Which School is Tight End U.?

We crunched 10 years’ worth of data to determine which college program has the right to brand itself the modern “Tight End U.”

Bill Huber | Apr 8, 2020

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers released underperforming tight end Jimmy Graham, meaning the relatively the unproven tandem of Jace Sternberger and Robert Tonyan and past-his-prime veteran Marcedes Lewis are atop the tight end depth chart.

The wild card is Sternberger, a third-round pick last year who suffered a concussion early in training camp and an ankle injury in the preseason finale. The latter injury sent him to injured reserve. Combined, those two injuries were a massive setback to Sternberger’s development.

With that, the Packers could look to bolster the tight end group in this month’s NFL Draft.

Which school has the best history of cranking out premier tight ends? That would be Stanford. Just look at this group from the previous eight drafts alone:

Coby Fleener (2012 second round, 54 starts)

Zach Ertz (2013 second round, 71 starts)

Levine Toilolo (2013 fourth round, 67 starts)

Ryan Hewitt (2014 undrafted, 39 starts)

Austin Hooper (2016 third round, 28 starts)

Dalton Schultz (2018 fourth round, 7 starts)

Kaden Smith (2019 sixth round, 6 starts)

Another player will be added to that list in April with Colby Parkinson.

“I think it comes from that pro-style offense that we have,” Parkinson said at the Scouting Combine. “We’re always able to step into the NFL and handle any type of playbook that’s thrown at us and also be that hybrid tight end. Someone that’s going to catch the ball, but also get involved in the run game. I think the way that Stanford uses their tight ends is very beneficial at the next level.”

Which other schools have produced top tight end talent? SI.com’s Reid Foster crunched 10 years’ worth of data. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY.

Bill Huber’s Tight End Profiles

No. 1: Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet

No. 2: Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant