Will The NFL Ever Tap The True Potential Of The Tight End Position?

In today's NFL tight ends are more utilized then every. Tight ends are no longer just under weight tackles. They're more athletic fullbacks and bigger bodied receivers. There are three types of tight ends, Inline, move, and H-back. However, tight ends have five position letters (H,F,Y,U,I). Each of the three types with their own speciality. And a good combination of the bunch can cause nightmares for defensive coordinators and secondaries.

For years I have said the future of the NFL was a multi tight end offense. I've often used the term magic 3 tight end set. Which is just the 13 personell. However, I do believe the talent is there for teams to run 14 and 15 personnel sets. And I'm not just talking about in short yardage redzone areas but as a main offensive grouping.

There are more traditional tight ends out there. Gronkowski is or was the standard and Kittle is supposed to be right there with him. These are the extra tackles who can catch. That might be an understatement of their skills but you get the picture. There are some coordinators who acquire these guys and waste away their receiving abilities (Mike Martz) but they are still the safety blanket in the league.

Then there's the move tight ends. Jimmy Graham and Darren Waller are just two that come to mind. These are guys who are known for their receiving skills more than their blocking skills. They can be used in a variety of ways. But their size makes it a nightmare because they're typically too big for a corner to cover and too fast for a linebacker. Often they have to be doubled. Which frees up another player or takes pressure off the quarterback.

And then there's the H-back position. It's an old school tight end running back, now being referred to as superback. Is it superback or super back? Jonnu Smith, Dalton Keene, Danny Vitale, Colt Lyeria and Jace Amaro are five quick names that spring to mind. While they don't always fit the ideal, most are oversized receiving running backs that can block like a fullback in both the run and the pass. Again like with move tight ends, they can be an issue covering. And the the fact that they can be moved from behind the quarterback to behind the tackle and occasionally as a receiver, they may be the most dangerous of all three types.

The Magic 3 tight end set ideally has one of each type plus a half back and a receiver but it's not uncommon to see the 23 personell or even a grouping with two receivers. That's where I think most offensive coordinators limit tight end use due to either lack of imagination or poor scouting. The Patriots are one of the teams that have ran a four tight end set in the past. However they used it sparingly as they didn't appear to trust their players.

In today's NFL, there's no reason why 14 personell cannot work. With how good h-backs are coming out of college, there's no good reason we don't see more 15 personell sets. Let the H-back be the main ball carrier, and run with a mix of the other two types. The NFL is evolving and tight ends are barely reaching their true potential because teams are stuck in the 1980s and 1990s. Bill Belichick is one mind that I can see bring out this as he has a great knowledge of football history. John Harbaugh is the other. The question is, will the NFL ever tap the true potential of the tight end?