Washington Football Team: An early look at the 2021 tight ends

Players to watch at TE

As of today, I would guess that Baugh and Bates will be the other two tight ends to make the final roster, although Yelder’s recent acquisition will be an obstacle for Baugh.  There is a chance that a fourth player could force his way onto the roster as well, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Baugh was a long shot to make the team last season, but he impressed Coach Rivera and tight ends coach Pete Hoener enough keep him around. He split time with Hemingway behind Thomas and Jeremy Sprinkle, and when Hemingway was placed on injured reserve, Baugh finished out the season.

With Sprinkle exiled to Dallas, there is a position available for a classic in-line blocker, and Baugh would seem to be best suited to take that role. As he develops, Baugh should be able to provide what Sprinkle gave the team. It is not a glamorous position, but it is a necessary one. He will never become a receiving threat, but solid blocking with the occasional reception might be enough to secure the third spot.

Yelder can provide that as well. He has never shown much as a receiver, but he was able to win a spot on one of the best teams in football over the past three seasons as a special teamer and blocker. He was scheduled to be an restricted free agent this season, but the Chiefs chose not to tender him, which removed the “restricted” from his status. That decision probably says more about how the Chiefs handle their very top-heavy contract situation than their opinion about Yelder. They simply cannot afford to pay above minimum to Travis Kelce’s backup.

Bates is one of the two great unknowns. Many analysts were befuddled when Washington chose him in the fourth round, when several higher-rated prospects were available. It is important to remember that any of the “draft grade” articles you see this week are based on projections. That means if you are saying Bates was a bad pick, you are not necessarily saying he will be a bad player. You are merely saying that Washington could have gotten him a few rounds later so they should not have spent their fourth-rounder on him.

But there is a certain noble stubbornness in insisting on drafting a player well ahead of his projection. This is referred to in the biz as “being a Raider.” Washington obviously likes what they see in Bates. The last time they spent a mid-round pick on a little-known tight end from out west, it worked out pretty well. That would be Chris Cooley, to whom Bates compares rather nicely. Cooley was a little thicker and stronger, but Bates may be a little longer and quicker. Bates may also be able to add some bulk and play at closer to 260, giving the Washington Football Team two mammoth, athletic targets at tight end.

The huge difference on paper between Cooley and Bates is that Cooley was very productive in college and Bates was not. That is the main reason he was rated behind many other prospects. But productivity, especially for a highly-dependent position like tight end, can be a function of offensive talent and scheme. Washington is banking on the fact that, if used properly, Bates will show a good deal more than he did at Boise State.

The other enormous wild card amongst the tight ends is the recently-signed Sammis Reyes. Reyes has the same massive frame that Thomas and Bates have, but based on testing, he is faster, stronger, and more nimble. He is a freakishly-gifted athlete.

The problem is that he has never played football. Reyes is attempting to transition from basketball, a move that all-time greats Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates also made. But we have seen how long it took a player like Logan Thomas, who had plenty of football experience, to become truly comfortable at tight end.

If you insist on wearing rose-colored glasses, you might argue that Reyes, unlike Thomas, is a blank football slate with nothing to unlearn. Perhaps, under the guidance of a veteran coach like Hoener, he can soak up the position and put those physical gifts on display. Keeping his responsibilities and route tree simple will be important early on.

Of all the tight ends under contract, Reyes is the one who could possibly force the Washington Football Team to keep him on the roster, but expecting anything significant from him in 2021 seems like a very steep ask.