Washington Roster Review: Tight Ends
Taking a closer look at how Washington's tight ends played in 2021 and where the team stands at the position heading into 2022
With the 2021 season in the books for Washington, it’s time to look back at the roster and evaluate each position to see where the team stands going into the offseason. Last week I looked at the defense and yesterday broke down the offensive line. Today, it’s the turn of the tight ends.
Under contract for 2022: Logan Thomas, John Bates, Sammis Reyes.
Notable free agents: Ricky Seals-Jones.
Unit analysis:
Given the expectations of the unit after Logan Thomas’ breakout season in 2020, the tight end position in Washington might have felt a little underwhelming. Thomas missed a lot of time injured, playing in just six games and only catching 18 passes. Instead, the position was left to veteran Ricky Seals-Jones and rookie John Bates to try and replicate Thomas’ production. The paid combined for 50 catches and 520 yards along with three touchdowns, which fell short of Thomas’s production in 2020, but was still solid considering who they were.
Sammis Reyes spent the year on the sidelines learning the NFL game and his position, while contributing occasionally on special teams when he wasn’t inactive. But this was what should have been expected from Reyes given he’d never played the game before. It might not be until the end of next season that we really see if he’s capable of playing tight end in the NFL.
Going into the offseason, the level of need at the tight end position depends entirely on the health of Logan Thomas. If Washington anticipates he’ll be back to 100% next season and ready to pick up where he left off as an emerging number one tight end, then Bates as a developmental tight end behind him is a solid option. Ricky Seals-Jones is a free agent and could be brought back, but Washington could also look to add a similar level of veteran, perhaps one younger to push Bates for the back up role.
If Washington is concerned at all about Thomas’ durability given he’ll be 31 before the start of next season, then perhaps tight end becomes a little more of a priority to address in either free agency or the draft. Thomas had two spells on injured reserve this season, first for a hamstring injury and then for an ACL tear late in the year that could take a while to recover from. Bates isn’t ready yet to be a leading tight end if Thomas misses time and Reyes is a complete wildcard. Given it’s a strong free agent class and there’s a few draft eligible tight ends that are highly thought of, it might be wise for Washington to add another tight end that can challenge for a starting role to future-proof the position.
Mike Gesicki is one of the bigger names available in free agency, but he might prove too expensive for Washington. O.J. Howard and David Njoku were both highly rated tight ends coming out of the draft that didn’t quite pan out with their teams and have been constantly part of trade speculation over the last few years. The pair are now free agents and could be looking for a chance to prove their talents before earning a bigger contract down the line. Beyond them, there are plenty of tight ends Washington could look to add this offseason if the team wants to improve the depth of the position and provide an alternative option to Thomas.
Individual analysis:
Washington looked set to benefit from Logan Thomas’ development at the start of the year. He began the season with 14 catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns over Washington’s first three games before getting hurt. He then came back and caught another touchdown against the Raiders before his second injury caused him to miss the rest of the year.
Washington certainly missed Thomas when he was out, especially down in the red zone. His size and catch radius was extremely important for Taylor Heinicke. Two of his touchdowns came in the red zone on very similar plays.
Both of those touchdowns showed how Terry McLaurin could be used as a decoy on an underneath route while Thomas had the speed to work across from the opposite side of the field and attack the space created behind McLaurin. He then showed off his catch radius, going up to make two impressive grabs on high throws. Washington really missed those traits from Thomas this season while he was injured.
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