Commanders Tight End Review: Logan Thomas Leads The Way; Cole Turner, John Bates Improve

The Washington Commanders offense struggled at times this season, but how did the tight end room fare this year?

The Washington Commanders offense was up and down in Eric Bieniemy's first season as coordinator.

Tasked with improving the unit that averaged just 18.9 points a game in 2022 (ranked 24th), Bieniemy improved that slightly as Washington averaged 19.4 points per game in 2023.

With a good group of receivers led by Terry McLaurin that helped Sam Howell get his feet underneath him in his first season starting, how did his tight ends fare this year? 

Let's take a look.

Veteran Logan Thomas had a bounce-back year as he played in the most games since 2020 as he started 15 out of 16.

With Thomas being on the field, Howell looked his way, and often. Thomas would finish his eighth season with the most receiving yards since 2020 as he totaled 459 yards, which was the fourth-highest on offense, and hauled in four touchdowns (tied for most on offense). Thomas would also have 55 receptions (third-highest on team).

It was a bounce-back season if we have ever seen one from the veteran tight end as he was consistently on the field. Thomas has now played in 28 games across his last two seasons after only playing six in 2021 after his ACL tear.

Thomas was a slow burn last season, although he did play 14 games (13 starts), but as we have often seen, in their first year coming back from such an injury, players are rarely back looking like themselves.

But Thomas was back in decent form for Washington this year and led the tight end room with aplomb.

Jerome Miron, USA Today

Now for the others.

Thomas wasn't the only tight end that improved from his 2022 output as John Bates, who was in his third year caught 19 passes for 151 yards, both were more than his 2022 totals. That looks even better when you factor in that Bates played 10 fewer offensive snaps in 2023.

Bates' best outing came in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos as he caught three passes for 46 yards in the 35-31 win. 

Then we get to Cole Turner.

The second-year tight end improved his output dramatically. In his rookie season, Turner caught just two passes for 23 yards. But this season, Turner had 11 receptions for 120 yards and did it having played 103 fewer offensive snaps. So he, along with Bates, did more with less.

While Bates and Turner's output weren't outstanding, both improved and that's all the coaching staff could ask for.

Commanders Coach Bieniemy: Nobody 'Upset About' TE Thomas Target Share

Overall, the room showed some signs of improvement, but going forward, Bieniemy would ideally like his tight ends to be more involved in the passing game.

Thomas wound back the clock, while Bates and Turner improved on their outputs from a year ago. A big offseason is needed from this trio.