{"id":23724,"date":"2023-03-08T12:39:28","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T17:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=23724"},"modified":"2023-03-08T13:13:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T18:13:38","slug":"2023-nfl-draft-top-5-tight-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/2023-nfl-draft-top-5-tight-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NFL DRAFT: TOP 5 TIGHT ENDS<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I did my deep dive into the tight ends entering the 2023 NFL Draft, I assumed narrowing it down to a Top 5 would be pretty simple. That was not the case. This is a solid and deep group<\/a>, with plenty of prospects who should hear their names read aloud from the podium before the league\u2019s annual amateur player selection meeting wraps in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday, April 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tight end position is more valuable than ever in the NFL. Where it used to be primarily used as a sixth offensive lineman blocker and occasional third-down target, football, especially over the last two decades, has evolved in such a way as to make these guys some of the preeminent offensive players in the game. From Tony Gonzalez to Antonio Gates, to Rob Gronkowski and now Travis Kelce, the right tight end can be an offensive game changer and a match-up nightmare for NFL defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While guys like Tucker Kraft (South Dakota State), Luke Schoonmaker (Michigan), Josh Whyle (Cincinnati), Brenton Strange (Penn State), Davis Allen (Clemson) and Cameron Latu (Alabama) didn\u2019t make the cut, they\u2019ll have ample opportunities to make an NFL roster as Day Three picks. Whyle was a tough exclusion and nearly sneaked in at No. 5. Instead, I went with a guy who missed most of last year with an injury, but was on his way to an elite season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. LUKE MUSGRAVE, OREGON STATE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-6, 252 pounds, 11 receptions, 169 yards, one touchdown<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musgrave appeared in just two games in 2022 on his way to what looked like a breakout season, but did enough there and his previous campaigns to land in the Top 5. He was on pace for a 72 catch, 1,098, seven touchdown season when he went down with a knee injury in his second game. Musgrave doesn\u2019t have the speed and hip movement of the guys I\u2019ve listed ahead of him, but he\u2019s a monster target with good hand<\/a>s and a serious blocker who should be able to help hold the edge in NFL running attacks. He could easily end up a starter later down the road, but as a rookie should be a solid TE2 on any roster and a likely Day Two or early Day Three selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. SAM LAPORTA, IOWA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-4, 249 pounds, 58 receptions, 657 yards, 1 touchdown<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laporta\u2019s last two seasons for the Hawkeyes are as consistent as it gets. In 2021, he caught 53 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns. While his red zone production was never elite, you have to blame that more on the playcalling. He\u2019s got good speed, nice hands and the ability to track the ball in the air<\/a>. He runs pass routes a lot like a receiver. I\u2019m not sure how valuable he\u2019ll be in the run game, but that\u2019s up to his NFL coaches to fix. Like Musgrave, he\u2019s a solid Day Two pick who should be able to contribute early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. DARNELL WASHINGTON, GEORGIA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-7, 265 pounds, 28 receptions, 454 yards, two touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you talk about ceiling, and if you read my draft analysis, you know I don\u2019t count it much when considering a prospect, no tight end on this list has a higher one than Washington. His NBA size alone makes him a tempting target and there\u2019s just no way he makes it past the second round. If his production troubles anyone, it\u2019s only because the Bulldogs were so loaded, they didn\u2019t need to feed him the ball unless it was a key first down. He\u2019s as athletic as most running backs, he can block and the look on defense back\u2019s faces<\/a> alone when he\u2019s coming at him at 6-7 and nearly 270 should be enough to get fans buying his jersey in droves. While I have him going early in the second, there\u2019s a good chance he could sneak into the bottom of the first. Especially if Kansas City keeps the No. 31 pick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. DALTON KINCAID, UTAH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-4, 242 pounds, 70 receptions, 890 yards, eight touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top two guys on my list are pretty close, not only in size, but also production. Their film looks pretty much the same too, with both showing he ability to run wide receiver routes while highlighting their athleticism, ball tracking and catching skills. Kincaid gets bumped to No. 2 simply because he played at a smaller school and his highlights, though impressive, just aren\u2019t against the same caliber of opponents as the guy I\u2019ve listed above him. It won\u2019t hurt his draft status as pretty much everyone expects him to go in Round 1 of April\u2019s NFL Draft. I had him penciled in to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 28 in my first mock<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. MICHAEL MAYER, NOTRE DAME<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:<\/em><\/strong> 6-4, 249 pounds, 67 receptions, 809 yards, nine touchdowns<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayer not only gets the top spot because he delivered his performances against legitimate FBS opponents like Clemson, USC, South Carolina and Ohio State, but also the fact that he did it two years in a row. Mayer\u2019s sophomore year stats are nearly identical to his junior season. He caught 71 passes for 840 yards and nine touchdowns. While some of the other tight ends on the list were left out of their team\u2019s red zone plans, Mayer was a key factor every time the Irish got anywhere near the paint. He looks a whole lot like the Chiefs\u2019 Travis Kelce to me, with his route running, eagerness to turn up field and take on contact, and his nose for the first down line and end zone. In my first mock draft, I had him going at No. 10 to the Philadelphia Eagles to replace a departing Dallas Goedert, but he might legitimately not last that long. Especially after what Kelce did, once again, in the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE Before I did my deep dive into the tight ends entering the 2023 NFL Draft, I assumed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":23730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[146,159],"class_list":["post-23724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23724"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23733,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions\/23733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}