07-19-2015, 11:37 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
You could take any position and do that because rookies are less likely to be big time contributors than 2-3 year vets. Many rookies turn out to be busts. Some sit behind a vet before taking over. It's like that with any position. I never said that it was likely that our rookie TE's will be major contributors. I just said that it can and has been done. It has.
We'll just have to disagree that 40 catches and 500 yards isn't an impact. Last year, only 17 TE's posted 500+ yards. Yet you don't think 500 yards from a rookie is an impact? Ok.
And honestly, I think a stat line of 26-294-2 should be about all we should expect from Kroft this year. Eifert is the starter and it looks like we're moving away from 2 TE sets. So maybe your expectations are a little lofty.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
