Packer Central

NFL Free Agency: Tight End Trouble

If the Packers are going to let Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis leave in free agency, who's going to replace them? Here is a look at NFL free agency.

Bill Huber

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – First, the bad news: The Green Bay Packers’ top tight ends, Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, are scheduled to hit free agency.

Worse: The Packers don't have a decent tight end under contract. Tyler Davis was a disappointment, Josiah Deguara is more fullback than traditional tight end, and Austin Allen and Nick Guggemos were late-season additions to the practice squad.

Even worse: Help’s probably not on the way in free agency.

Who’s Off the Market?

The Jacksonville Jaguars slapped the franchise tag on Evan Engram after he caught a career-high 73 passes for 766 yards.

Strong or Weak?

The free-agent group is not weak but it is top-heavy. The Dallas Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz, the Miami Dolphins’ Mike Gesicki and the Tennessee Titans’ Austin Hooper are good enough to start for most teams. They will command considerable contracts.

The depth runs out quickly, though. In this series, we’re presenting the top 12 free agents at positions of need. It was a real stretch to even find 10 tight ends. Fortunately, an unusually strong draft class could tempt general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Our Top 12

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys: Schultz is coming off three consecutive productive seasons with 63 receptions in 2020, 78 receptions in 2021 and 57 receptions for 577 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. He’s not the most explosive player in the league but he gets open, breaks tackles and blocks. He did drop 14 passes the last three years.

Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins: Gesicki caught 177 passes for 2,053 yards and 13 touchdowns from 2019 through 2021. What would he do for an encore with the addition of All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill? Not much. Playing on the franchise tag, he caught 32 passes for 362 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. During a five-game stretch in November and December, he caught two passes. In 2021, he had five-plus receptions in five games and 50-plus yards in seven games. He has just eight drops in five seasons.

Austin Hooper, Tennessee Titans: Hooper topped 70 receptions for the Falcons in 2018 and 2019. After two seasons in Cleveland, Hooper caught 41 passes for 444 yards and two touchdowns in 2022. He went from six drops in 2021 to only one in 2022. He doesn’t get paid to run block.

Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers: Check out our Tonyan feature form our Stay or Go series.

Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals: Hurst caught 52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns last season. That gave him 50-plus catches two of the last three years. In five seasons, he has 177 receptions but only six drops. He’ll turn 30 during training camp and is an OK blocker.

Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders: A fourth-round pick in 2019, Moreau took advantage of Darren Waller’s absence to set career highs with 33 reception and 420 yards. Presumably, there’s more production if he becomes a full-time starter. He averaged 7.2 YAC per catch but dropped six passes.

Irv Smith Jr., Minnesota Vikings: A second-round pick in 2019, Smith caught 36 passes as a rookie, 30 in 2020 and, after missing 2021 with a knee injury, 25 in 2022. Undersized at 6-foot-2, Smith was supposed to be a matchup problem because of his athleticism but he’s averaged only 9.4 yards per catch in his career.

Marcedes Lewis, Green Bay Packers: Check out our Lewis feature from our Stay or Go series.

Jordan Akins, Houston Texans: Akins’ steady play continued in 2022 when, as a fifth-year pro, he caught 37 passes for 495 yards (13.4 average) and five touchdowns. All four figures set career highs. He averaged 6.1 YAC (good) but dropped three passes (bad). He’ll turn 31 next month.

O.J. Howard, Houston Texans: The 19th pick of the 2017 draft, it just hasn’t worked out for Howard. Playing behind Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay didn’t help but he caught only 10 passes in 2022 for the Texans. In six seasons, he’s caught 129 passes and scored 17 touchdowns. He’s still tall (6-6), he’s still fast (4.51 in the 40) and he can still catch (one drop the last three years). He’d be a good what-the-heck signing.

Josh Oliver, Baltimore Ravens: A third-round pick in 2019, Oliver caught a career-high 14 passes for 149 yards and scored his first two touchdowns in 2022. Unfortunately, he also dropped three passes. He’s 6-foot-5 with 4.63 speed and has developed some blocking skills.

Eric Saubert, Denver Broncos: Saubert’s bounced around to four teams in six seasons. He caught 15 passes for 148 yards in 2022, the yardage figure beating his career total from his first five seasons.

More Green Bay Packers Offseason News

NFL free agency: Receivers

NFL free agency: Quarterbacks

NFL free agency: Tight ends

100 Days of Mocks: A first-round quarterback?

Rodgers: “It won’t be long”

Trade/potential trade make huge impact on NFC North odds

History of each of the Packers’ 10 draft slots

Murphy discusses Rodgers in past tense

Packers restructure Bakhtiari’s contract

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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