The Panthers’ desire to improve their TE group is hardly a secret, and while from everything Matt Rhule has said over the past year it seems as though they hope that Ian Thomas will be able to have a bigger role in the offense with a full offseason, this is definitely an area where the Panthers will be active both during what’s left of free agency and the draft. Because of that, it is useful to understand where in the draft there looks to be value at the position, and who are some names to watch for.
To help with this, here are our complete rankings for the 2021 tight end class.
What Do We Look For In Tight End Prospects?
The tight end position is often viewed as one of the hardest to project to the NFL due to the fact that very few college offenses use a conventional tight end. Because of this there is often a reasonable amount of projection with tight end prospect, and it should therefore be hardly surprising that this is one of the position groups that shows the weakest correlation between draft position and NFL success. However, despite this, by balancing athletic and technical traits we can still hope to have some success in projecting players at this position.
As with every position, athleticism is important, and players who have the speed to stretch the field vertically against linebackers and safeties are going to create match-up issues for defenses in man coverage with their speed alone. Quickness is also important as it can help in creating quick separation underneath which is a key part of how many offenses use their tight ends. While the receiving game is ultimately where most tight ends generate their value, players also need to have the strength to be able to get the job done as blockers, though the value of this will vary significantly between schemes.
In terms of blocking technique, like offensive linesmen players needs to show good hand placement, by consistently striking to the frame of defenders, in combination with the arm extension to keep blockers away from their frame and making it easier to release into routes where necessary. They also need to set a good base, as if they get too narrow this will raise their center of gravity and make it hard for them to retain control through lateral movement while also making it harder for them to direct their power.
In the passing game good hands are a must, while the ability to make plays at the catch point and after the catch is something of a bonus. Where a lot of tight ends needs to make strides in the NFL is as route runner, as a lot of college offenses either run quite simplistic route trees or do a fair amount of schematic work to get their tight ends upon. While NFL tight ends can be effective without being elite route runners, the very best prospects will show and ability to generate consistent underneath separation against man coverage.
Nov 28, 2020; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts (84) scores a touchdown during a football game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Nov. 28, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Brad McClenny-USA TODAY NETWORK
So What Does The 2021 Tight End Draft Class Look Like?
| Name | College | Height | Weight | Athletic Traits | Hands | Route Running | YAC | Run Blocking | Pass Protection | Biggest Question | Grade | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Pitts | Florida | 6'6 | 240 | Really good quickness and vertical speed with pretty good agility and surprising power for his size | Excellent hands with the ability to make plays in the air and to make catches well away from his frame or in the air | Has the speed and quickness to run away from people and change of direction at speed is good, but needs to continue to work on his footwork to be an upper tier NFL route runner over the full route tree | Shear athleticism makes him a nightmare after the catch, even if he can be corralled in tight areas | Sets a pretty good base and hand location is generally good but could do with lowering his pad level and arm extension is quite poor at times | Surprisingly effective in this regard, but pad level and arm extension will need to improve at NFL level | Can he develop technically from good to great to make the most of his elite talent? | High 2nd Round | 1 |
| Hunter Long | Boston College | 6'5 | 253 | Pretty good quickness with decent-to-good deep speed, power and change of direction | Generally pretty good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame and some ability in the air can there are some drops in tight spaces and through contact | Ran a pretty complex route tree and while he's not in the very top tier he shows a consistent ability to generate separation at different levels of the field | Pretty dangerous after the catch with nice change of direction and some ability to break tackles | Shows generally pretty good hand location with decent arm location and some understanding of leverage but needs to play with a better base and knee bend | Shows pretty good hand placement and arm extension but base is too narrow and plays a little high | Just how good can he be as a route runner, as if he can continue to make strides he could be a major part of an offense? | Mid 3rd Round | 2 |
| Noah Gray | Duke | 6'4 | 240 | Good quickness but vertical speed isn't anything special and power is somewhat limited. | Hands appear pretty good and does a good job in contested areas with the ability to make plays away from his frame, but doesn't add anything in the air | Consistently quite good working in small spaces underneath with some high level traits, but didn't run much of a vertical route tree though there were the occasional flashes of more expansive route running | Shiftiness and quickness allow him to add yards when he has leverage but isn't a significant threat in this regard | Sets good base and hand location and arm extension are decent, though sometimes lets blocks slip out of his hands, power limits him though | Occasional reps show competence but power again will limit him | Can he be an effective route runner over a wide and more vertical route tree? | High 4th Round | 3 |
| Brevin Jordan | Miami | 6'3 | 245 | Pretty good vertical speed and change of direction with nice quickness and power is at least decent | Pretty good hands with at least some ability to make catches away from his frame and under contact but doesn't show much in the air | Shows flashes of a nice high speed cut but didn't run the fullest route tree and needs further development in this regard in terms of how he sets up routes and his footwork at the head of routes | Quickness and contact balance make him hard to bring down and he has at least some shiftiness to him | Sets an even base and hand placement is pretty good with generally decent arm extension but does need to improve his knee bend as he tends to lean into blocks | Base is decent but footwork is ill-disciplined and these leads to control issues which in turn lead to grabbing | Can he be a consistently good route runner at the head of routes or is he going to be a big play and YAC guy? | High 4th Round | 4 |
| Kenny Yeboah | Ole Miss | 6'4 | 240 | Decent-to-good quickness and deep speed with pretty good strength and change of direction | Good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame with some ability in the air though ability though contact is fairly unremarkable | Shows some nice flashes in terms of his ability to break back to the ball and at the head of routes, but didn't run the fullest route tree and will need to show he can be effective on more vertical routes | Athleticism makes him a threat with ball in hands, though long strides are more effective in open space | Shows good hand placement and arm extension with a nice understanding of leverage but needs to widen and lower his base as he can struggle for control | Pretty effective pass protector on the whole with nice hand placement and arm extension but narrow base can cause issues | Can he be an effective route runner over a full route tree as he didn't create consistent separation against man? | Late 4th Round | 5 |
| Pat Freiermuth | Penn State | 6'5 | 260 | Decent-to-good quickness with decent deep speed and pretty good strength but change of direction is nothing special | Good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame and through contact but doesn’t do much at the catch point | Didn't run much of a route tree and change of direction is likely going to limit him on underneath routes while lack of deep speed will be an issue down the field | Pretty good after the catch as a lot speeds he can be pretty elusive but isn't super explosive | Uses hands well with good hand placement and pretty good arm extension and a nice feel for leverage but setting a better base would help his control | Wasn't asked to pass protect but showed good hand usage but footwork is a little clunky | Can he be more than just a dump-off option who is a plus blocker? | High 5th Round | 6 |
| Kylen Granson | SMU | 6'2 | 235 | Pretty good quickness with decent-to-good deep speed and power with decent change of direction | Really good hands with an ability to make catches through contact and away from his frame but while he does add some value in the air this isn't a massive plus | Ran a reasonably limited route tree and while he does show some flashes working vertically his change of direction can limit him somewhat at the head of routes | Is pretty good after the catch with good athleticism and can be hard to bring down | Shows pretty hand placement and arm extension is decent but needs to set his feet more consistently and keep his weight over his feet | Wasn't asked to pass protect a ton and while hand placement and arm extension are pretty good his footwork needs to get better | Can he tidy up his footwork as a blocker to allow him to be a plus player in this regard? | Mid 5th Round | 7 |
| Quintin Morris | Bowling Green | 6'4 | 251 | Pretty good quickness with decent-to-good deep speed and power but change of direction isn't amazing | Shows good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame and does a good job through contact but doesn't show a ton in the air | Didn't run the fullest route tree but shows some nice flashes of ability to generate leverage down the field, but change of direction is going to limit his impact at the head of routes underneath | Has the athleticism to be a factor as he can be hard to bring down but doesn't add more than that | Shows good hand location and a nice understanding of leverage but needs to set a more consistent base and extend his arms more | Was occasionally asked to stay in to help protect but looked a bit lost and will need a lot of work if used this way | Can he be an effective route runner against NFL athletes or will his change of direction limit him? | Late 5th Round | 8 |
| Tre McKitty | Georgia | 6'5 | 245 | Decent-to-good quickness and deep speed with pretty good strength and change of direction | Good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame but doesn't show a ton in the air above expectation though does a nice job through contact | Did show some basic traits on underneath routes but doesn't yet show the ability to create separation down the field against quality man coverage, though ran a reasonable range of routes | Adds some value after the catch just with athleticism and effort but isn't going to be a screen guy | Uses hands reasonably well in terms of location and shows pretty good arm extension but base is far too narrow and needs to bend knees more | Looks to be a liability at this point due to footwork and limited arm extension with narrow base and poor knee bend | Can he be a plus player in any regard as at the moment he shows lot of flashes rather than consistent performance? | Late 5th Round | 9 |
| Cary Angeline | NC State | 6'7 | 250 | Decent quickness with decent-to-good deep and pretty good strength but change of direction is nothing special | Hands appear to be pretty good with the ability to make plays away from his frame but is nothing special in terms of contested catches and making plays in the air | Didn't run the most complex route tree and struggles with changes of speed and direction at the head of routes underneath but shows some nice things on more vertical routes | Doesn't really offer a huge amount after the catch beyond the ability to run vertically into space | Shows a reasonably solid base most of the time and hand placement is decent but hands drop too often and can narrow base as plays go on | Wasn't asked to pass protect much and while hand placement is decent he needs to improve his footwork working laterally | Can he be a plus blocker with time and technical refinement as he is never going to be a major part of a passing game? | Mid 6th Round | 10 |
| Matt Bushman | BYU | 6'4 | 245 | Good quickness with pretty good vertical speed, and power looks decent-to-good but hard to judge as often undermined by leverage. | Generally good hands, and while he doesn't do a great job of high-pointing the ball, he does a good job of fighting through contact | Shows some nice flashes of quickness here and there, but didn't run a hugely complex or complete route tree and doesn't show any high level route running traits. | Doesn't really add much value after the catch | Sets base too narrow, hand location is decent but arm extension isn't great and in combination with narrow base creates issues in terms of controlling blocks. | Wasn't asked to play in pass protection a huge amount. | Can he become a functional blocker or is he going to effective be a big receiver? | Late 6th Round | 11 |
| Jack Stoll | Nebraska | 6'4 | 260 | Pretty good vertical speed and power but quickness is fairly mediocre | Pretty good hands with the ability to make catches through contact and some ability to make plays in the air | Uses hands quite well to make the most of leverage but doesn't create much separation on a consistent basis as a route runner and hard to imagine his quickness will allow for much growth | Doesn't really add much after the catch | Base is really quite narrow, but does a good job of not diving into blocks. Hand placement is ok but could improve though arm extension is pretty good. | Narrow base creates all kinds of issues in terms of balance and will need a pretty significant reworking of footwork | Does he offer enough development upside to make up for the fact he is neither a good receiver or good blocker? | Late 6th Round | 12 |
| Jake Ferguson | Wisconsin | 6'5 | 247 | Decent athlete in all regards but there are no traits which are going to separate him at the NFL level | Pretty good hands with the ability to make catches away from his frame but is nothing special either through contact or in the air | Does run a hugely complete route tree and wasn't really asked to create consistent separation as a route runner in Wisconsin's offense, but there are occasional flashes of nuanced work | Doesn't really offer anything much after the catch | Base is decent but knee bend is really poor which creates a lot of balance issues and limits arm extension despite decent hand placement | Wasn't asked to play in pass protection a huge amount. | Does he offer enough upside to make up for the fact that he is really quite raw? | Mid 7th Round | 13 |
| Dylan Soehner | Iowa State | 6'7 | 272 | Good strength but quickness, straight line speed and change of direction are all fairly unremarkable if not actually poor | Decent hands with an ability to make catches through contact but doesn't really add anything in the air and tendency to arm catch can lead to drops away from frame | Ran a really very limited route tree and didn’t demonstrate any real value as a route runner with limited change of direction and quickness making it very hard to generate any separation | Can be a challenge to bring down but other than that is fairly limited after the catch | Pretty good hand placement with decent arm extension but plays very upright and sets a narrow base making it hard for him to adjust leading to whiffs | Wasn't asked to pass protect a lot but if run blocking is any indication then footwork will need quite a lot of work | Does he offer more than just a big body who can catch dump-off passes? | Undrafted | 14 |
| Tony Poljan | Virginia | 6'7 | 265 | Strength is pretty good but quickness and deep speed are really quite poor and chance of direction is really limiting | Hands appear to be decent but does tend to arm catch at times and while he does do a reasonable job through contact he doesn't add much in their air | Ran a fairly limited route tree and really struggled to generate any kind of consistent separation as change of direction is going to really limit him as a route runner | Can break some tackles but lacks the athleticism to be particularly impactful in this regard | Hand location is decent if a little wide at times and arm extension is pretty good but sets too narrow a base and knee bend has to get better | Wasn't asked to pass protect a lot and while hand usage is decent his footwork needs real improvement | Can he do anything as a receiver other than just catch dump-off passes? | Undrafted | 15 |
Any conversation about the 2021 tight end class has to start with Kyle Pitts. While he needs technical refinement as both a blocker and a route runner in order to maximize his enormous potential, he should be a massive boost to whichever offense he lands on from day one. He is an extremely fluid athlete with the speed to stretch the field, is able to consistently generate receptions at the catch point and through contact and is a threat after the catch as well.
For the Panthers, getting Pitts would almost certainly mean taking him at eight, and as good as he is that is probably both a little high and something of a luxury for a team with as many fundamental needs as the Panthers have entering free agency. While Pitts would absolutely give them a big play option over the middle and a player they could fall back upon in the redzone, he could take some time to become a consistent feature of an offense and is probably a better fit for a team looking to add some explosion to the their offense than for a team like the Panthers who have plenty of big-play potential at receiver already.
Boston College tight end Hunter Long (80) catches a pass against Duke safety Marquis Waters during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Durham, N.C. (Nell Redmond/Pool Photo via AP)
After Pitts, there is a fairly sizeable gap to the next tier of prospect, and there don’t appear to be many options that would be good value until the draft reaches the latter stages of day two, if not early on day three. If the Panthers are looking for a player who can be a major part of their receiving game then the three best options look to be Hunter Long from Boston College, Noah Gray from Duke and Brevin Jordan from Miami.
Long is the most well-rounded of these three and should be a plus blocker and plus receiver fairly early on in his career, though he doesn’t flash upper-tier potential to become a centerpiece of an offense. Gray is arguably the best underneath route runner in the draft class and is good at the catch point and after the catch but needs to continue to develop as a blocker and likely lacks the top-end speed to be much of a threat vertically.
Jordan is something of a wildcard, as he is the only player in the class who is anywhere close to Pitts form an athletic perspective and is actually a pretty good blocker with good hands, but he needs a fair amount of technical development both as a blocker and a route runner and could well take some time before he is able to make the impact that his talent suggests he is capable of.
Photo Credit: Ole Miss Athletics
Outside of these three, players like Kenny Yeboah, Kylen Granson, Tre McKitty and Quintin Morris are also worth mentioning.
Yeboah and McKitty are both pretty good blockers, although both could stand to continue to develop technically in this regard, but neither are likely to ever develop into being top-tier receiving tight ends. With Chris Manhertz signing with Jacksonville during free agency, the Panthers could look to bring in a younger player to compete with Colin Thompson for the primary blocking TE role and both Yeboah and McKitty could be suitable fits in that regard while also being able to offer an upgrade as receivers.
Granson and Morris are more pure developmental options, and would most likely be asked to contribute on special teams in the short term before being worked into the offense over time. Granson shows the speed to be a threat vertically and has really good hands but will need to continue to develop as a route runner and blocker after playing in a air-raid scheme at SMU. Similarly, Morris will need to show that the flashes he showed in a simplistic Bowling Green offense can be translated to a fuller route tree and more time spent as an in-line blocker.
Photo Credit: Duke Athletics
This tight-end class isn’t very strong at the top after Pitts, and unless the Panthers do go in that direction at the top of the draft they would likely be best advised to wait until early on day three before looking to address the position. However, while this draft doesn’t look to be a great source of immediate high-quality starters, there is a lot of talent later in the draft in terms of both rotational role players and developmental prospects and even if the Panthers do sign a tight end what is left of free agency, they would be well-advised to try and take advantage of the depth at the position come the draft.
(Top photo via Hannah White/UAA Communications)
