There was a rumor going around yesterday that the Ravens might be looking to trade Hayden Hurst. He's been a fantasy afterthought his first two years in the league, essentially a pass-catching handcuff tight end to starter Mark Andrews. But Hurst could have been -- and could be -- a quality starter.
Hurst was drafted two rounds earlier, recall, and he was running with the first team in his rookie preseason. But he got hurt in an exhibition game, and that opened the door for Andrews to take over that key, heavily-targeted receiving tight end spot in the Ravens offense. (Nick Boyle also plays full-time, but he's primarily a blocker.)
Prior to getting hurt, Hurst was productive two Augusts ago: 3 for 14 with a touchdown in his debut, then 2 more catches before suffering the injury. He was then Wally Pipped to the bench by Andrews, who's been one of the better receiving tight ends the last two seasons, Lamar Jackson's favorite target.
Hurst was a 25-year-old rookie, having been drafted out of high school by baseball's Pirates and spending two years in their organization. He'll be 27 in August.
But it'd be intriguing to see him get an opportunity to start on another team. While Hurst hasn't been heavily used behind Andrews, he's been effective with his limited chances. Last season he caught 77 percent of the passes thrown his way, which is a top-10 rate for tight ends (minimum 20 targets).
| TIGHT END CATCH RATES, 2019 (20-PLUS TARGETS) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Tgt | No | % | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Will Dissly | SEA | 27 | 23 | 85.2% | 262 | 11.4 | 4 |
| Foster Moreau | OAK | 25 | 21 | 84.0% | 174 | 8.3 | 5 |
| Ryan Griffin | NYJ | 41 | 34 | 82.9% | 320 | 9.4 | 5 |
| Kyle Rudolph | MIN | 48 | 39 | 81.3% | 367 | 9.4 | 6 |
| Jonnu Smith | TEN | 44 | 35 | 79.5% | 439 | 12.5 | 3 |
| George Kittle | SFO | 107 | 85 | 79.4% | 1053 | 12.4 | 5 |
| Tyler Higbee | LAR | 89 | 69 | 77.5% | 734 | 10.6 | 3 |
| Austin Hooper | ATL | 97 | 75 | 77.3% | 787 | 10.5 | 6 |
| Hayden Hurst | BAL | 39 | 30 | 76.9% | 349 | 11.6 | 2 |
| Darren Waller | OAK | 117 | 90 | 76.9% | 1145 | 12.7 | 3 |
| Irv Smith Jr. | MIN | 47 | 36 | 76.6% | 311 | 8.6 | 2 |
| Jason Witten | DAL | 83 | 63 | 75.9% | 529 | 8.4 | 4 |
| Blake Jarwin | DAL | 41 | 31 | 75.6% | 365 | 11.8 | 3 |
| Charles Clay | ARI | 24 | 18 | 75.0% | 237 | 13.2 | 1 |
| Kaden Smith | NYG | 42 | 31 | 73.8% | 268 | 8.6 | 3 |
| Hunter Henry | LAC | 76 | 55 | 72.4% | 652 | 11.9 | 5 |
| Nick Boyle | BAL | 43 | 31 | 72.1% | 321 | 10.4 | 2 |
| Josh Hill | NOR | 35 | 25 | 71.4% | 226 | 9.0 | 3 |
| Travis Kelce | KAN | 136 | 97 | 71.3% | 1229 | 12.7 | 5 |
| Darren Fells | HOU | 48 | 34 | 70.8% | 341 | 10.0 | 7 |
| Ben Watson | NWE | 24 | 17 | 70.8% | 173 | 10.2 | 0 |
| James O'Shaughnessy | JAX | 20 | 14 | 70.0% | 153 | 10.9 | 2 |
| Jeff Heuerman | DEN | 20 | 14 | 70.0% | 114 | 8.1 | 1 |
| Jacob Hollister | SEA | 59 | 41 | 69.5% | 349 | 8.5 | 3 |
| Vance McDonald | PIT | 55 | 38 | 69.1% | 273 | 7.2 | 3 |
| Tyler Eifert | CIN | 63 | 43 | 68.3% | 436 | 10.1 | 3 |
| Ross Dwelley | SFO | 22 | 15 | 68.2% | 91 | 6.1 | 2 |
| Delanie Walker | TEN | 31 | 21 | 67.7% | 215 | 10.2 | 2 |
| C.J. Uzomah | CIN | 40 | 27 | 67.5% | 242 | 9.0 | 2 |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | 87 | 58 | 66.7% | 607 | 10.5 | 5 |
| Jared Cook | NOR | 65 | 43 | 66.2% | 705 | 16.4 | 9 |
| Cameron Brate | TAM | 55 | 36 | 65.5% | 311 | 8.6 | 4 |
| Jordan Akins | HOU | 55 | 36 | 65.5% | 418 | 11.6 | 2 |
| Mark Andrews | BAL | 98 | 64 | 65.3% | 852 | 13.3 | 10 |
| Zach Ertz | PHI | 135 | 88 | 65.2% | 916 | 10.4 | 6 |
| Jeremy Sprinkle | WAS | 40 | 26 | 65.0% | 241 | 9.3 | 1 |
| Evan Engram | NYG | 68 | 44 | 64.7% | 467 | 10.6 | 3 |
| Rhett Ellison | NYG | 28 | 18 | 64.3% | 167 | 9.3 | 1 |
| O.J. Howard | TAM | 53 | 34 | 64.2% | 459 | 13.5 | 1 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones | CLE | 22 | 14 | 63.6% | 229 | 16.4 | 4 |
| Greg Olsen | CAR | 82 | 52 | 63.4% | 597 | 11.5 | 2 |
| Jimmy Graham | GNB | 60 | 38 | 63.3% | 447 | 11.8 | 3 |
| Gerald Everett | LAR | 60 | 37 | 61.7% | 408 | 11.0 | 2 |
| Noah Fant | DEN | 66 | 40 | 60.6% | 562 | 14.1 | 3 |
| Jack Doyle | IND | 72 | 43 | 59.7% | 448 | 10.4 | 4 |
| Eric Ebron | IND | 52 | 31 | 59.6% | 375 | 12.1 | 3 |
| Jesse James | DET | 27 | 16 | 59.3% | 142 | 8.9 | 0 |
| Anthony Firkser | TEN | 24 | 14 | 58.3% | 204 | 14.6 | 1 |
| Trey Burton | CHI | 24 | 14 | 58.3% | 84 | 6.0 | 0 |
| Mike Gesicki | MIA | 89 | 51 | 57.3% | 570 | 11.2 | 5 |
| Logan Thomas | DET | 28 | 16 | 57.1% | 173 | 10.8 | 1 |
| Dawson Knox | BUF | 50 | 28 | 56.0% | 388 | 13.9 | 2 |
| Demetrius Harris | CLE | 27 | 15 | 55.6% | 149 | 9.9 | 3 |
| T.J. Hockenson | DET | 59 | 32 | 54.2% | 367 | 11.5 | 2 |
| Ian Thomas | CAR | 30 | 16 | 53.3% | 136 | 8.5 | 1 |
Some of that figure has to do with the kind of routes players are running, or the accuracy of the quarterback they're playing with; the guys at the bottom of the list aren't necessarily dropping lots of balls. But it can be said that Hurst has done well with his opportunities in Baltimore. Potential for him to be a significant players if he gets more of them somewhere else.
--Andy Richardson