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 |
86.8
|
|
2 |
|
TE |
|
75 | 84 | 90 | 89 | 62 |
86.8
|
|
3 |
|
TE |
|
68 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 66 |
84.8
|
|
4 |
|
TE |
|
76 | 78 | 77 | 82 | 65 |
84.2
|
|
5 |
|
TE |
|
74 | 75 | 85 | 82 | 62 |
82.3
|
|
6 |
|
TE |
|
68 | 75 | 73 | 79 | 67 |
72.4
|
|
7 |
|
TE |
|
61 | 84 | 91 | 78 | 62 |
87.3
|
|
8 |
|
TE |
|
81 | 72 | 77 | 78 | 48 |
73.7
|
|
9 |
|
TE |
|
60 | 72 | 71 | 77 | 58 |
79.1
|
|
10 |
|
TE |
|
62 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 43 |
74.8
|
|
11 |
|
TE |
|
54 | 61 | 67 | 73 | 54 |
78.0
|
|
12 |
|
TE |
|
71 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 61 |
79.3
|
|
13 |
|
TE |
|
66 | 73 | 79 | 64 | 53 |
79.6
|
|
14 |
|
TE |
|
67 | 74 | 79 | 63 | 65 |
81.9
|
|
15 |
|
TE |
|
72 | 72 | 74 | 58 | 50 |
74.8
|
|
16 |
|
TE |
|
71 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 70 |
82.5
|
|
17 |
|
TE |
|
67 | 68 | 78 | 58 | 66 |
80.4
|
|
18 |
|
TE |
|
78 | 63 | 69 | 57 | 60 |
73.7
|
|
19 |
|
TE |
|
38 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
68.2
|