Grading the Packers on Salary-Cap Curve: Tight Ends

In Part 3 of our season-ending series, we examine Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and the Green Bay Packers' tight ends.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Player grades are a staple series of stories at the end of every season. Ours are different, as we grade based on their impact compared to the salary cap. That’s because the cap is such a big part of building a roster. Not only must a team’s high-priced players deliver but it must have some of its less-expensive players outperform their contracts. Generally, the Green Bay Packers got those contributions on the way to a second consecutive NFC Championship Game.

Part 3 of this series focuses on tight ends. All salary data is from OverTheCap.com.

Marcedes Lewis

No. 40 among tight ends with $2.3 million cap charge

Lewis’ value far exceeds his 10 receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns. It even exceeds his value as a blocker, which was considerable in helping power one of the NFL’s top rushing attacks.

Lewis is the ultimate team player, the type of “glue” guy that teams covet for their selflessness and leadership. Over his three seasons with the team, he’s been a mentor to the young tight ends, a friend for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and an overall leader. Lewis will tun 37 in May and the Packers have major cap problems. Still, they’d be wise to bring “Big Dog” back on a fourth consecutive one-year contract.

“I’ve been able to round myself out as being an all-around tight end,” he said. “I understand that my type is not necessarily in the league as much anymore, and there’s a premium with what I can do. I get the same excitement out of pancaking a guy or making a great block as I do catching a touchdown or making a great catch.”

Grade: B.

Jace Sternberger

No. 60 with $956,632 cap charge

In 11 games, Sternberger caught 12-of-15 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. He was playing about 20 snaps per game until suffering a concussion in Week 13 against Philadelphia. He didn’t play again, including being a healthy scratch for both playoff games.

The Packers tried and tried to find a difference-making tight end, whether it was a third-round pick on Richard Rodgers or free-agent tries on Jared Cook, Martellus Bennett and Jimmy Graham. Sternberger, a third-round pick in 2019 after an impressive one-and-done season at Texas A&M, might be another swing and a miss. In 18 career games, he’s caught 12 passes for 114 yards. He needs a full training camp and some good health after missing significant time in each of his first two seasons.

Grade: F.

Robert Tonyan

No. 83 with $750,000 cap charge

The Packers used third-round draft picks on Richard Rodgers, Jace Sternberger and Josiah Deguara. They signed Martellus Bennett, Jared Cook and Jimmy Graham in free agency.

Oddly enough, they found their centerpiece tight end in a small-school quarterback-turned-receiver who joined the Packers’ practice squad in one of those who-cares-about types of transactions late in the 2017 season.

After showing bits and pieces of his potential in 2018 and 2019, Tonyan was a breakout star this year with 52 receptions for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. Of the 34 tight ends who were targeted at least 40 times in the passing game, Tonyan was No. 1 in catch percentage (89.7), drop percentage (0.0) and passer rating (148.3), according to Pro Football Focus. In the bizarro world that is Pro Bowl voting, he lost out to the Giants’ Evan Engram, who had more receptions (63) and yards (654) but lagged far behind in touchdowns (one), catch percentage (61.8), drop percentage (11.3) and passer rating (59.8).

Tonyan will be a restricted free agent this offseason. He won’t be cheap to retain. The second-round tender, which would force his new team to give the Packers a second-round pick, cost $3.259 million last year. The first-round tender cost $4.641 million.

Grade: A.

Josiah Deguara

No. 98 with $678,632 cap charge

A surprise third-round pick, Deguara’s rookie season went down the drain due to injuries. Deguara played 24 snaps in the opener at Minnesota, where he caught one pass for 12 yards. However, an ankle injury kept him out of two games. He returned to action in Week 4 against Atlanta and played seven snaps on offense and one on special teams. That special-teams snap, when he was protecting on a punt, resulted in a torn ACL.

Deguara famously caught coach Matt LaFleur’s eye while hustling to save a touchdown after an interception during his senior season at Cincinnati. In limited duty, he looked at home in the hybrid fullback/tight end “F” position. The injury happened so early in the season that he should be ready to go for 2021.

Grade: Incomplete

John Lovett

No. 118 with $439,411 cap charge

A dual-threat quarterback while at Princeton, Lovett had emerged as a role player on offense and a key figure on special teams before suffering a torn ACL during a midseason practice. On offense, Lovett replaced Deguara at the “F” position. He even closed the San Francisco game at running back. On special teams, he was tied for the team lead with four tackles at the time of the injury. He played 45 snaps on offense and 112 on special teams.

Grade: D-plus.

Dominique Dafney

No. 139 with $143,529 charge

Dafney attended three colleges and had only one standout performance – as a wildcat runner in his collegiate finale at Indiana State. After being released by the Colts at the end of camp, he got a job at a bar until the Packers signed him to the practice squad in October. With Deguara and Lovett on injured reserve, Dafney became a surprise contributor at the “F” position. He caught two passes for 26 yards, including one touchdown in the finale against Chicago. He played 68 snaps in the final five regular-season games and logged 17 in the NFC Championship Game. His long-shot story notwithstanding, he’s got a shot to be a contributor next season.

Grade: C.