Tight ends to watch for the 2023 NFL draft

Our next stop on the 2023 NFL draft watch list tour? Tight ends. Over the past two draft cycles, we have seen some fascinating results during the draft at the position. In the 2021 NFL draft, Florida tight end Kyle Pitts cracked the top five when he was selected fourth-overall by the Atlanta Falcons. That made Pitts the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history, breaking the mark set by Riley Odoms when he was drafted fifth-overall back in 1972.

However, only 11 tight ends were drafted overall.

This past season, while we did not see a tight end drafted until the second round, we saw a ton of them drafted. By the time the draft came to a close, 19 tight ends were drafted, the most since 20 came off the board in 2015.

Will the 2023 class look more like 2021, or this past cycle? We will not know the answer to that question for a while, but here is a solid starting point. Here are the tight ends to study this summer for the 2023 NFL draft.

Erick All, Michigan

(Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

Erick All was rated as a three-star recruit coming out of Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Ohio during the 2019 recruiting class. ESPN also ranked him as the number-ten tight end in the class. He chose Michigan as his college football destination, enrolling early to get a jump on the 2019 season.

As a true freshman that year, All played in 11 games in a reserve role, and on special teams. He played in all six games during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, catching 12 passes for 82 yards.

2021 was finally the season Michigan fans were hoping to see from him, as he caught 34 passes for 374 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One of those, a 47-yard score against Penn State, came late in the game to give the Wolverines the victory. He also caught four passes for 63 yards in the playoff game against Georgia and their vaunted defense.

All is also a solid blocker, and on this play against Georgia he leads Hassan Haskins to the right side, taking on Nakobe Dean in the hole and springing the back for a 19-yard gain:

Jaheim Bell, South Carolina

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

At Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia, Jaheim Bell played both tight end and wide receiver on offense, and played in a few different roles on the defensive side of the football. Despite suffering a season-ending ACL injury midway through his senior season, his talent found him committing to South Carolina for the 2020 season.

While Bell missed the start of the 2020 campaign as he recovered from a surgery to repair a torn meniscus in this left knee, he returned to the field and played in the final five games of the season as a true freshman, catching one pass for 29 yards against Mississippi.

This past season, Bell appeared in all 13 games, making five starts. He caught 30 passes for 497 yards, and five touchdowns. Bell set a few school records at the position, first against Vanderbilt when he caught six passes for a then-school record 136 yards and a score. But he topped that in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against North Carolina, when he caught five passes for 159 yards and a pair of scores.

Bell has the potential to be the mismatch type of player at the next level, and one of those touchdowns against North Carolina illustrates just why:

On this play, Bell works himself free against the safety, and then outruns him and everyone else on the UNC defense for the 66-yard score.

Jaheel Billingsley, Texas

Jaheel Billingsley played all over the field for Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, Illinois, aligning at tight end, wide receiver, quarterback and defensive line. He was a consensus four-star recruit, and entertained offers from Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State before choosing to play at Alabama for Nick Saban.

As a true freshman in 2019, Billingsley appeared in nine games, catching two passes for 16 yards. He took on a bigger role in 2020, catching 18 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

However, he saw his role with the team decreased the past season. He was moved down the depth chart prior to the start of the year, and in 15 games he caught just 17 passes for 256 yards, although he did reach the end zone three times.

In January, Billingsley entered the transfer portal, and a few days later announced he would transfer to Texas to be reunited with Steve Sarkisian, who was at one time his offensive coordinator in Alabama. If Sarkisian can get the best out of Billingsley this fall, it would go a long way towards boosting the tight end’s draft stock.

Marshon Ford, Louisville

(Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)

After redshirting in 2017 and seeing minimal action in 2018, Marshon Ford enjoyed a breakout campaign in the 2019 season. That year he started 13 games for Louisville, catching 20 passes for 292 yards and seven touchdowns. Those scoring plays led all tight ends in the ACC.

In 2020 he appeared in ten games, catching 25 passes for 309 yards and six touchdowns, ranking second among ACC tight ends with those six scores. Last season, Ford played in 13 games for the Cardinals, catching a career-high 49 passes for 550 yards — another career-high mark — and a pair of touchdowns.

Ford is used primarily as an H-Back in the Louisville offense, as he saw 16% of his snaps last season aligned in the backfield. The Cardinals use him not just as a receiver, but also as a blocker and trust him with pass protection responsibilities, which he handles well for a college tight end.

But he is also a threat in the downfield passing game, particularly when operating out of the slot, and his highlight-reel catch against

N.C. State is worth a watch:

Arik Gilbert, Georgia

(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

Arik Gilbert was a five-star recruit during the 2019 recruiting cycle, and was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year after catching 101 passes for 1,760 yards and 14 touchdowns during his senior season. He was also named a USA Today High School All-American, and finished his career at Marietta High School having caught 243 passes for 3,540 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Gilbert committed to LSU, and appeared in eight games during the 2020 season, catching 35 passes for 368 yards and a pair of touchdowns. At the end of that year, Gilbert entered the transfer portal and eventually chose to transfer to Georgia for the 2021 season, after considering a transfer to Florida. It was expected that Gilbert would move to wide receiver for the Bulldogs.

However, he sat out the 2021 due to personal issues, and did not suit up for Georgia. He returned to the field for spring practices this year, and is going to align at tight end for the Bulldogs. Gilbert put together a solid spring camp for the Bulldogs and shined in their spring game, thanks to plays like this:

Georgia is certainly deep at tight end, thanks to Brock Bowers — who is not draft eligible just yet — and Darnell Washington already on the roster. But if Gilbert looks like the player he was back in high school, and at LSU, he could put together his own rise up draft boards in the fall.

Dalton Kincaid, Utah

(Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

The Utah Utes have a pair of tight ends on this watch list. First up is Dalton Kincaid, who serves as the more traditional tight end in the Utah offense. Kincaid came to the sport late, playing just one year of high school football at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas. He started his college football journey at the University of San Diego, catching 24 passes for 374 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman and then another 44 passes for 835 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore in 2019.

He transferred to Utah prior to the 2020 season, and played in all five games for the Utes that year, catching one pass for 14 yards. Last season he took on an increased role for Utah, catching 36 passes for 510 yards and eight scores.

Kincaid showed good change-of-direction skills on his routes last year, and this catch against BYU is a prime example:

Kincaid is working against a cornerback on this play, and after getting the defender to flip his hips to the outside, he cuts underneath him to separate on the post route for a gain of 37 yards. This route-running ability will certainly draw attention from NFL scouts in the fall.

Brant Kuithe, Utah

(Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports)

Now we have the other Utah tight end on this list, Brant Kuithe. Where Dalton Kincaid is the more traditional tight end, Kuithe is more of a move-type of player, who saw time in-line, in the slot and along the boundary for the Utes last season.

As a freshman in 2018, Kuithe led all tight ends at Utah with 20 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown. During the 2019 campaign, Kuithe led the team with 34 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns, and was named a Second-Team All-Pac-12 player.

During the shortened 2020 season, Kuithe still led the Utes with 25 receptions, gaining 236 yards. This past season, Kuithe led Utah with 611 receiving yards on 50 catches, scoring six times. He has been a Second-Team All-Pac-12 player three times, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Kuithe is dangerous after the catch for a tight end, as he showed on this play against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl:

Schematically, Kuithe might be an ideal fit for offenses along the Shanahan/McVay/LaFleur tree, that look for tight ends to contribute after the catch and try and design opportunities for them in space. Both he and Kincaid are going to be fun to study this fall.

Sam LaPorta, Iowa

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Iowa has turned out solid tight end prospects during recent draft cycles, most notably Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson. They could turn out another in 2023, thanks to Sam LaPorta. He was a three-star recruit coming out of Highland High School in Highland, Illinois, where he played wide receiver and defensive back. He made the switch to tight end prior to his freshman season at Iowa, and in 2019 he played in 12 games, catching 15 passes for 188 yards.

As a sophomore in 2020, he caught 27 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown. This past season, LaPorta caught 54 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were career-high marks for him. He was named a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection at the end of the year.

LaPorta spends the pulk of his time aligned as an in-line option for the Hawkeyes, but still manages to create opportunities in the downfield passing game. On this play against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl, watch as he separate downfield on a corner route, working against a safety:

That kind of route-running will certainly draw attention, not just from opposing defensive coordinators, but NFL scouts as well.

Cameron Latu, Alabama

(Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)

As mentioned earlier, Jaheel Billingsley found himself sliding down the depth chart at Alabama, leading to his transfer to Texas. Part of the reason? The emergence of Cameron Latu as a tight end for the Crimson Tide.

Latu was a star on both sides of the football for Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah, and committed to Alabama over a number of other schools as a linebacker. After appearing in two games in 2018, he redshirted. In 2019, he made the switch to tight end, and would play primarily in a reserve role the next two years, as well as on special teams.

But prior to last season, Latu earned the starting job for Alabama. He caught 26 passes for 410 yards and eight touchdowns, carving out a solid role in the Crimson Tide passing game. He saved his best game of the year for the National Championship Game, as he caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Georgia.

Michael Mayer, Notre Dame

(Michael Caterina/South Bend Tribune-USA TODAY Sports)

As a senior at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, Michael Mayer earned a host of accolades. He was the Gatorade Kentucky Football Player of the Year, a USA Today All-American, and also was named Kentucky’s Mr. Football. That came after he caught 49 passes for 970 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior season.

Mayer committed to Notre Dame, and was the team’s starting tight end as a true freshman in 2020, and he caught 42 passes for 450 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was named a Third-Team All-ACC selection that year. Last season, Mayer caught 71 passes for 840 yards and seven touchdowns, leading Notre Dame in receptions. He caught nine passes for 120 yards against Florida State in the season-opener, tying the school record for catches in a single game by a tight end.

Notre Dame has not seen an offensive skill player drafted in the first round since Will Fuller V back in 2016, and their last tight end to come off the board in the first round was Tyler Eifert back in 2013. With another solid campaign this fall, Mayer is in position to change that.

Darnell Washington, Georgia

As we await the debut of “House of the Dragon” on HBO later this summer, which chronicles the rise of the Targaryen dynasty as outlined in George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire and Blood,” I am rewatching the entire eight seasons of Game of Thrones in preparation. I and currently back in Season 1, when we are introduced to Ser Gregor Clegane, known as “The Mountain.”

For some reason that just popped into my head…

Oh I know why, because I’m about to write about Darnell Washington. A five-star recruit coming out of Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Washington is listed at 6’7″, 265. He played both basketball and football at Desert Pines, and chose Georgia over a number of SEC schools. As a true freshman in 2020, he caught seven passes for 166 yards.

Last season he caught nine passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, scoring in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama on this play:

Ser Washington, or something like that.

Now, there is a lot of projection involved with Washington. He missed time last season with a foot injury, and the Bulldogs have both Brock Bowers and Arik Gilbert on the roster at the tight end position. Snaps, and targets, might be tough to come by.

Still, I’d keep an eye on him this fall.

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