NFLN top 10 TEs

[WoodysGirl]

I never heard of that Mackey guy but his video highlights looked pretty bad abs. That guy was like a wrecking ball...he even bulldozed his own player on the way to the endzone.

I'd never heard of John Mackey until I was watching some NFL films footage of him and an ESPN HOF thing on him. He was an absolute beast at the position. Everything I've heard about him is that he revolutionized the position. I could be wrong, but that's what I recall.

What's sad is now Mackey is suffering from dementia.

 

[AbeBeta]

So Novacek was one of the best TEs of the 90s, was suparb in the playoffs and has 3 rings....yet Gates made the list and he didnt?

With Novacek it is likely more that he really only had 6 great years. Of course, Jay had about of full season of great playoff games.

Gates has no business on the list yet he's certainly knocking on the door -- if he does what he did over his first 5 year for another 5 or 6, he'll have HoF career #s.

 

[JackMagist]

Did Russ Francis even get an honorable mention? He was greatness at TE back in the day...though he was slowed by some injury issues right at the height of his career and was never quite as good after that (but was still a very good TE).

 

[Bizwah]

Clearly, you don't know much about Jackie Smith. Five straight Pro Bowls, twice all-NFL, Pro Football Hall of Fame. Played 121 straight games. Punishing blocker, great receiver, particularly after the catch. His 16.5 career YPC average is insane for a TE (Gonzalez's career avg is 12.1, his highest season avg 12.9), particularly in an era when receivers could be mugged until the ball was thrown. He retired as the all-time yardage gainer at the position, which he held until Ozzie Newsome broke it.

Realize that all the modern TEs are playing in an era whose rules heavily favor passing compared to the era of Smith, Mackey, Ditka, et al. And the fact that Witten outweighs Smith isn't saying much: due to modern weight training and nutrition (not to mention other "enhancements") all the players today are bigger. Smith would easily have been a 255 pounder today without a loss of speed or comparative strength, and had Witten been around in 1965, he'd probably have weighed about 240.

Smith was an unbelievable tight tend, well deserving of the Hall of Fame.

Good post.

Unfortunately, most of us (Cowboy fans) only remember the drop by Jackie Smith in the Super Bowl. He was a heckuva TE. He's here in the MO Hall of Fame.....

 

[DallasEast]

NFL Network | NFL’s Top 10 Tight Ends:

1 John Mackey
2 Kellen Winslow
3 Mike Ditka
4 Shannon Sharpe
5 Ozzie Newsome
6 Jackie Smith
7 Dave Casper
8 Tony Gonzalez
9 Mark Bavaro
10 Antonio Gates

 

[DallasFanSince86]

NFL Network | NFL’s Top 10 Tight Ends:

1 John Mackey
2 Kellen Winslow
3 Mike Ditka
4 Shannon Sharpe
5 Ozzie Newsome
6 Jackie Smith
7 Dave Casper
8 Tony Gonzalez
9 Mark Bavaro
10 Antonio Gates

Thanks for the full list.

 

[burmafrd]

Of course its weighted more for the modern players, but Mackey being first and Ditka 3rd does show good judgement. Ditka was a very fine TE in an era when they got no notice at all. Casper was probably the first TE to really start getting noticed. Then Winslow really made it big and since then TE's are fairly well known. Jackie Smith was a great one as well exiled to the Cardinals (thought to be honest he was there with Hart during the 5 years or so that they were competitive).

 

[the kid 05]

Witten will be making an impact on that list in a few years. At the rate this guy is going, his career stats will be amazing. Hard to believe he is only 25.

hes only 25! holly snap. i figured him to be 27/28ish feels like hes been on the team for 4-5 years now lol

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

novacek made the "best of the rest" list of guys that almost made the top ten

So Novacek was one of the best TEs of the 90s, was suparb in the playoffs and has 3 rings....yet Gates made the list and he didnt? That is horse pucky. Bavarro won the Super Bowl and was a vital part of that offense, so he deserves to be on the list as well.

I dont think Gates deserved to be there just yet.

BTW, I am sure Shannon Sharpe ended up in the top 3.

Yeah... the thing with Jay is... he was certainly not a GREAT TE... but he was GREAT with us.... with the Triplets... in fact.... they should have been called the Fab Four(instead of triplets) or something because he was a major cog in that offensive wheel.

 

[stealth]

hes only 25! holly snap. i figured him to be 27/28ish feels like hes been on the team for 4-5 years now lol

he has been, he was young when we drafted him like 20 or 21

 

[jterrell]

hes only 25! holly snap. i figured him to be 27/28ish feels like hes been on the team for 4-5 years now lol

He was drafted at 21.
Terence Newman was drafted at 25.

Age entering the NFL is often overlooked.

 

[YosemiteSam]

10 was antonio gates
9 was some dude from the giants
8 was Tony Gonzalez I think

i don't remember the rest and i turned after a while.

I'm guessing that would be Mark Bavaro, unless the Giants had someone much further back that I can't remember or do not know.

Now to say he is one of the best of all time is questionable. He was a big-time fan favorite here in NY, but he didn't produce year in and year out. I believe he had a couple of good years one being 1,000+ yard season which is huge for a TE, but his other years weren't all that great. He was a good blocking TE though. The Giants didn't let him go to Cleveland because he was an all-time great. They let him go because he wasn't effective anymore. He played for about 10 years and I think only five or so of them was with the Giants.

 

[jterrell]

Clearly, you don't know much about Jackie Smith. Five straight Pro Bowls, twice all-NFL, Pro Football Hall of Fame. Played 121 straight games. Punishing blocker, great receiver, particularly after the catch. His 16.5 career YPC average is insane for a TE (Gonzalez's career avg is 12.1, his highest season avg 12.9), particularly in an era when receivers could be mugged until the ball was thrown. He retired as the all-time yardage gainer at the position, which he held until Ozzie Newsome broke it.

Realize that all the modern TEs are playing in an era whose rules heavily favor passing compared to the era of Smith, Mackey, Ditka, et al. And the fact that Witten outweighs Smith isn't saying much: due to modern weight training and nutrition (not to mention other "enhancements") all the players today are bigger. Smith would easily have been a 255 pounder today without a loss of speed or comparative strength, and had Witten been around in 1965, he'd probably have weighed about 240.

Smith was an unbelievable tight tend, well deserving of the Hall of Fame.

LOL. so now you can predict what people would weight and how fast they'd be if they weighed it?

NFL players today beyond nutrition, weight training and what not actually live YEAR ROUND to play football. This isn't a magic pill. It is what the financial windfall they achieve allows. Not a bunch of guys smoking cigarettes on the sidelines.

Jason Witten was a physical freak from day 1 and his continued daily regimen is what sets him apart. He was bigger, faster and stronger than Jackie Smith.

Jackie Smith may have been a 5 time pro bowler but he NEVER was 1st team All Pro. Never the best at his position in any one season.

There are a number of old school guys who would have translated well to a more modern era and they'd certainly benefit from advanced training but Jackie Smith was never considered the best TE of any one season, though he may well have been screwed in 1967 it is still one season out of what 13? He had a lot of pedestrian NFL seasons.

He is in the HoF but you mean to tell me Gonzales, Gates and Witten will not be?

Smith was a punter as well, thats something he clearly did better than Jason Witten.

Good player for sure, but not worthy of top 10 all-time TE status.