Final Rookie Report Card: The Tight Ends

Throughout the season, the Rookie Report Card has covered some of the biggest rookies and not only looked at their performance to date – but also their long term upside. Now that the regular season has wrapped up and fantasy owners are looking towards the future, we have an opportunity to take one last look at the 2014 season and assess the rookies. A final report card if you will.

We covered 33 rookies throughout the season, including two tight ends. As we have over the last few weeks with quarterbacks, running backs and receivers, we’ll take one last look at those tight ends’ first shot at making plays on Sundays – as well as a quick glimpse into their futures.

Eric Ebron, TE DET
Season Stats: 25 receptions, 248 yards, one touchdown

Despite being the best prospect at his position in the 2014 draft and starting his career in a prime landing spot with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate already in what was supposed to be a lethal Detroit passing attack, Ebron had a rather disappointing rookie season. On top of taking constant criticism for running poor routes and being a below-average blocker, he made far too many mental mistakes including a handful of dropped passes and multiple times where he appeared to not be on the same page as Stafford.

For many, after such a rough rookie season it’s hard to envision a bright future for Ebron. I, however, can’t forget the physically gifted playmaker I saw coming out of North Carolina last year.

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At this time a year ago Ebron was being touted as the next big, fast tight end in the mold of Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez. Although he had obvious flaws as a blocker, his skills as a pass catcher far outweighed them. His incredible burst into his routes, precise route running and excellent ball skills along with his fierce running style after the catch made him a top-10 prospect in most people’s eyes. I was one of them and continue to be.

While it’s true Ebron had a forgettable rookie season for his dynasty owners, those owners should keep in mind it’s very rare that a tight end takes the league by storm in his first year. Graham caught just 31 passes as a rookie (although he came on strong late that season), Gates posted a very similar 24 catch, 389 yard, two touchdown rookie season and Gonzalez did much of the same when he caught 33 balls for 362 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first year in the league.

With Ebron’s skills as a pass catcher to go along with the talent surrounding him in Detroit, the sky is the limit. I’m not worried about the lackluster stats he posted as a rookie, but if his owner in one of my leagues is I’d be happy to give up a late first round pick for his services going forward. Ebron is an excellent trade target this off-season.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB
Season Stats: 21 receptions, 221 yards, two touchdowns

Like Ebron, Seferian Jenkins entered his rookie season with the potential to make his mark on the league as well as fantasy leagues, but he also disappointed.

Playing only nine games due to injuries to his foot and back, ASJ failed to make a very big impact, but that’s at least partly due to the erratic play at quarterback with Josh McCown and Mike Glennon under center for the Buccs. That’s not to say Seferian-Jenkins should be held without some blame for his pedestrian numbers as a rookie. A couple bad drops, including one that likely would have been a touchdown, as well as criticism for a lack of effort from time to time and an awful penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct while celebrating a touchdown are a few of things Seferian-Jenkins will have to overcome as he tries to improve as a sophomore.

Overall, despite Seferian-Jenkins having a relatively mediocre rookie season, he still has an impressive combination of size (6’ 5”, 262 pounds) and speed (4.56 40-yard dash) and is a nightmare matchup as he can dominate linebackers with his speed and defensive backs with his height and catch radius.

Like all young prospects (he turns 23 in September), there are some obstacles for Seferian-Jenkins to hurdle before he becomes anything more than potential, but he absolutely has the upside to someday be among the top-five at his position. That potential, as well as the upgrade that he’ll get at quarterback as Tampa Bay chooses between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, makes him an excellent trade target this off-season.

Jace Amaro, TE NYJ
Season Stats: 38 receptions, 345 yards, two touchdowns

While in college at Texas Tech, Amaro displayed impressive field stretching abilities. Primarily used as a slot receiver, he routinely ran seem routes and was open so often in his final year on campus that he tallied 106 catches for 1,352 yards and seven touchdowns.

We didn’t see any of that out of Amaro as a rookie.

Playing just under 40% of the Jets’ snaps this season and targeted 52 times, he wasn’t asked to be a downfield receiver – at least not very much. Of his 52 targets, just three (5.7%) were at least 20 yards downfield and 37 (71%) were less than nine yards down the field. If you watched the Jets much, it was easy to see that it wasn’t the game plan or the coaching staff that was keeping Amaro from going deep. It was simply that he couldn’t get separation. The sluggish 4.74 second 40-yard dash time that Amaro posted at the combine showed throughout his rookie season.

Amaro isn’t a game breaker. Although he has good hands, he lacks speed and doesn’t have the ability to shake defenders at the top of his routes to get open. Most likely, Amaro will be nothing more than a situational tight end for the Jets going forward and that doesn’t translate to very much fantasy value.

C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE HOU
Season Stats: four receptions, 28 yards, one touchdown

Despite Fiedorowicz entering the league with far less fanfare than the tight ends listed ahead of him here, I’m probably most disappointed in the stats he posted during his rookie season.

Watching him as he was playing in the Big Ten Conference at Iowa, I became a fan of Fiedorowicz. Although he didn’t display the quickness or big play ability of some of the big name tight ends everybody is now accustomed to, he showed toughness both as a blocker and short to intermediate pass catcher. Looking like the “old school” tight ends I watched growing up, I saw him having a productive career equal to that of Heath Miller’s.

Needless to say, Fiedorowicz didn’t make much of an impact for the Texans or fantasy owners as a rookie. Splitting time with Garrett Graham and Ryan Griffin, he played 485 of the Texans’ 1,058 snaps (45.8%). Of his 485 snaps, 295 were on called runs (60.8%). Of the 190 pass plays he was on the field for, he was asked to pass block 70 times which means he was asked to be a blocker on just over 75% of the plays he was on the field for.

Although I still am very high on Fiedorowicz’ potential to become a quality in-line tight end who could contribute to fantasy teams, it’s obvious at this point that the Texans’ coaching staff feels strongly that he’s best used as a blocker – not a receiver. Therefore, at this point it’s difficult to recommend using a valuable roster spot on him in leagues with small to mid-sized rosters. With that said, he’s absolutely worth monitoring throughout the offseason and as 2015 training camps approaches. Although he’ll likely never be a high-end TE1, he has the upside to contribute to dynasty teams as a low end starter if he gets the opportunity to show what he can do as a pass catcher.

Richard Rodgers, TE GB
Season Stats: 20 receptions, 225 yards, two touchdowns

Before he was drafted by the Packers I didn’t know much about Rodgers, so I checked him out. As I watched his college film, nothing really popped out to indicate he had special skills. Although he displayed good hands and made some tough catches, he showed average burst into his routes and modest speed and agility while trying to get open. Honestly, it was difficult to get excited about his upside.

After watching him play for a season, I’m still not overly enthusiastic about Rodgers’ potential despite playing with the league MVP, but I’m willing to say I’m optimistic that he could become a fantasy asset at some point in the near future. Although he still doesn’t show the ability to consistently get open by himself, he does have the ability to find openings in the defense particularly when Aaron Rodgers is buying time outside the pocket which is often. In fact, he scored more than once on such plays throughout the regular season and playoffs.

All in all, Rodgers is a prime example of an average player having fantasy value because he’s in an excellent situation. He’ll still have to share time with Andrew Quarless in 2015, but Rodgers is just as talented as him and could earn a lion’s share of the tight end snaps next year with small improvements throughout his game. Dynasty owners should also keep in mind that the possibility of Randall Cobb being elsewhere looms large in Green Bay. If he’s not a Packer, that could also bring an uptick in targets Rodgers’ way.

Although a majority of Rodgers’ upside is due to him playing with the best quarterback on the planet, he has upside nonetheless. I wouldn’t be actively trying to deal for him, but dynasty owners looking for a developmental tight end prospect or just a cheap part of the Packers’ pass happy offense could do much worse.

Another rookie tight end worth mentioning is Troy Niklas. He gets an “incomplete” grade because he lost his season to injury and didn’t get the opportunity to show what he could do as a rookie. Although he’s been out of sight, he shouldn’t be out of mind. Keep him on your radar throughout the offseason and beyond.

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Dan Meylor

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Dan is a jack of all trades but master of none and specializes in salary cap and contract leagues.He has far too many hobbies (including writing the article you just read), is a die-hard Packers fan and can't wait to introduce his young sons to fantasy football.

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