Loaded Group Awaits at Potential Position of Need

The Green Bay Packers would be in the market for an immediate starter if tight ends Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis leave in free agency.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With sure-handed Robert Tonyan and tough-guy Marcedes Lewis, the Green Bay Packers received more than 1,000 snaps of quality tight end play in 2022.

With Tonyan and Lewis heading to free agency and the Packers facing cap difficulties and, perhaps, looking to get younger, tight end could be a position of major need when the 2023 NFL Draft begins in exactly three months.

Tight end has routinely been one of the worst positions in recent drafts but not this year. Daniel Jeremiah, the NFL.com draft expert and former NFL scout, has six tight ends in his top-50 list.

For perspective, Jeremiah listed zero in his top 50 in 2022, two in 2021, one in 2020 and three in 2019 for a total of six the previous four seasons.

His early top five:

Dalton Kincaid, Utah

With two seasons at San Diego and two more at Utah, Kincaid finished as the active leader among tight ends with 2,484 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns. He was a third-team All-American as a senior with 70 receptions for 890 yards and eight touchdowns. In one of the most ridiculous games ever, he caught all 16 targets against USC for 234 yards and one touchdown.

Listed by the school at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Kincaid played only one year of high school football. It’s not that Kincaid was new to the sport. As a kid, he’d bounce on the family trampoline, with his father tossing footballs over the protective net.

“We had a trampoline in my backyard so I would dive and catch the balls he threw to me,” Dalton explained to Pac-12.com. “Three drops and we were done, but the better I got at catching that became two drops, then one drop.”

Darnell Washington, Georgia

Washington caught 28 passes for 454 yards and two touchdowns in helping the Bulldogs win the national championship. He was second-team all-SEC; teammate Brock Bowers (who remains at Georgia) was the first-team choice and the winner of the Mackey Award as the nation’s best at the position.

Washington is the big man on campus and he’s willing to throw a block party: Wearing No. 0, Washington was listed at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds.

“The combination of the athleticism and displacement, there are probably none” to compare Washington to at the position, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We had some guys when I was at Alabama, (such as) Michael Williams, that were big, more blocking guys, offensive tackle type guys. He has a receiving skillset that is unique, combined with that size.”

Michael Mayer, Notre Dame

If Kincaid is the pass catcher and Washington the blocker, Mayer is the do-it-all prospect. In 24 games during his final two seasons in South Bend, the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder led all FBS tight ends with 138 receptions for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns. Mayer was named an All-American following each of those seasons. Mayer set school records for a tight end with his 71 receptions for 840 yards in 2021 and his nine touchdown receptions in 2022. Among tight ends, he’s also the school’s career leader with 180 receptions.

He quickly earned the nickname “Baby Gronk.”

“We have a hell of a tight end (and) we want to feature him,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “There’s something to say about the way he works, the tenacity he plays with, the edge he plays with. Obviously, he’s extremely talented, but there’s a reason why he’s a great player. The mentality is there.”

Luke Musgrave, Oregon State

Musgrave caught 11 passes for 169 yards in two games before suffering a season-ending knee injury and declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft. In 34 career games, he caught 47 passes for 633 yards and two scores.

Musgrave is from a legendary Oregon football family. His father, Doug, played quarterback at Oregon and an uncle, Bill, also played quarterback at Oregon before embarking on professional careers as a player and coach.

“You learn so many lessons playing football. It really helps you out in life. From toughness to character, hard work, and dedication, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons along the way,” he told The Draft Network recently.

“One thing I hold near and dear to my heart is the toughness aspect. My dad always told me to never lay down on a football field unless you physically can’t get up. As long as you can stand, never lay down. I’ve never laid down on a field. I take pride in that.”

Sam LaPorta, Iowa

The Hawkeyes have produced a bunch of NFL tight ends. With career totals of 153 receptions for 1,786 yards, LaPorta ranks as the most productive tight end in school history. The Big Ten’s Tight End of the Year in 2022, he caught 58 passes for 657 yards and one touchdown.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 249 pounds, LaPorta ranks second in Illinois high school history with 50 career receiving touchdowns. He floated under the recruiting radar; the Hawkeyes learned about him through the coach of the nearby high school that produced A.J. Epenesa.

“He loves football. Like he loves playing. He loves being out there on the field. He enjoys getting his ankles taped,” coach Kirk Ferentz said of LaPorta, who he compared to Dallas Clark. “He kind of likes everything about this, and he's got a real good energy, a good vibe.”

Reviewing the 2022 Packers Tight Ends

We look at the Green Bay Packers’ tight ends through the lenses of performance and the salary cap.

Marcedes Lewis ($4.53 million; 16th among tight ends)

For the second consecutive year, Marcedes Lewis started all 17 games. However, the 38-year-old was a far more one-dimensional player in 2022. This past season, he caught 6-of-7 passes for 66 yards, with touchdowns vs. the Giants and Dolphins. In 2021, he caught 23-of-28 passes for 214 yards.

It wasn’t just the raw numbers. In 2021, he forced nine missed tackles – as many as three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews, who caught 107 passes, and more than Zach Ertz (74 catches), Mike Gesicki (73) and six others who caught at least 60 passes – and averaged 6.5 yards after the catch. In 2022, he forced zero missed tackles and averaged 2.5 YAC.

Of course, “Big Dog” is on the team to block and lead. And he did those things to his usual standard. There weren’t many explosive runs that didn’t have Lewis making the key block at the point of attack. Green Bay’s elite perimeter run game might be a shell of itself without Lewis beating up on defensive ends.

Take PFF’s grades for what they’re worth but, out of 45 tight ends with at least 200 snaps in the run game, Lewis’ run-blocking grade ranked fifth.

Lewis will be a free agent. Next season will be his 18th, which would be most ever by a tight end. It’s a record he wants and it’s a record he will have earned.

“A guy like Marcedes Lewis, he’s an important cog in the wheel of the locker room and the momentum of the team,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show this week. “That’s a guy I want to finish my career with. If I’m playing, I want that guy next to me.”

Grade: B-minus.

Robert Tonyan ($3.25 million; 25th among tight ends)

Robert Tonyan missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL but played in all 17 games in 2022. Tonyan led the team in receiving for a big chunk of the season before finishing third with 53 receptions. He had 470 yards, an 8.9-yard average and two touchdowns.

Tonyan had a breakout season in 2020 season, when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. Of the 34 tight ends who were targeted at least 40 times, Tonyan was No. 1 in catch percentage (89.7), drop percentage (0.0) and passer rating (148.3), according to PFF, and was tied for No. 1 in touchdowns.

Coming off the injury, two of the numbers were quite similar. Of 32 tight ends with at least 40 targets in 2022, Tonyan was No. 1 in catch percentage (84.1) and drop percentage (one; 1.9 percent). His hands are nothing short of impeccable. However, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, the resulting passer rating was only 95.1. He broke three tackles after having just one in 84 receptions the previous four seasons.

Presumably, he’ll be more of a threat in 2023 as the ACL becomes more of a distant memory. In 2020, he caught 9-of-11 passes with three touchdowns on passes 10 to 19 yards downfield and 6-of-9 passes with four touchdowns on passes 20-plus yards downfield. That’s a combined 15-of-20. This past season, he caught 5-of-9 passes with zero touchdowns on throws 10 to 19 yards downfield and 2-of-5 passes with two touchdowns on throws 20-plus yards downfield. That’s a combined 7-of-14.

Tonyan will be a free agent. Given the team’s trade-deadline interest in the Raiders’ Darren Waller, it appears the team is looking to upgrade.

Grade: C-plus.

Josiah Deguara ($1.22 million; 44th among tight ends)

A third-round pick in 2020, Deguara has developed into a solid role player. He caught 13-of-15 passes for 114 yards and zero touchdowns. After catching five passes for 41 yards in the midseason loss at Detroit, he caught two passes for 8 yards in the final eight games. He didn’t drop any passes but he didn’t break any tackles or make much happen after the catch, either.

If the Packers wanted to run the ball, they put Marcedes Lewis at tight end, Allen Lazard at receiver and Deguara at fullback. There weren’t many explosive runs that didn’t have Deguara lined up at fullback or on the wing and making a key block.

When the Packers drafted Deguara, they saw a player in the mold of Kyle Juszczyk, who has been picked for seven Pro Bowls in 10 seasons with the Ravens and 49ers. It’d be interesting to see Deguara’s impact if given some more opportunities.

Grade: C.

Tyler Davis ($895,000; 77th among tight ends)

Playing all 17 games, Davis caught 4-of-7 passes for 26 yards. Most of those yards came on a 23-yarder at Tampa Bay. Davis ran the wrong route at Philadelphia, leading to an interception. He didn’t get another pass thrown his way the final five games as his reps mostly were limited to blocking.

Davis was fourth on the team with 10 tackles on special teams. Six of those came during the final four games, when Green Bay’s special teams really hit its stride.

Davis will be a restricted free agent this offseason. He probably got too much hype this offseason, when he got a lot of reps with Robert Tonyan returning from his torn ACL, but he is worthy of another shot.

Grade: D.

100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here’s the 100-day-countdown series.

100 days: First-round quarterback?

99 days: Trading for outside linebacker

98 days: Stud tight end

97 days: This pick would break a long drought

96 days: NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah goes back to Georgia

95 days: Two firsts if Rodgers is traded

94 days: College Football News mocks Mayer

93 days: Safety first for Bucky Brooks in NFL.com mock

92 days: Kiper takes a tight end

91 days: Three defensive backs in seven-round mock

90 days: Playmaking cornerback at PFF