2020 NFL training camp battles to watch: Tight endsBy Ben Linsey
Jul 10, 2020
As of right now, the NFL is still on track to open training camps in late July, so we’re continuing our series on the positional battles that will take place in those camps.
I’ve already looked at some of the upcoming competitions at wide receiver and running back, so it's time to turn our attention to the imminent TE1 competitions that figure to shape NFL offenses heading into the 2020 NFL season.
LOS ANGELES RAMS: GERALD EVERETT VS. TYLER HIGBEEIn terms of one-two punches at the tight end position, Everett and Higbee are probably second to only Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert as one of the best the NFL has to offer. If the Rams continue to run as much 12 personnel as they did over the second half of the 2019 season (32%, fifth-most in the NFL), then both will have an opportunity. Still, there will be competition for the TE1 role.
Higbee figures to be the favorite in that race after his herculean close to the 2019 season. Over the last five weeks, Higbee led not just all tight ends in receiving yards (522), but he also led all players in the NFL. His 86.1 overall grade for the season ranked third among all tight ends, trailing only Kittle and Mark Andrews. That was buoyed significantly by that five-week stretch to close the season, though. His PFF grade over his first 10 games in 2019 (71.5) ranked 13th among qualifying tight ends. It’s noteworthy that Everett played just four offensive snaps over those last five weeks as he battled injury.
Though he was drafted a year after Higbee, we have a longer track record of Everett being a legitimate receiving threat — he has posted receiving grades of 78.0 or higher in each of the past two seasons, and the only other tight ends to do so after seeing 40-plus targets are Kittle, Kelce and Jared Cook. Everett is a weapon in the passing game in his own right, and if he had finished out the 2019 season, we wouldn’t be talking about Higbee the same way we are right now.
The verdict: The gap between Everett and Higbee isn’t nearly as big as people expect it to be
The PFF consensus PPR rankings have Higbee as TE7 and Gerald Everett as TE27 heading into next season. Our fantasy projections also have Higbee significantly outpacing Everett when it comes to receiving production. That could certainly be the case if Higbee gets the first opportunity to be the guy and runs with it as he did at the end of last season. Everett is, after all, heading toward free agency and a potential change of scenery following next season, while Higbee is secured through 2023.
I’m having a hard time believing Everett just disappears, though. He has been one of the best receivers at the position from a PFF grade standpoint over the last two seasons when on the field, and if I had to make a call, I would say that he eats into Higbee’s workload more than is expected in 2020.
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