I just think it's a lot of money for a TE. Here's the top 10 paid TEs:
| Player | Team | Age | Total
Value | Avg./Year | Total
Guaranteed | Fully
Guaranteed | Free
Agency |
|---|
| Jimmy Graham | Packers | 34 | $30,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $11,000,000 | $11,000,000 | 2021 UFA |
| Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 31 | $46,842,000 | $9,368,400 | $20,017,000 | $10,517,000 | 2022 UFA |
| Jordan Reed | Redskins | 30 | $46,750,000 | $9,350,000 | $22,000,000 | $14,000,000 | 2022 UFA |
| Kyle Rudolph | Vikings | 31 | $36,100,000 | $9,025,000 | $16,025,000 | $9,000,000 | 2024 UFA |
| Greg Olsen | Panthers | 35 | $17,100,000 | $8,550,000 | $12,115,000 | $12,115,000 | 2021 UFA |
| Zach Ertz | Eagles | 30 | $42,500,000 | $8,500,000 | $20,000,000 | $13,318,527 | 2022 Void |
| Delanie Walker | Titans | 36 | $17,000,000 | $8,500,000 | $12,760,000 | $10,570,000 | 2021 UFA |
| Trey Burton | Bears | 29 | $32,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $22,000,000 | $18,000,000 | 2022 UFA |
| Jared Cook | Saints | 33 | $15,000,000 | $7,500,000 | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 | 2021 Void |
| Darren Waller | Raiders | 28 | $298,000,004 | $7,450,001 | $16,520,004 | $3,220,004 | 2024 UFA |
Burton is far from the only 'underperformer' on that list. Graham, Reed, Rudolph, Olsen, Walker, Burton, and Cook are not worth the money they got. I'd even argue that Waller, with his off field issues, getting $7.45M/season after performing for only 1.5 months is a bit rich, but then again he got a grand total of $3.22M guaranteed on what was a $29.8M extension.
Personally when the Eagles extended Ertz I thought they grossly overpaid. Up until that point he was a sub par blocker who maybe broke 1 tackle a season. Now he's a sub par blocker who might break 1 tackle, but will also get you over 80 catches. Essentially he's a slot WR.
Anyway, I just am not a fan of paying the TE position. I think it's one of those positions that based on how much the blocking to receiving ask varies they are largely system dependent. For me, you take Zach Ertz and put him in a blocking intensive system and he's just not worth his contract.
Look at the 3 best in the league and where they came to their respective teams:
Travis Kelce - 3rd round pick
George Kittle - 5th round pick
Zach Ertz - 2nd round pick
Look at some of the recent great TEs:
Jason Witten - 3rd round
Tony Gonzalez - 1st rounder
Antonio Gates - Undrafted
Rob Gronkowski - 2nd round
Jimmy Graham (he was great with the Saints) - 3rd rounder
IMHO this isn't a position you spend money or high draft picks on. Every year spend a 3rd to 6th round pick on a TE, no different than you should with OL. If you only have functional TEs, so be it.
Maybe let's prove the point from a different direction. Here's a list of all the
NFL drafts sorted only by the TE position. Let's look at all the TEs selected in the first round over the past 10 years:
2019 - T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant - probably too early to tell. They both flashed.
2018 - Hayden Hurst
2017 - O.J. Howard, Evan Engram, David Njoku
2016 - None.
2015 - None.
2014 - Eric Ebron (look back at this entire class of TEs. Truly horrible)
2013 - Tyler Eifert
2012 - None.
2011 - None.
2010 - Jermaine Gresham
That's 9 TEs drafted in the first round. How many, based on what they have shown, are worth an extension in the realm of being a top 5 players at their respective position? IMHO, none (too early to tell for the 2019 class).
Finally, I see that I recommended getting Ebron, but also said not to pay for the position. I see Ebron as a cheaper alternative to Hooper. That $2-3M/year difference is material when you are talking about a position that shouldn't be that expensive.
