The Bucs are signing Kyle Rudolph to a one-year deal, but I can’t say that I’m excited about him. Is he even going to be their most productive tight end? And will any tight end on that roster finish with viable numbers?
Rudolph (who’s signing a one-year deal) hasn’t been a notable player the last two years, catching 54 passes and 2 TDs in 28 games with the Vikings and Giants. He’s been used mostly as a blocker. He’ll be 33 in November.
Cameron Brate looks just as likely to be Tampa Bay’s most productive tight end. He’s been working with Tom Brady for the last two years, which could help him have a stronger rapport. He’s also a veteran – just turned 31.
Brate was dreadful last year, catching only 53 percent of the passes thrown his way, last among tight ends. That’s hard to understand, with Brate the previous season being one of the most efficient tight ends (catching over 82 percent of his targets). He was elevated into a starter-type role for six games last year, and it was pretty rough – he caught only 9 of 22 pass attempts in those games, for 88 yards (1 TD).
The sleeper here is Rob Gronkowski. He says he’s retired but his agent and his girlfriend both say they expect he’ll return. He’s also an older guy – 33.
All three of these tight ends at times in their careers have been very good around the goal line. But all of their great seasons in that regard came a long time ago. Combined, nine times one of these players has caught at least 6 passes inside the 10-yard line, but all nine of those seasons came at least five years ago. (In the chart below, the seasons for 2018-2021 are tagged with black dots.)
I don’t consider Brate or Rudolph to be a plus player around the goal line anymore.
As things stand, I don’t think I’ll be considering any Tampa Bay player to be my second tight end (in a 12-team format). There are other guys I like a lot more for that spot.
| RECEPTIONS INSIDE THE 10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Yds | TD |
| 2010 | Gronk, N.E. | 10 | 9 | 46 | 7 |
| 2017 | Rudolph, Min. | 9 | 8 | 31 | 4 |
| 2012 | Rudolph, Min. | 9 | 8 | 26 | 7 |
| 2016 | Brate, T.B. | 9 | 7 | 34 | 6 |
| 2012 | Gronk, N.E. | 12 | 7 | 26 | 6 |
| 2016 | Rudolph, Min. | 12 | 6 | 24 | 4 |
| 2015 | Gronk, N.E. | 11 | 6 | 15 | 5 |
| 2014 | Gronk, N.E. | 8 | 6 | 24 | 6 |
| 2011 | Gronk, N.E. | 9 | 6 | 41 | 5 |
| 2020 | • Gronk, T.B. | 10 | 5 | 23 | 4 |
| 2021 | • Brate, T.B. | 9 | 4 | 17 | 4 |
| 2019 | • Rudolph, Min. | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 2017 | Gronk, N.E. | 9 | 4 | 14 | 4 |
| 2019 | • Brate, T.B. | 5 | 3 | 15 | 3 |
| 2018 | • Brate, T.B. | 4 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| 2015 | Rudolph, Min. | 8 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 2013 | Gronk, N.E. | 4 | 3 | 21 | 2 |
| 2021 | • Gronk, T.B. | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | • Rudolph, NYG | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | • Brate, T.B. | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 2018 | • Rudolph, Min. | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 2016 | Gronk, N.E. | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2014 | Rudolph, Min. | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
| 2020 | • Rudolph, Min. | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017 | Brate, T.B. | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 2015 | Brate, T.B. | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 2011 | Rudolph, Min. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | • Gronk, N.E. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Brate, T.B. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Rudolph, Min. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
—Ian Allan