NFC East’s best tight end room might be a surprise

The NFL has converted to a passing league over the past few seasons.

Gone are the days where just one stud pass catcher surrounded by role players is enough for an offense to be successful.

Most teams either need an elite wide receiver corps to keep up, or they need an elite tight end to make up the difference.

Players like the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and the Ravens’ Mark Andrews give those offenses an advantage that most teams don’t have the option to utilize.

Today my rankings series continues by breaking down the tight end rooms in the NFC East.

Utilize the following links to catch yourself up in this positional series:
Quarterbacks
Running backs

Like before, analysis will be done by team alphabetical order with rankings revealed at the end of the article.

Cowboys’ TE Jake Ferguson

Dallas Cowboys

Projected starter: Jake Ferguson
Key contributor(s): Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot

Jake Ferguson

The Cowboys and Dak Prescott lost one of the most reliable tight ends in the NFL this offseason when they didn’t offer Dalton Schultz a new contract.

A year after being franchise tagged, Schultz was allowed to walk in free agency, and signed with the Houston Texans.

Last offseason Dallas used a 4th round pick to draft Jake Ferguson out of the University of Wisconsin.

Ferguson played 16 games, but did not contribute enough to give confidence that he could step in this season to replace what was lost with the departure of Schultz.

His 19 receptions for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns aren’t nearly enough to say he is the clear cut number one tight end that he’s expected to be.

Luke Schoonmaker/Peyton Hendershot

With that last sentence on Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker enters the chat.

Dallas used a 2nd round pick this season for the versatile tight end from the University of Michigan.

Schoonmaker is already dealing with a Lisfranc injury suffered during the team’s first mandatory minicamp.

Injuries like those tend to linger, but hopefully the medical staff caught it in time to prevent further damage.

Regardless of injury, the tight end transition from college to the NFL is already a steep climb.

Dallas is confident he can contribute early, maybe even starting the season at the top of the depth chart.

Cowboys’ beat writers have reported that the coaching staff gets most excited when talking about the potential of Peyton Hendershot.

Hendershot received even less opportunities than Ferguson did in their rookie seasons.

He appeared in all 17 regular season games, catching just 11 passes.

Hopefully we get to see the version of Hendershot that the Cowboys’ coaching staff has in their minds.

Giants TE Darren Waller

New York Giants

Projected starter: Darren Waller
Key contributor(s): Daniel Bellinger

Darren Waller

The Giants made a big move this offseason to add talent to the offense around Daniel Jones.

Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka gave the offense a new identity last season, and continue to build on that for 2023.

Darren Waller was acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Waller’s career got off to a rocky start due to substance abuse issues, but thankfully he fought off his demons to become one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

His career really took off in his second and third seasons with the Raiders.

A two year stretch of 197 receptions for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns vaulted Waller into the elite group of tight ends.

Two years removed from those seasons, Waller is looking to recover from a down year in 2022 due to injury.

Daniel Bellinger

The Giants drafted Daniel Bellinger in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He started 11 games, recording 30 receptions for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That production is nothing to write home about, but the Giants are excited at Bellinger’s potential.

They hope the tandem of he and Waller can stretch defenses in the absence of an alpha wide receiver. (hint hint to a future article)

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert

Philadelphia Eagles

Projected starter: Dallas Goedert
Key contributor(s): Dan Arnold, Jack Stoll

Dallas Goedert

The Eagles drafted Dallas Goedert with the 49th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

They famously traded up ahead of the Cowboys to snipe him from right under their noses.

Dallas had their eyes set on Goedert as a replacement for the aging Jason Witten.

Goedert has been solid, but not as spectacular as the Eagles would have hoped when they used draft capital to trade up and keep him out of a Cowboys uniform.

He received a fat, new contract from Howie Roseman, but has had his share of struggles with injury.

The only season he has appeared in all regular season games was his rookie year.

Finally out of the shadow of fellow tight end Zach Ertz, Goedert has played well, but has still failed to launch himself into the upper echelon of tight ends.

He has yet to eclipse 60 receptions, 830 yards, or over 5 touchdowns in a single season.

Dan Arnold/Jack Stoll

Dan Arnold is a veteran who has spent his five seasons on four different teams, with the Eagles now being his sixth.

Arnold is firmly entrenched in the TE2/3 conversation. He is primarily used as a blocker.

Jack Stoll is the player to watch for Philadelphia. He has the potential to leapfrog Arnold on the depth chart.

Stoll is entering his third season, and was much more involved in 2022.

He started 11 games alongside Goedert when the Eagles started the game in two tight end sets.

Grant Calcaterra is entering his second season, and could push for more playing time as a flex tight end on passing downs.

Commanders TE Logan Thomas

Washington Commanders

Projected starter: Logan Thomas
Key contributor(s): John Bates, Cole Turner

Logan Thomas

Logan Thomas was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 4th round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

He has since bounced around the league, with stints in Buffalo and Detroit before finally landing with Washington for the 2020 season.

Thomas has the talent to be a top tier tight end, but injuries have slowed him.

His best season was the Covid-19 affected 2020 season where he registered 72 receptions for 670 yards and 6 touchdowns.

None of his other seasons have come even close to that production.

Thomas will have to stay healthy for the Commanders to have any real production at the tight end position.

John Bates/Cole Turner

The plan behind Thomas should he suffer injury is an unknown commodity for Washington.

John Bates enters his third season with 34 catches for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first two years.

With three dynamic wide receivers, the Commanders don’t use 12 personnel (1RB/2TE formation) very often.

Bates isn’t likely to get an uptick in snaps unless Thomas suffers injury.

Cole Turner is a prospect that the Commanders really like.

He appeared in 10 games his rookie season of 2022, catching only two passes for 23 yards.

It will be difficult to break through the top two players ahead of him on the depth chart.

Final Rankings

New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
Washington Commanders