A tight end who can threaten the deep third changes what a defense can do on early downs. The deep route grade scores seam and post targets twenty or more yards downfield, where a good one is a mismatch against any safety. Vernon Davis (Maryland) and Rob Gronkowski (Arizona) showed how much that stretches a defense.
Below, draft-eligible tight ends are ranked by deep route grade, with short and medium route grades, hands, blocking and overall rating alongside.
| RANK | Player | Pos | Team | HANDS | SHORT | MEDIUM | DEEP | BLOCKING | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
TE |
|
80 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 63 |
85.1
|
|
2 |
|
TE |
|
78 | 81 | 87 | 87 | 64 |
84.3
|
|
3 |
|
TE |
|
88 | 89 | 92 | 86 | 55 |
82.1
|
|
4 |
|
TE |
|
63 | 78 | 82 | 84 | 71 |
87.6
|
|
5 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 80 | 82 | 84 | 54 |
81.3
|
|
6 |
|
TE |
|
86 | 79 | 77 | 84 | 52 |
80.0
|
|
7 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 59 |
84.8
|
|
8 |
|
TE |
|
90 | 76 | 84 | 82 | 66 |
84.3
|
|
9 |
|
TE |
|
60 | 82 | 85 | 81 | 55 |
84.5
|
|
10 |
|
TE |
|
62 | 70 | 66 | 80 | 55 |
83.2
|
|
11 |
|
TE |
|
72 | 80 | 81 | 79 | 65 |
79.6
|
|
12 |
|
TE |
|
69 | 70 | 78 | 79 | 57 |
77.0
|
|
13 |
|
TE |
|
79 | 75 | 74 | 78 | 67 |
76.0
|
|
14 |
|
TE |
|
86 | 78 | 68 | 77 | 67 |
80.7
|
|
15 |
|
TE |
|
81 | 78 | 82 | 76 | 60 |
81.1
|
|
16 |
|
TE |
|
82 | 73 | 77 | 74 | 60 |
83.7
|
|
17 |
|
TE |
|
69 | 72 | 78 | 74 | 58 |
78.6
|
|
18 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 72 | 66 | 74 | 62 |
83.3
|
|
19 |
|
TE |
|
73 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 73 |
75.0
|
|
20 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 66 | 74 | 73 | 66 |
76.0
|