7 Best Tight Ends Hitting the Market this Offseason Part 1

By BetOnline February 7, 2020

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BY ADAM GREENE

I didn’t expect to find the tight end market this robust when I first pulled up the list of free agents. Like the wide receiver group, this one is rich in talent and you could go any way you wanted with a signing. You could bring in an older vet to plug a hole while you develop younger players or you could pluck a potential star from the free agent pile and add a new weapon to your offense for the next three to five years.

Narrowing the list to just seven wasn’t difficult, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of guys that didn’t make this lineup that will have any trouble landing on an NFL team come March.

1. AUSTIN HOOPER, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

2019: 75 catches, 787 yards, six touchdowns

Hooper has been one of the most underrated tight ends in the league for the last three seasons in spite of making two Pro Bowls. There’s so much wide receiver talent on the Atlanta Falcons, he just gets lost in the mix in spite of catching 70-plus passes the past two seasons. He’s not a name like Travis Kelce or George Kittle, but he should be.

If you play Daily Fantasy, though, you know him and he’s probably won you some cash. Now he’ll get to cash in himself after exhausting his rookie contract with the Falcons.

Where he should end up: Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons made the mistake of keeping Dan Quinn as their head coach for at least one more season. They can’t start losing talent now. They’ve gotten Hooper at a discount for the last four seasons, but that’s over. Tight end contracts top out at $10 million a year, with Jimmy Graham of the Green Bay Packers claiming that number. Kelce makes $9.368 but look for that number to jump when he’s heading toward free agency in 2022. Hooper will command at least $9 million regardless of where he ends up and in spite of their current salary cap issues, Atlanta needs to make room to keep Hooper on the squad. If they don’t pony it up, somebody else will.

2. HUNTER HENRY, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

2019: 55 catches, 652 yards, five touchdowns

Henry was picked in the same draft as Hooper, just a round earlier. He’s been a solid performer in the Los Angeles Chargers offense in spite of having to share time with Antonio Gates, who has a gold jacket in his near future now that he’s finally retired.

Hooper missed all of 2018 with an injury and put up his 2019 numbers in just 12 games after missing most of the first month with a fractured tibial plateau.

Where he should end up: New England Patriots

New England tried to piece together a tight end squad from cast-offs and no names last season and got nothing out of the position. For their offense to run effectively, whether Tom Brady returns or not, that has to change.

While Henry’s not Rob Gronkowski, he’s an elite pass-catching tight end and will pay instant dividends if the Pats have another run with Brady and Bill Belichick in them.

More former Pro Bowlers show up in Part 2.