Earlier today we looked at how running backs have performed in pass blocking over the past three years, and now we’re on to the tight ends. The final piece in our series examining our Pass Blocking Efficiency stat since 2009. Over the previous three days we've looked at each of the offensive line positions, starting with tackles, moving inside to guards and then centers.
The Pass Blocking Efficiency is found when you add sacks to three quarters the value of the total number of hits and hurries, divide it by pass blocking snaps and then multiply by 100. You then take that number away from 100 and the closer the number to 100 the better.
For a tight end to be considered a pass blocker he cannot at any time make himself an eligible receiver and must engage or look to engage with a pass rusher. Now let’s take a look at those tight ends in pass protection.
Helping Out
Starting off, we’ll set our eyes towards which tight ends have been left into pass block most often over the past three years. That means revealing that current free agent Daniel Graham has played the role of additional lineman more than any other tight end after spending 386 snaps in pass protection. That was 14 more than Anthony Fasano, with the two AFC tight ends head and shoulders above the rest. Indeed, you have a further drop of 35 snaps before you call the name of Brent Celek in third spot. An interesting one when you think of Celek as a dangerous receiver, but an idea of what the Eagles do to help out their offensive line.
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Not Helping Out So Much
Logically you’d expect those men in the Top 10 to have given up more pressure than their peers. After all they’ve had more opportunity to give up pressure than other tight ends. While that’s not exactly wrong, the re-ordering of the players in the Top 10 (and introduction of a couple of players) is quite stark. The jump of Brandon Manumaleuna from ninth-highest amount of pass blocks to giving up six more QB disruptions than anyone is rather startling. Bears fans won’t need reminding of what a horrible job Manumaleuna did when they essentially tried to use him as an extra linemen, an expensive mistake if ever there was one.
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The former Bear with the long name wasn’t the only one to give up a lot of pressure, with Jeff King surrendering 25 combined, sacks, hits, and hurries while the Eagles' Celek once again found himself in the Top 3 after giving up 21 of them. At least this time he had some company with the former Chief Leonard Pope and his replacement Kevin Boss also giving up the same number. But how would they all fair when we put them through the Pass Blocking Efficiency wringer?
A Quarterbacks Worst Friend
It’s the kind of double you don’t want to do for Manumaleuna. The former Chargers and Bears ‘blocking specialist’ didn’t have the ability to match his size as he sauntered home to a comfortable victory in the worst Pass Blocking Efficiency-for-a-tight-end stakes. Chicago knows a thing or two about getting rid of tight ends that give up pressure, with Greg Olsen finishing with the second-lowest score after giving up 20 combined sacks, hits, and hurries on just 198 pass blocks. That was enough to put him ahead of Jeff King in third place, while Rams fans will be disappointed to see two of their new recruits in the Top 10 with Brody Eldridge (fourth) and Matthew Mulligan (ninth).
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A Quarterbacks Best Friend
Meanwhile, there’s a horrible void at the top of the charts when it comes to Pass Blocking Efficiency for tight ends. The man with the best rating, Jim Kleinsasser has retired, while the two men below him are currently without a team. They are… drum roll please… former Seahawks tight end Chris Baker and Kleinsassers’ former Vikings teammate Visanthe Shiancoe. With both men gone, and a notoriously poor pass protector in John Carlson coming in, it will be something to watch if Minnesota can continue to get good play out of their tight ends in this regard going forward. Looking at players who currently have a team, Marcedes Lewis leads the way, while Peyton Manning has another reason to like the extremely reliable Joel Dreessen joining up with the Broncos.
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And so comes to an end our look at three-years worth of pass blocking efficiency for all positions. As I’ll always say, this isn’t as reliable an indicator as to the best pass blockers as our grading is–because our grading considers all this and more–but if you’re looking for raw numbers regarding pass blocking, you can’t go wrong looking at our PBE Signature Stat.
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