A couple of days ago we ran a table showing what wide receivers turned the highest percentage of their targets into touchdowns last year. A couple of Packers and free agent wideout Anquan Boldin topped that list. Looking at tight ends, a pair of rookies figure prominently.
Hunter Henry caught 8 TDs, tying with Cameron Brate to lead all tight ends in scoring a year ago. He did that on just 54 targets, which means he caught touchdowns on close to 15 percent of the balls thrown his way. Austin Hooper also shows up favorably on this list, although it's a far smaller sample set (3 TDs on just 27 targets).
Second on the list is Dwayne Allen, and note that he'll be working with Tom Brady this season after being traded to New England.
At the other end of the spectrum were Travis Kelce, Jason Witten and Greg Olsen. Great and very busy tight ends, but not necessarily players you want to count on in TD-heavy scoring systems. Considering the number of passes thrown their way, you'd think they'd score a little more often.
Touchdown-to-target percentage numbers from all tight ends who caught at least 3 TDs a year ago are shown below.
| TIGHT END TDS, TARGETS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | TD% |
| Hunter Henry, S.D. | 54 | 36 | 478 | 8 | 14.8% |
| Dwayne Allen, Ind. | 52 | 35 | 406 | 6 | 11.5% |
| Dion Sims, Mia. | 35 | 26 | 256 | 4 | 11.4% |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 27 | 19 | 271 | 3 | 11.1% |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 47 | 29 | 394 | 5 | 10.6% |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 81 | 57 | 660 | 8 | 9.9% |
| Jacob Tamme, Atl. | 31 | 22 | 210 | 3 | 9.7% |
| Martellus Bennett, N.E. | 73 | 55 | 701 | 7 | 9.6% |
| Vance McDonald, S.F. | 45 | 24 | 391 | 4 | 8.9% |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 38 | 25 | 540 | 3 | 7.9% |
| Julius Thomas, Jax. | 52 | 30 | 281 | 4 | 7.7% |
| Antonio Gates, S.D. | 93 | 53 | 548 | 7 | 7.5% |
| Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 102 | 65 | 800 | 7 | 6.9% |
| Jordan Reed, Wash. | 89 | 66 | 686 | 6 | 6.7% |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 75 | 59 | 584 | 5 | 6.7% |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea. | 95 | 65 | 923 | 6 | 6.3% |
| Zach Miller, Chi. | 65 | 47 | 486 | 4 | 6.2% |
| Garrett Celek, S.F. | 50 | 29 | 350 | 3 | 6.0% |
| Clive Walford, Oak. | 52 | 33 | 359 | 3 | 5.8% |
| Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | 132 | 83 | 840 | 7 | 5.3% |
| Jesse James, Pitt. | 59 | 39 | 338 | 3 | 5.1% |
| Charles Clay, Buff. | 87 | 57 | 552 | 4 | 4.6% |
| C.J. Fiedorowicz, Hou. | 89 | 54 | 559 | 4 | 4.5% |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 106 | 78 | 816 | 4 | 3.8% |
| Coby Fleener, N.O. | 81 | 50 | 631 | 3 | 3.7% |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 117 | 85 | 1125 | 4 | 3.4% |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | 95 | 69 | 673 | 3 | 3.2% |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 129 | 80 | 1073 | 3 | 2.3% |
--Andy Richardson