• Brock Bowers tops four of nine stable metric categories: No player finished first more in these stable metrics than the consensus TE1 in the 2024 class.
• Potential hidden gems: Could the likes of Iowa’s Erick All and Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott be better than their current projected draft capital? We dive into some of their stable metrics with added context.
• Dig into the numbers for yourself: PFF's Premium Stats is the most in-depth collection of NFL and NCAA player performance data. Subscribe today to get full access!
Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
With the NFL offseason officially underway, so is 2024 NFL Draft season. Plenty of fantasy football general managers are building out their rookie draft boards for dynasty purposes.
Looking at how each position stacks up against one another from an analytics standpoint is just one of the many tools to consider during the evaluation process. This series focuses purely on the key stable metrics that translate more often than not from college to the NFL. It's a way for dynasty managers, and fantasy managers, in general, to get familiar with this year’s rookie class.
A few notes about how this series will work:
- Rankings are based entirely on how these players performed in PFF’s stable metrics over the past two seasons.
- Athletic ability and size are not taken into account for this process. Again, this is just one of many evaluation tools to consider.
- This list includes all 15 tight ends from the PFF big board but does not provide any weight to projected draft capital, competition level or their overall ranking, though that context will often be provided.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN PFF RECEIVING GRADE SINCE 2022
| Tight End | Receiving Grade | Routes Run |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 92.0 | 699 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 82.3 | 744 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 81.2 | 520 |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 80.1 | 678 |
| Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 79.6 | 428 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 79.2 | 617 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 75.4 | 612 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 74.0 | 154 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 72.3 | 499 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 70.2 | 567 |
It will likely come as no surprise that Georgia’s Brock Bowers leads the way in PFF receiving grade over the past two seasons, as he is currently tracking to be a potential top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Bowers had a remarkable 13-touchdown freshman season, and over the past two seasons, he posted 13 total touchdowns and 1,659 receiving yards.
Ja’Tavion Sanders is the second-ranked tight end on the PFF big board and has earned the second-best two-year receiving grade in this class. Sanders recorded 139 targets, 99 receptions and 1,295 yards over the past two seasons, all of which are the second most in this class since 2022.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN PFF RECEIVING GRADE VERSUS SINGLE COVERAGE SINCE 2022
| Tight End | Receiving Grade vs. Single | Routes Run vs. Single |
| Brant Kuithe, Utah | 84.0 | 16 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 80.3 | 29 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 71.8 | 191 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 70.0 | 40 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 68.1 | 176 |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 66.0 | 186 |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 65.4 | 191 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 63.6 | 225 |
| AJ Barner, Michigan | 63.1 | 177 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 62.4 | 142 |
The top two tight ends in single coverage grade have also faced the fewest single-coverage snaps in this year’s class, so while they’re the only ones with 80.0-plus grades, they also have just five receptions each.
Sanders pops up near the top again, having earned the most receiving yards (285) against single coverage among this year’s class. Sanders also has a more encouraging sample size, with 31 targets, 20 receptions and 191 routes against single coverage — all of which are among the top five in this year’s class since 2022.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN PFF RECEIVING GRADE VERSUS ZONE COVERAGE SINCE 2022
| Tight End | Receiving Grade vs. Zone | Routes Run vs. Zone |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 91.4 | 393 |
| Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 90.8 | 232 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 81.6 | 34 |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 78.5 | 373 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 77.7 | 407 |
| Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 77.3 | 441 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 76.7 | 269 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 76.5 | 243 |
| Trey Knox, South Carolina | 74.7 | 269 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 72.5 | 286 |
While Bowers didn’t earn overly high marks against single coverage, he made up for it against zone, which is where the large majority of his routes were run. Bowers leads the class with 103 targets, 90 receptions, 2.74 yards per route run and 1,014 receiving yards against zone coverage over the past two seasons.
Florida State’s Jaheim Bell also earned high marks against zone coverage, with 56 receptions, 548 receiving yards and three touchdowns since 2022. He posted 2.41 yards per route run versus zone — the second-highest mark in this year’s class over that span.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN PERCENTAGE OF OPEN TARGETS SINCE 2022
| Tight End | Open-Target Rate | Total Targets |
| Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 65.0% | 80 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 63.8% | 69 |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 62.1% | 153 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 57.4% | 94 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 56.1% | 139 |
| Trey Knox, South Carolina | 55.8% | 86 |
| Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 54.7% | 106 |
| Brant Kuithe, Utah | 53.3% | 30 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 52.6% | 38 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 51.0% | 100 |
Bell leads the class in open-target rate but also owns the lowest average depth of target (6.5) since 2022. Bell also has one of the smaller sample sizes in this class (80 targets) but was relatively productive with his opportunities thanks to his ability to get open. Bell’s 738 total receiving yards are the ninth most in this class since 2022.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN PERCENTAGE OF OPEN TARGETS VERSUS SINGLE COVERAGE SINCE 2022
| Tight End | Open-Target Rate vs. Single | Total Targets vs. Single |
| Erick All, Iowa | 58.3% | 12 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 35.5% | 31 |
| Brant Kuithe, Utah | 33.3% | 6 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 33.3% | 6 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota | 30.0% | 40 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 28.1% | 32 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 26.3% | 19 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 25.0% | 16 |
| AJ Barner, Michigan | 23.3% | 30 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 20.8% | 24 |
Erick All has one of the smallest sample sizes of work in this year’s class over the past two years. He spent four seasons with Michigan but appeared in just four games in his final year (2022), posting three receptions for 36 yards. His first year with Iowa (2023) resulted in 21 receptions, 299 receiving yards and three touchdowns. While his 12 targets against single coverage is a below-average sample size, he made the most of those targets, posting more receiving yards (106) and touchdowns (two) than any other tight end in this class when open.
Sanders built one of the better sample sizes against single coverage while earning a strong separation rate over the past two seasons. Since 2022, Sanders scored just once against single coverage but racked up 285 receiving yards — the most in the class. His 20 receptions are tied for the most.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN YARDS PER ROUTE RUN SINCE 2022
| Tight End | YPRR | Routes Run |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 2.48 | 699 |
| Brant Kuithe, Utah | 2.37 | 89 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 2.23 | 154 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 1.99 | 617 |
| Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 1.85 | 428 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 1.81 | 744 |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 1.71 | 678 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 1.67 | 612 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 1.59 | 567 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota | 1.58 | 487 |
Bowers returns to the top with his very impressive 2.48 yards per route run across nearly 700 routes since 2022. Bowers' yardage production is unmatched in this class — 1,659 receiving yards with 965 yards coming after the catch, both of which are over 300 more than the next-closest tight end since 2022.
Marshel Martin has appeared several times near the top of these stable metric rankings but made his mark against FCS competition. Martin had a very productive 2022, with 875 yards and 12 touchdowns, which included a 90.3 receiving grade. That production dropped off substantially in 2023 to a 56.4 receiving grade and just 294 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN AVERAGE DEPTH OF TARGET SINCE 2022
| Tight End | ADoT | Total Targets |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 10.2 | 119 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 9.2 | 69 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 9.0 | 139 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 8.7 | 115 |
| Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 8.5 | 138 |
| Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 8.4 | 106 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 8.1 | 38 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 8.0 | 100 |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 7.9 | 153 |
| AJ Barner, Michigan | 7.7 | 81 |
Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott is the only tight end in this cohort with an average depth of target in the double digits over the past two seasons. He is also just one of four 2024 tight end prospects to hit 1,000-plus receiving yards since 2022.
Penn State’s Theo Johnson is a top-five tight end on the PFF big board and impressively owns one of the highest average depths of target and open target rates among this year’s class. Johnson does have a smaller sample size of targets over the past two seasons (69) but produced 11 touchdowns, which is the fourth most in the class.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN YARDS AFTER THE CATCH PER RECEPTION SINCE 2022
| Tight End | YAC/Reception | Total Receptions |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 8.1 | 119 |
| Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 8.1 | 63 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 6.5 | 24 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 6.4 | 77 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 6.4 | 99 |
| Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 5.8 | 79 |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 5.8 | 79 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota | 5.6 | 67 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 5.6 | 71 |
| Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 5.6 | 73 |
Both Bowers and Bell produced the highest yards after the catch per reception figures by a decent margin. However, Bowers did so on nearly double the number of receptions. Bowers also led the class with 33 forced missed tackles as a receiver — nine more than the next-closest tight end.
TOP TE PROSPECTS IN POSITIVELY GRADED RUN-BLOCKING PLAYS SINCE 2022
| Tight End | % of Positively Graded Run-Blocking Plays | Total Run-Blocking Snaps |
| Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 13.4% | 833 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota | 12.9% | 808 |
| AJ Barner, Michigan | 12.4% | 599 |
| Cade Stover, Ohio State | 12.1% | 605 |
| Erick All, Iowa | 11.0% | 155 |
| Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 9.2% | 683 |
| Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 8.6% | 533 |
| Jared Wiley, TCU | 8.5% | 543 |
| Theo Johnson, Penn State | 7.4% | 544 |
| Brock Bowers, Georgia | 7.0% | 611 |
Run blocking is often a crucial part of a tight end's role in the NFL, so being able to do it well could ensure more playing time at the next level. Sinnott has earned high marks as a receiver and as a run blocker, which is a positive sign for his NFL potential.
COMBINED CONSENSUS RANKING OF ALL STABLE METRICS SINCE 2022
| Rank | Tight End | PFF Big Board TE Rank |
| 1 | Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas | 2 |
| 2 | Brock Bowers, Georgia | 1 |
| 3 | Erick All, Iowa | 14 |
| 4 | Ben Sinnott, Kansas State | 7 |
| 5 | Marshel Martin IV, Sacramento State | 15 |
| 6 | Jaheim Bell, Florida State | 8 |
| 7 | Cade Stover, Ohio State | 3 |
| 8 | Jared Wiley, TCU | 11 |
| 9 | Theo Johnson, Penn State | 5 |
| 10 | Brant Kuithe, Utah | 12 |
| 11 | Dallin Holker, Colorado State | 6 |
| 12 | Tanner McLachlan, Arizona | 9 |
| 13 | Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota | 13 |
| 14 | AJ Barner, Michigan | 4 |
| 15 | Trey Knox, South Carolina | 10 |
Context
Ja’Tavion Sanders dominated the stable metrics, delivering seven top-five finishes across nine categories. In the two categories where he didn’t finish top five, he was sixth, so his overall numbers are promising for his ability to translate to the next level, backing up his No. 2 spot on the PFF big board.
Brock Bowers is undoubtedly going to be the first tight end taken in this year’s draft, and his showing in these metrics only adds to his strong profile. Bowers’ lowest showing was his open-target rate against single coverage, though he delivered four first-place finishes across the stable metric categories — the most among this year’s tight end class.
Iowa's Erick All played four seasons at Michigan before finishing his college career with the Hawkeyes. His sample size used here over the past two seasons is on the smaller side, which needs to be taken into account, especially considering that he comes in as the second-lowest-ranked tight end on the PFF big board.
Marshel Martin, the lowest-ranked tight end on the PFF big board, earned strong marks in the stable metric categories, but he did so while playing against lesser competition in the FCS.
Michigan’s AJ Barner has one of the bigger discrepancies between the PFF big board and these stable metric rankings as the fourth-ranked tight end on the big board and the 14th-ranked tight end across combined stable metrics. Barner was with the Wolverines for one season after previously playing at Indiana and didn't deliver strong receiving production, with by far the lowest yards per route run figure (0.80) of the class. However, he is one of the better run blockers, which could be a starting point for him in the NFL.
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