There were some intriguing tight ends selected in the third round. The Patriots have a glaring need at the position and selected a pair, while the Saints traded away all four of their Day 3 picks on a small-school guy. And the Packers selected Josiah Deguara out of Cincinnati.
With the Patriots being woefully understaffed at tight end, Devin Asiasi (pictured) looks like the most compelling choice for 2020. He showed some ability to get downfield at UCLA, averaging 15.4 yards on his 50 catches. New England doesn’t have much of anything at the position, with just Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo coming back.
New England ten picks later selected Dalton Keene from Virginia. The Patriots last picked two tight ends in the first four rounds in 2011 – Rob Gronkowski (second round) and Aaron Hernandez (fourth).
Adam Trautman played his college football at tiny Dayton, which hasn’t had any player drafted since 1977. But Sean Payton is confident enough that Trautman will develop that he traded away all of the team’s Day 3 picks to move up and get him. With that kind of investment, it’s clear that Payton believes Trautman will become a legit, starter-caliber player.
With Deguara, I think the Packers are going to use him more as a blocker than a pass catcher.
With all four of these guys, their best days (if there are any such days) should come a year down the road. It’s tough to come in at tight end and thrive right away, and even more so this year with the offseason activities being curtailed.
In the last 20 years, only one tight end selected after the second round has put up top-10 numbers in his first year. Randy McMichael.
But nine such tight ends have done it in their second year. Especially with this being a more complex position, it’s a big advantage having been around for a year.
So if you’re looking for a tight end who might have some success this year, your odds are way better if you focus not on the four guys selected in the third round this year – Asiasi, Deguara, Keene, Trautman – but on the four who were selected in the third round a year ago. Those four were Dawson Knox (Buffalo), Jace Sternberger (Packers), Josh Oliver (Jaguars) and Kahale Warring (Texans).
| UNHERALDED ROOKIE TIGHT ENDS IN THE TOP 20 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player (Rd) | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2002 | Randy McMichael, Mia. (4) | 39 | 485 | 4 | 112.3 | 9 |
| 2004 | Chris Cooley, Was. (3) | 37 | 314 | 6 | 104.4 | 12 |
| 2013 | Tim Wright, T.B. (FA) | 54 | 571 | 5 | 141.3 | 13 |
| 2010 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. (4) | 45 | 563 | 6 | 142.0 | 14 |
| 2006 | Owen Daniels, Hou. (4) | 34 | 352 | 5 | 99.2 | 14 |
| 2001 | Eric Johnson, S.F. (7) | 40 | 362 | 3 | 96.2 | 15 |
| 2018 | Chris Herndon, NYJ (4) | 39 | 502 | 4 | 113.2 | 16 |
| 2018 | Mark Andrews, Balt. (3) | 34 | 552 | 3 | 107.2 | 17 |
| 2010 | Tony Moeaki, K.C. (3) | 47 | 556 | 3 | 120.6 | 17 |
| 2005 | Alex Smith, T.B. (3) | 41 | 367 | 2 | 89.7 | 19 |
| 2017 | George Kittle, S.F. (5) | 43 | 515 | 2 | 106.5 | 19 |
| 2003 | Jason Witten, Dall. (3) | 35 | 347 | 1 | 75.7 | 20 |
| UNHERALDED 2ND-YEAR TIGHT ENDS IN TOP 20 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player (Rd) | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2011 | Jimmy Graham, N.O. (3) | 99 | 1310 | 11 | 296.0 | 2 |
| 2018 | George Kittle, S.F. (5) | 88 | 1377 | 5 | 258.7 | 3 |
| 2011 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. (4) | 79 | 910 | 7 | 216.5 | 3 |
| 2004 | Jason Witten, Dall. (3) | 87 | 980 | 6 | 223.0 | 3 |
| 2003 | Randy McMichael, Mia. (4) | 49 | 598 | 3 | 126.8 | 4 |
| 2005 | Chris Cooley, Was. (3) | 71 | 774 | 7 | 190.4 | 4 |
| 2019 | Mark Andrews, Balt. (3) | 64 | 852 | 10 | 209.2 | 5 |
| 2014 | Travis Kelce, K.C. (3) | 67 | 862 | 6 | 189.2 | 6 |
| 2007 | Owen Daniels, Hou. (4) | 63 | 768 | 3 | 157.8 | 7 |
| 2015 | Richard Rodgers, G.B. (3) | 58 | 510 | 8 | 160.1 | 11 |
| 2009 | Jermichael Finley, G.B. (3) | 55 | 676 | 5 | 152.6 | 12 |
| 2014 | Mychal Rivera, Oak. (6) | 58 | 534 | 4 | 135.4 | 16 |
| 2000 | Desmond Clark, Den. (6) | 27 | 339 | 3 | 78.9 | 17 |
| 2008 | Kevin Boss, NYG (5) | 33 | 384 | 6 | 107.4 | 17 |
| 2017 | Austin Hooper, Atl. (3) | 49 | 526 | 3 | 119.6 | 17 |
| 2011 | Ed Dickson, Balt. (3) | 54 | 528 | 5 | 136.8 | 17 |
| 2006 | Bo Scaife, Ten. (6) | 29 | 370 | 3 | 85.3 | 18 |
| 2007 | Jeff King, Car. (5) | 46 | 406 | 2 | 98.6 | 19 |
| 2006 | Alex Smith, T.B. (3) | 35 | 250 | 3 | 78.0 | 20 |
—Ian Allan