There's lots of optimism regarding Aaron Rodgers with the Jets this year, best shown by Garrett Wilson routinely being selected at the end of the first round, among the top 7 or 8 wideouts. But that enthusiasm does not extend to his top tight end.
Tyler Conklin should be the clear No. 1 at the position, with Jeremy Ruckert a secondary player. Conklin has been pretty productive without Rodgers the last three years, catching 61, 58 and 61 passes. Just 6 total touchdowns those seasons, but two of them were primarily played with Zach Wilson, who's ungood.
And yet, ADP data suggests he's being drafted no better than 18th-20th (or lower) at the position, an afterthought in typical leagues, if selected at all. Are we all missing the boat on Conklin?
The feeling is that Rodgers didn't feature tight ends much in Green Bay, and that's true, but there were some viable players along the way -- mostly due to touchdowns. Five times in his 15 seasons as a starter, he had a top-12 tight end in PPR league. (Five of 13 if you remove the two seasons he missed half of due to injury.) Three of those five top-12 tight ends got there by catching 8-plus touchdowns.
Table shows Rodgers' best tight ends each year of his career as a starter, with top-12 players in bold.
| RODGERS' BEST TIGHT ENDS, 2008-2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Rk |
| 2022 | Robert Tonyan | 67 | 53 | 470 | 2 | 20 |
| 2021 | Josiah Deguara | 33 | 25 | 245 | 2 | 40 |
| 2020 | Robert Tonyan | 59 | 52 | 586 | 11 | 5 |
| 2019 | Jimmy Graham | 60 | 38 | 447 | 3 | 21 |
| 2018 | Jimmy Graham | 89 | 55 | 636 | 2 | 12 |
| 2017 | Lance Kendricks | 35 | 18 | 203 | 1 | 48 |
| 2016 | Jared Cook | 51 | 30 | 377 | 1 | 36 |
| 2015 | Richard Rodgers | 85 | 58 | 510 | 8 | 11 |
| 2014 | Andrew Quarless | 46 | 29 | 323 | 3 | 26 |
| 2013 | Andrew Quarless | 53 | 32 | 312 | 2 | 36 |
| 2012 | Jermichael Finley | 87 | 61 | 667 | 2 | 14 |
| 2011 | Jermichael Finley | 92 | 55 | 767 | 8 | 9 |
| 2010 | Jermichael Finley | 26 | 21 | 301 | 1 | 39 |
| 2009 | Jermichael Finley | 72 | 55 | 676 | 5 | 12 |
| 2008 | Donald Lee | 50 | 39 | 303 | 5 | 20 |
Two of those seasons were with Rodgers throwing career-highs in touchdowns; 45 in 2011, and 48 in 2020. Those kind of totals would seem to be beyond the 40-year-old.
But if you're subscribing to a Rodgers' bounce-back and healthy season, Conklin could turn out to be a pretty good second tight end, and starting option in TE-premium leagues. I've got one of those drafts coming up this week, and I'll be considering selecting Conklin late in the game.
--Andy Richardson