An Early Look at 2021 Tight Ends

Caleb Pierson Posted On March 6, 2020

With the 2019 college football season over and all underclassmen having made their decisions, it is time to start prepping for your annual devy drafts. It is never too early to start looking ahead as you prep for your drafts to get an edge on your league mates to dominate your leagues.

In the third part of this series, we will look at the top five tight ends in my 2021 rankings. This class is much better than the 2020 class, and has some excellent players who have a chance to shake up the TE landscape in dynasty.

Click here to see part one, an early look at the 2021 quarterbacks and here to see part two, an early look at the 2021 running backs.

1. Brevin Jordan, Miami

Miami’s Brevin Jordan was my top-ranked devy tight end heading into the 2019 season and remains my top-ranked tight end heading into 2020. Jordan is one of my favorite tight end prospects in recent years. His blend of size, speed, and athleticism projects him to be a match-up nightmare at the next level.

Whether it be from the line of scrimmage or lined up in the slot, he displays good quickness and good body control. He improved in year two, and should again take another step forward in 2020 playing with new quarterback D’Eriq King.

N’Kosi Perry hooks up with tFR TE Brevin Jordan he’s sitting at 5/67/1 on the day. #Devy #DevyWatch pic.twitter.com/Tj2oCJqBsI

— Greg Brandt (@devywarehouse) September 22, 2018

2. Kyle Pitts, Florida

You can make a strong argument for Pitts to be the top-ranked devy tight end. He burst onto the scene in 2019, finishing with 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns. He showed to be a good route runner with good speed.

His 6’6”, 246-pound size gives him a terrific catch radius. Pitts isn’t a great blocker yet, but has plenty of time to develop before heading to the NFL.

That was fast. Kyle Pitts for the quick score @InsideTheGators pic.twitter.com/Hv5QQx3poW

— Joseph Salvador (@JosephSalvador_) September 21, 2019

3. Pat Freiermuth, Penn State

After Jordan and Pitts falls Freiermuth in what would be tier two on his own. He is currently the only tight end I see ranked after one and two who has the upside to unseat Jordan and Pitts from the top two spots.

Freiermuth could have declared for the 2020 NFL Draft but instead chose to return to Penn State for another season. He has 15 touchdowns in just two years and has shown to be a true red-zone weapon, standing a 6’5” and weighing in at nearly 260 pounds. There isn’t much to not like about him. He has the size, moves well, can win almost all 50/50 balls, and broke out at an early age.

4. Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State

This is where things get interesting. Despite having just 15 catches for 155 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons at Ohio State, Jeremy Ruckert falls in at number four. This rank is still based solely on what I saw in high school and based on the upside he possesses.

He has great size and has uber athleticism, especially for his size. The knocks of him are his blocking and obviously his lack of production, which may be more due to Ohio State play-calling rather than his talent. If Ohio State decided to give him more targets this coming year, we may see a huge breakout from Ruckert.

Jeremy Ruckert reminds us that Ohio State has more than just wide receivers. Ohio State gets back in the game pic.twitter.com/x0ZQyUzpb5

— Joe Broback (@joebroback) December 8, 2019

5. Charlie Kolar, Iowa State

Falling in at number five is Kolar. He is the rawest talent on this list. He has the tools that can’t be taught, like his height and a big frame, but still needs to improve on the technical aspects of his game.

Kolar moves well for his size but needs to improve as a route runner in order to be more effective as a move tight end. However, he still showed he can make the tough catches in traffic and be a reliable target on his offense.