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 |
|
76 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 62 |
85.9
|
|
2 |
|
TE |
|
89 | 89 | 91 | 89 | 67 |
84.7
|
|
3 |
|
TE |
|
79 | 78 | 86 | 86 | 65 |
85.9
|
|
4 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 58 |
74.4
|
|
5 |
|
TE |
|
76 | 83 | 76 | 85 | 49 |
81.3
|
|
6 |
|
TE |
|
84 | 78 | 83 | 84 | 62 |
76.0
|
|
7 |
|
TE |
|
83 | 81 | 87 | 84 | 61 |
82.8
|
|
8 |
|
TE |
|
62 | 79 | 79 | 84 | 64 |
84.7
|
|
9 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 52 |
77.0
|
|
10 |
|
TE |
|
65 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 48 |
79.0
|
|
11 |
|
TE |
|
71 | 73 | 78 | 79 | 58 |
83.7
|
|
12 |
|
TE |
|
61 | 76 | 79 | 79 | 66 |
78.0
|
|
13 |
|
TE |
|
63 | 78 | 83 | 78 | 63 |
78.6
|
|
14 |
|
TE |
|
70 | 87 | 92 | 78 | 63 |
87.1
|
|
15 |
|
TE |
|
87 | 82 | 85 | 76 | 72 |
80.7
|
|
16 |
|
TE |
|
72 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 60 |
73.0
|
|
17 |
|
TE |
|
78 | 72 | 73 | 75 | 56 |
79.9
|
|
18 |
|
TE |
|
75 | 65 | 73 | 73 | 46 |
70.7
|
|
19 |
|
TE |
|
60 | 64 | 66 | 73 | 53 |
69.2
|
|
20 |
|
TE |
|
72 | 68 | 71 | 73 | 64 |
74.0
|