Latest news with #tightEnd
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Commanders Rumors Ignore Shockingly Disrespected Tight End Zach Ertz
Commanders Rumors Ignore Shockingly Disrespected Tight End Zach Ertz originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Washington Commanders' tight end Zach Ertz is coming to the end of his storied NFL career, so he likely doesn't need artificial motivation as he enters Year 14. Advertisement But if he was, he just got it. ... in a double-barreled way. After three so-so seasons with the Cardinals from 2021 to 2023, Ertz had a career resurgence of sorts with the Commanders last year, posting 654 yards and seven touchdowns from 66 receptions. Not to mention his 18 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in Washington's three playoff games either. But apparently, Pro Football Focus doesn't value that as much as we do. In their latest tight end rankings ... out of 32 tight ends ranked, PFF has Ertz at No. 30, below Tyler Warren (24), and Colston Loveland (23), both just-drafted rookies. "While Ertz isn't the same player we saw from 2013 to 2019, he enjoyed a resurgence while catching passes from Jayden Daniels in 2024," Pro Football Focus writes. "He hauled in 84 passes for 809 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and his 72.5 PFF receiving grade was his best mark since 2019, showing he still has good play left in the tank." Advertisement So, we aren't sure exactly how PFF determined this ranking and where players landed, but it can't be due to on-field production. Same with the rumors that pop up regularly about "how Washington needs a tight end.'' The Jayden Daniels-led offense demonstrated last year alone how "star-studded'' is enough with this group just as it is - especially considering the trade for receiver Deebo Samuel. Looking at Ertz's regular-season stats from last season, among all tight ends, he finished 11th in yards, sixth in receptions, eighth in targets, and joint-fourth in touchdowns. So, based on production alone, Ertz likely deserves to be roughly around the middle of the pack, if not a little higher. Perhaps PFF has ranked the tight ends based on what it thinks the players will produce in 2025. Still, based on his production last season, 30th feels like a joke. Advertisement And based on everything, the idea of tight end as a desperate need here seems shockingly ignorant to us. And we bet Ertz feels the same way ... if he even bothers to notice the naysayers. Related: 'Deebo Is Fat' Evaluation Making The Rounds on Commanders Trade Get Samuel This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bills' Joe Brady Happy With Dalton Kincaid Progression
Bills' Joe Brady Happy With Dalton Kincaid Progression originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Success in the NFL isn't linear, and with the ebbs and flows, it can be hard to be consistent, and Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid found that out the hard way. Advertisement After a rookie season that saw Dalton explode onto the scene with 673 yards and two touchdowns from 73 receptions while playing 16 games, Year 2 was a little unforgiving. Knee and collarbone injuries plagued Kincaid's second season, and naturally, his production dropped. Just 448 yards and two touchdowns from 44 receptions paint the picture of a young player who was fighting through injury and poor form. But now, Kincaid is determined to bounce back from his inconsistent second season, and offensive coordinator Joe Brady has taken notice of how his tight end is fighting back from down year. "I feel like he lived here this offseason," Brady said. "When you see him out of practice he looks just like Dalton Kincaid, so credit to him just living in the weight room, with the medical guys just getting together with them. But I've loved everything I've seen from him, he's playing with confidence again, so it's been really fun to see." Jan 12, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) is tackled by Denver Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad (40) during the first quarter in an AFC wild card game at Highmark Konezny-Imagn Images It is crazy to think that the Bills' offense last season was one of the best in football, averaged 30.9 points a game, and that was with one of the best young tight ends playing inconsistent football. Advertisement And Brady's telling quote in his opinion here? "Playing with confidence again.'' ... which suggests a major change from wherever Kincaid's level in that area was before. So we can only imagine what the offense could be and look like if Kincaid can get back to his 2023 form and develop into another passing weapon for Josh Allen. Granted, it is early in the offseason, but Kincaid is hitting all the right notes at OTAs, and if he can shake off the injury bug of last year, then who knows what 2025 might have in store for the former first-round pick. Related: Analyst Believes Bills Final-Round Draft Pick Has 'Tools' To Be Roster Surprise Related: Bills Coach Admits To Being 'Scarred' Toward New Experience on Defense This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"If it's the last ride, you would never know," Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes says of Travis Kelce.
"If it's the last ride, you would never know," Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes says of Travis Kelce. originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Whenever tight end Travis Kelce retires, he'll be five years out from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. When that will come to fruition is unknown. Advertisement Along the path? There has been some mild criticism of Kelce's decline at age 35 ... including Pro Football Focus using its tight end rankings to push him down to the No. 7 slot. They write ... 'While Kelce has been the second-most-valuable tight end over the past two seasons, per PFF WAR, 2024 represented the lowest-graded season of his career (71.7). Age looks to be catching up to the future Hall of Famer, as his 91.4 PFF overall grade from 2022 appears to be a thing of the past.' The names at the top of the rankings? Kelce is between Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson and Philadelphia Eagles veteran Dallas Goedert. Also ahead of him are George Kittle, Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, and Sam LaPorta. Advertisement None of this means Kelce is ineffective, of course. Kelce missed virtually his entire rookie season. Since then, he had never posted a year with fewer than eight yards per target, until 2024 when that mark dropped to just 6.2. After ascending to stardom in 2016, he had never dipped below 65 yards per game until 2024, when his 823 yards came out to just 51.4 yards per game. His profile has never been higher, of course, in part because of his romance with pop icon Taylor Swift. ... a relationship that is in part the reason the subject of retirement comes up. But ... "If it's the last ride, you would never know," teammate Patrick Mahomes said this week at OTAs. "The way he's talking about football. The way he's talking about working and trying to be even better this year than he was last year. Advertisement "He doesn't seem like a guy like it's his last ride, like he's tired of the job." Kelce's regression, however slight, is a reminder that dynasties don't last forever. But maybe one "last ride'' - if that's what this is - can allow Kansas City to send him to retirement with another Super Bowl ring. Related: Broadcasting Executive Reveals Key to Chiefs vs. Cowboys on Thanksgiving This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
