Tom Brady likes throwing to tight ends, and he’s got an interesting pair in Tampa Bay. O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate are both good, and they’re also really different.
With Howard, you’ve got a guy who can really get downfield. I think back to those post routes Rob Gronkowski used to run, with Brady dropping it in to that big body. If that kind of play shows up in Tampa, it will be with Howard on the receiving end.
With Brate, you’re getting more of a short-area route runner. He’s got better hands, and a better feel for settling into an open spot underneath for a short grab on third down or in the red zone.
Over the last two years, 30 tight ends have been the intended target on at least 80 pass attempts. Of that group, Howard ranks No. 1 in average yards per play (per target). Brate ranks last in that group.
Not that this reflects which tight ends are best or worst, but this gives a measure of how they’ve been used.
(And also note that Howard was a lot better in 2019 than he was last year, when he was lost in Bruce Arians’ offense.)
| TIGHT ENDS, YARDS PER PLAY (last 2 years) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct | Yd/Tgt |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 101 | 68 | 1024 | 15.1 | 6 | 67.3% | 10.1 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 243 | 173 | 2430 | 14.0 | 10 | 71.2% | 10.0 |
| Darren Waller, Oak. | 123 | 96 | 1220 | 12.7 | 3 | 78.0% | 9.9 |
| Jared Cook, Oak-NO | 166 | 111 | 1601 | 14.4 | 15 | 66.9% | 9.6 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 148 | 98 | 1404 | 14.3 | 13 | 66.2% | 9.5 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 286 | 200 | 2565 | 12.8 | 15 | 69.9% | 9.0 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 123 | 93 | 1026 | 11.0 | 5 | 75.6% | 8.3 |
| Jordan Akins, Hou. | 80 | 53 | 643 | 12.1 | 2 | 66.3% | 8.0 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 132 | 89 | 1044 | 11.7 | 6 | 67.4% | 7.9 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 185 | 146 | 1447 | 9.9 | 10 | 78.9% | 7.8 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 130 | 103 | 1001 | 9.7 | 10 | 79.2% | 7.7 |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 82 | 58 | 615 | 10.6 | 4 | 70.7% | 7.5 |
| Ryan Griffin, Hou-NYJ | 84 | 58 | 625 | 10.8 | 5 | 69.0% | 7.4 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 120 | 79 | 888 | 11.2 | 6 | 65.8% | 7.4 |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B. | 149 | 93 | 1083 | 11.6 | 5 | 62.4% | 7.3 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 131 | 91 | 941 | 10.3 | 9 | 69.5% | 7.2 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 291 | 204 | 2079 | 10.2 | 14 | 70.1% | 7.1 |
| Vance McDonald, Pitt. | 127 | 88 | 883 | 10.0 | 7 | 69.3% | 7.0 |
| Eric Ebron, Ind. | 162 | 97 | 1125 | 11.6 | 16 | 59.9% | 6.9 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 98 | 61 | 680 | 11.1 | 5 | 62.2% | 6.9 |
| Nick Boyle, Balt. | 80 | 54 | 534 | 9.9 | 2 | 67.5% | 6.7 |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 84 | 54 | 558 | 10.3 | 2 | 64.3% | 6.6 |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 110 | 70 | 728 | 10.4 | 5 | 63.6% | 6.6 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 105 | 69 | 693 | 10.0 | 6 | 65.7% | 6.6 |
| C.J. Uzomah, Cin. | 104 | 70 | 681 | 9.7 | 5 | 67.3% | 6.5 |
| Trey Burton, Chi. | 100 | 68 | 653 | 9.6 | 6 | 68.0% | 6.5 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 121 | 73 | 772 | 10.6 | 5 | 60.3% | 6.4 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 83 | 63 | 529 | 8.4 | 4 | 75.9% | 6.4 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones, Az-Cle | 91 | 48 | 572 | 11.9 | 5 | 52.7% | 6.3 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 104 | 66 | 600 | 9.1 | 10 | 63.5% | 5.8 |
—Ian Allan