It's the tight end's world

[Fjoinkay]

and we are all just living in it. In light of the tight end explosion in the NFL I wonder if Ashton Broyld is now more inclined to line up next to the OT.

 

[bnoro]

Besides the Pats with Gronk and Hernandez, and the Saints with Jimmy Graham where is the "explosion"?

A TE isn't just a receiver. You can barely call Hernandez a TE, he's a bigger WR. Gronk is the best blocking TE in the league, but most TE's coming out of college are pure blockers or pure pass catchers. There aren't too many like Gronk.

 

[007]

Besides the Pats with Gronk and Hernandez, and the Saints with Jimmy Graham where is the "explosion"?

A TE isn't just a receiver. You can barely call Hernandez a TE, he's a bigger WR. Gronk is the best blocking TE in the league, but most TE's coming out of college are pure blockers or pure pass catchers. There aren't too many like Gronk.

He does have a point. The best O's in the NFL this year all have a new era TE. Graham is unbelievable for the Saints. Jermichael Finley in Green Bay, Jason Witten in Dallas.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

The money, fame, and broads available to QBs probably still makes a compelling argument.

 

[Fjoinkay]

AB looks to me like an amazing TE prospect and at QB not so much, but I hope I'm wrong about that. I think Stanford's offense is a great example of TE production at the college level, and Jim Harbaugh put that together.

 

[orange03]

and we are all just living in it. In light of the tight end explosion in the NFL I wonder if Ashton Broyld is now more inclined to line up next to the OT.

We need a dynamic QB, not a tight end.

 

[Digable5]

Yeah, you could make the argument that the TE position is no longer an after thought and might be easier for a player to make a transition to play the position, but QB is still the position of choice.

 

[DocFlanders]

Besides the Pats with Gronk and Hernandez, and the Saints with Jimmy Graham where is the "explosion"?

A TE isn't just a receiver. You can barely call Hernandez a TE, he's a bigger WR. Gronk is the best blocking TE in the league, but most TE's coming out of college are pure blockers or pure pass catchers. There aren't too many like Gronk.

Olsen and Shockey have been fabulous in Carolina this year.

 

[bnoro]

Olsen and Shockey have been fabulous in Carolina this year.

explosion means more came out of the woodwork. Olsen and Shockey are established TE's, as are Witten, Gates, and Gonzalez.

 

[Fjoinkay]

I used explosion as a slight exaggeration referring to the sudden media attention given to the position (without the Tebow story it would be even more of an explosion). If AB is the future Orange QB I will be excited because he appears to be a tremendous athlete. On the other hand I think his best bet for playing on Sundays and earning a good living might be at the TE position. It's also a position where I would guess he has a good shot at playing on Saturdays in 2012.