NFL Football 2011

NFL 2011 Jason Witten Dallas Cowboys Tight End
Jason Witten

In today's NFL, more teams are factoring the tight end into the offense.

For the second consecutive year, NFL tight ends in 2010 broke the single-season records for the most receptions (2,256), receiving yards (24,969) and touchdown catches (190) for the position. Thirteen tight ends caught at least 50 passes last year, the second-most in NFL history. Only the 2009 season (14) had more.

"It's a position of importance now as scouting departments put teams together," says Houston Texans head coach GARY KUBIAK. "They are weapons now. Tight ends used to block and catch 35 balls a year. Now these guys are catching 80 balls and gaining 1,000 receiving yards. It's a premium position in football."

Few are in a better position to understand the value of the tight end better than Baltimore Ravens General Manager and Executive Vice President OZZIE NEWSOME, who is one of eight tight ends to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"There are a number of reasons that tight ends are catching so many balls right now," says Newsome, who played 13 NFL seasons (1978-90). "We are getting a lot of good, young tight ends who are ready to play because of the pro-style offenses colleges are running these days. These players have the right size. They are 6-4 and weigh 260-270 pounds, and they can run. They can line up tight and block and you can split them out as a big receiver. And they do all of it well."

The versatility of today's tight ends causes matchup problems for the defense, which is crucial in the NFL's never-ending chess game between offensive and defensive coordinators.

"That is where the league has gone -- the athletic, all-around kind of player who gives you value on special teams and on offense," says San Francisco 49ers scout BOB MORRIS.

When an offense trots out a two-tight end, two-receiver personnel group, the defense must be ready for anything, particularly when one or both of the tight ends is a receiving threat.

"You can run out of that formation, but you can also split out one of those tight ends and have a mismatch on a linebacker," says Morris. "That is the value of those guys. If a defense is worried about the pass, that will naturally open room to run the football."

The 13 tight ends that caught at least 50 passes during the 2010 season:

Player Team Receptions Yards TDs
Source: NFL
Jason WittenDallas941,0029
Chris CooleyWashington778493
Brandon PettigrewDetroit717224
Tony GonzalezAtlanta706566
Benjamin WatsonCleveland687633
Jacob TammeIndianapolis676314
Kellen WinslowTampa Bay667305
Zach MillerOakland606855
Marcedes LewisJacksonville5870010
Vernon DavisSan Francisco569147
Dustin KellerNew York Jets556875
Jermaine GreshamCincinnati524714
Antonio GatesSan Diego5078210

NFL 2011 - Tight Ends on the Rise in Offensive Schemes