The five-time Pro Bowl selection was a star player for the Bears before winning the Super Bowl later in his career with the Dallas Cowboys.ĭitka took in 427 catches for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns - stats which don't jump out at you these days but in the different game of the 60s are huge numbers for a tight end.
Mike DitkaĪ Super Bowl winning coach with the famous 1985 Chicago Bears and a well-known broadcaster, Mike Ditka was also a stand-out as a player in the 1960s and early 70s. His limited time in the game compared to others means his stats aren't as good as some, but he was as effective and dangerous at the position as anyone. Winslow spent eight years with San Diego and played 109 games, taking in 541 catches for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns - making the Pro Bowl five times. Kellen WinslowĪ Hall of Fame inductee in 1995, Winslow was one of the first tight ends who could really run and get down the field to stretch defences as well as just take the short passes over the middle. The Dallas Cowboys veteran spent 15 seasons with America's Team and was much more in the Gronkowski mold than some of the others as a big, blocking tight end who was also a smooth route runner with a safe pair of hands.Ī total of 1,228 catches in 239 games shows how good he was with his hands, as he piled up 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns, often contested as he outmuscled his defenders while also being shifty enough off the mark to run beyond bigger defenders.Īlso like Gronkowski, Witten retired for a season before returning to Dallas in 2018 and eventually ending his career with the Raiders. Sharpe scored 62 TDs, and caught 815 balls for 10,060 yards in 204 games - and was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times. Unlike Gates and Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe did manage to get the Super Bowl success that his talent deserved as he won three Lombardi Trophies - two with the Denver Broncos and one with the Baltimore Ravens.Īnother Hall of Famer, Sharpe was the first of the oversized receivers to take up the tight end position, and work more over the middle for short, often crucial passes as well as being a touchdown threat. The all-time leader for tight end TD catches, Gates may have caught passes from Philip Rivers but the Chargers never managed to make it through to the Super Bowl. In 236 games, Gates had 955 catches for 11,841 yards and scored 116 touchdowns, which puts him in sixth on the all-time list for TD catches among all players. He'd get into any team simply as a blocker or receiver, but he managed both, and that's why he's going to the Hall of Fame. So, while Gronkowski didn't reinvent the position or revolutionize it, he managed to produce elite performances in both facets of being a tight end that few have managed before. You rarely get a player that can do both at a high level. Now we have broadly two types of players playing at tight end and they're often labelled as such - as blocking tight ends and pass-catching tight ends.
Super-human athletes now occupy the position, with Tony Gonzalez pioneering a role for ex-basketballers who use their size, strength and leaping ability to create mismatches when lining up as wideouts.
It's a unique position in the NFL, with the tight end role evolving more than most over the years, from originally an extra, slightly leaner, blocker who could catch the odd pass, to nowdays being mainly a giant wide receiver. Rob Gronkowski's recent retirement after 11 seasons saw the end of a glittering career that saw him become one of the most dominant players in the NFL, but where does he rank on the list of all-time great tight ends?