07-19-2015, 08:46 PM
(07-19-2015, 08:19 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I guess it depends on what you consider an impact.
Eifert was a nice little compliment, as was Gresham.
40 or 50 receptions for 500 yards and about 5 TDs.
Nice little compliment, but not what I would call an impact.
Just did a quick search for rookie stats for 1st and 2nd round TEs in the last 4 drafts (It would take too long to check any lower in the draft or any earlier, so it's a flawed statistical analysis)
I only chose 1st and 2nd rounders because that is typically who are expected to start as rookies. I looked at 11 guys, 9 of which played at least 12 games. I excluded the other 2, as they played less than 10 games.
On average, they had 26 receptions for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns. The biggest impact was Zach Ertz, who had 36 receptions for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns.
And that's from 1st and 2nd rounders. Tyler is a 3rd round pick and wasn't really known for his receiving prowess in his senior year.
Here's an article about rookie tight ends:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/fantasy-football-today/24597949/history-not-kind-to-rookie-tight-ends
But Eifert didn't reach any of those stats. He only has 482 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in his first two years and didn't eclipse 40 receptions his first season.
Honestly, Gresham had a good rookie season, especially for a team that rarely used the tight end as a receiver.
He was doing better and better each year, even led all tight ends in YAC for a year. Gresham isn't as bad as people say, just didn't fit our offense and had mental mistakes.
Gresham deserves praise for his playoff game against the Chargers. One of the few players who actually showed up and played lights out. 2 out of his 3 playoff games he actually did pretty well. But many people only remember the Houston game.
