737 career yards and 10 touchdowns at Iowa, so you can’t blame teams for being a little skeptical going into the league. He just didn’t play in a passing offense at Iowa and now we see (after 7,380 yards in the NFL) that he needed to go to the right team and be featured, which is what the 49ers did.

2018

First TE drafted: Hayden Hurst, Ravens, 1.25

Best TE drafted: Dallas Goedert, Eagles 2.49 OR Mark Andrews, Ravens, 3.86

Like the Bengals with Uzomah, the Ravens did better with their second tight end drafted this year. Like, a lot better. Hurst is “OK” but not that good and remarkably the Ravens traded up for him BEFORE they traded up for Lamar Jackson at pick 32.

I don’t know why, but the Falcons traded a second round pick for Hurst in 2020. He had 73 yards with the Chargers last year and he’s currently a forgotten free agent.

Day two was pretty electric, featuring Goedert and Mark Andrews, both taken after Mike Gesicki, and rounding out with Jordan Akins in the third round. Goedert may be a better blocker than Andrews and he has now won a Super Bowl.

Day three wasn’t bad at all:

• Ian Thomas, 4.101
• Will Dissly, 4.120
• Duham Smythe, 4.123
• Dalton Schultz, 4.137
• Tyler Conklin, 5.157

Schultz has 3,289 yard sand 24 touchdowns, both more than Gesicki.

2019

First TE drafted: T.J. Hockenson, Lions, 1.8

Best TE drafted: Hockenson

Yeah, Hockenson is the best TE in this class, but he isn’t worth a top-10 pick. The Lions didn’t even get that much when they traded Hockenson to the Vikings in 2022 (Detroit sent two fourth round picks to Minnesota and the Vikings gave them a late second and a late third) and it tells you a lot that they were willing to send him to a division rival.

Hockenson has had over 900 yards twice in his career and is a two-time Pro Bowler, but nobody would confuse him with a Hall of Famer.

Noah Fant (20th overall) was also a first round pick and also very underwhelming. The best steal of the tight end class was Dawson Knox by the Bills at pick 3.96 but his numbers have really tapered off in the last two seasons. Despite that, Knox has as many career touchdowns as Hockenson (23).

2020

First TE drafted: Cole Kmet, Bears, 2.43

Best TE drafted: Kmet

Just an awful, awful draft for tight ends. Kmet was the only TE picked in the first NINETY selections, ending with the Patriots taking Devin Asiasi at 91.

Kmet has 2,592 career yards and 19 touchdowns, which is more yards and just as many touchdowns as the next two best TEs COMBINED. Adam Trautman, a third round pick by the Saints, is the only other TE over 1,000 career yards (1,033) and Harrison Bryant, a fourth round pick by the Browns, has 10 touchdowns.

The Rams picked Brycen Hopkins at pick 136, three selections after the Seahawks picked current (and vastly overpaid) L.A. tight end Colby Parkinson.

2021

First TE drafted: Kyle Pitts, Falcons, 1.4

Best TE drafted: Pitts or Pat Freiermuth, Steelers, 2.55

Back to back terrible TE classes and you could argue that Pitts is barely a tight end. He has certainly scared a lot of fans from wanting to ever see their team take a tight end in the top-15 picks, which is sure to be the case with Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland this year.

But both seem to have a better total skillset than Pitts, who is maybe suffering from going to the wrong team. The Falcons thought he would be an easy plug and play for Arthur Smith’s offense and though he had 1,026 yards as a rookie, that hasn’t been the case.

Pitts averaged just 50 catches for 635 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last two seasons, which are totally good numbers for a tight end, but not one who you draft fourth overall. And knowing that he didn’t go that high for his blocking.

There just isn’t a lot of good competition in the 2021 class, with Freiermuth having more career catches, way more career touchdowns (18 to 10), and almost as many yards as Pitts. He’s probably a better blocker too.

Another future Rams tight end — Hunter Long — was the third TE off the board at pick 3.81.

A decent value on day three was Noah Gray to the Chiefs in the fifth round.

2022

First TE drafted: Trey McBride, Cardinals, 2.55

Best TE drafted: McBride

This is one of the easiest calls of the exercise as McBride has clearly established himself as the finest tight end of the 2022 class. Arizona recently gave him a contract to reflect that:

$19 million per season is the highest salary for a tight end in NFL history.

When you can get a player like McBride at pick 55, it indicates why teams hesitate to pick the position before day two. Most will not be anywhere near McBride’s value — 111 catches for 1,146 yards in 2024 — but a lot of them are as good or better than first rounders.

The 2022 draft also had these good values:

• Cade Otton, Bucs, 4.106
• Jake Ferguson, Cowboys, 4.129
• Isaiah Likely, Ravens, 4.139
• Chigoziem Okonkwo, Titans, 4.143

2023

First TE drafted: Dalton Kincaid, Bills, 1.25

Best TE drafted: Sam LaPorta, Lions, 2.34

Yeah, we’re getting closer the point where we don’t know how good these players are yet, but it’s clear that LaPorta is a stud tight end for the Lions. Kincaid hasn’t been bad by any means, he’s good, but the Bills are hoping for more consistency going into year three.

An overdrafted TE appears to be Michael Mayer, who went to the Raiders at pick 35 and is reportedly on the trade block.

But coming for LaPorta’s title is Tucker Kraft. The Packers picked Kraft in the third round (after also picking Luke Musgrave in the second) and his value exploded in 2024 as he had 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. Kraft could establish himself as a top-10 tight end this year, if not higher.

The Rams picked Davis Allen in the fifth round.

2024

First TE drafted: Brock Bowers, 1.13

Best TE drafted: Bowers

Yeah, this one is also easy and doesn’t feel too early to call. Bowers set records in 2024 by catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards from the tight end position as a rookie. He’s one of the reasons that teams won’t hesitate or worry about picking Tyler Warren in the top-10 this year.

There were a few productive tight ends later in the draft, including Ja’Tavion Sanders at 4.101 and Theo Johnson at 4.107. More should and probably will emerge. Seattle’s A.J. Barner, a fourth round pick, had four touchdowns. Almost as many as Bowers (5).