With five tight ends ranked in the top 70 of the latest PFF Draft Board, let's take a closer look at the 2017 NFL Draft's top tight end prospects:
- Alabama's O.J. Howard’s mere 4.26% drop-rate with 7.3 yards after catch per completion helped him average 10.4 yards per target with the Crimson Tide in 2016.
- Despite his 10.42% drop rate, Miami tight end David Njoku’s 11.2 YAC/completion helped him average 10.1 yards per target in 2016.
- South Alabama tight end Gerald Everett averaged only 5.6 air yards per completion in 2016, but made up for it with his 9.1 YAC/completion to average 9.6 yards per target in 2016.
- Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram averaged 6.2 yards per completion coming after contact, while his 8.0 yards per completion through the air contributed greatly to his 10.1 yards per target.
- Iowa's George Kittle averaged a 12% drop rate while his 6.8 YAC/completion contributed to 8.6 yards per target. Kittle was targeted on only 17% of his routes, explaining why he averaged less than 1.5 yards per route run in 2016.