Ranking 2014 SEC position groups: Tight ends

Tight ends are a rare breed on the football field, tasked with playing as both a blocker and a pass-catcher within an offense. The best tight ends combined size, speed, strength and coordination in a way most other players cannot, and when used properly a great tight end can create matchup nightmares for opposing defenses.

There weren’t many dynamic tight ends in the SEC this season, but the best of the bunch stood out from the pack and had a unique impact on their offenses.

Here are the top tight end position groups from this past season in the SEC.

5. Alabama/Ole Miss: The Crimson Tide and Rebels share the fifth spot on this list thanks to a pair of incredible pass-catching tight ends in O.J. Howard and Evan Engram. Neither team had much depth behind their top tight ends (no other tight end on either team had more than two catches this season), but both Howard and Engram provided wide receiver skill sets at the tight end position to keep opposing defenses off-balance for much of the year. Consistency was not a strength for either player, but no tight end made more dynamic plays this season than Howard and Engram.

4. Georgia: Freshman tight end Jeb Blazevich turned out to be as talented as advertised, and his unique skill set translated exceptionally well to the SEC this season. He was third on the team with 256 yards through the air this season, and his 16 yards per catch were second on the team among players with at least 15 receptions. Blazevich caused matchup nightmares for SEC defenses, and he’s still got plenty of room to improve during the rest of his college career. Backup Jay Rome was not nearly as involved in the offense as many expected this preseason, but his 10 receptions for 59 yards are still nothing to shrug at. Those numbers are far from what one could consider productive, but they were enough to remind defenses he was indeed a threat in the passing game, and he used his impressive size to succeed as a blocking tight end when called upon to do so.

3. South Carolina: The Gamecocks boasted the SEC’s most athletic pair of tight ends in Jerell Adams and Rory Anderson, adding another dimension to an offense forced to carry a lackluster USC defense for much of the year. Anderson was a major target in the passing game from wire to wire, catching 22 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown in providing a threat over the middle of the field. Adams began to emerge as a playmaker in the second half of the season. He caught 20 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown in 2014, and he amassed 17 of those catches for 220 yards in his final six games. Neither was among the best blocking tight ends in the SEC, but both held their own in that regard. Ultimately their playmaking abilities as pass-catchers made them difficult to ignore and even more difficult to defend this season.

2. Vanderbilt: Not much went right for the Commodores in 2014, but their collection of tight ends was one of few bright spots on the year. Steven Scheu quietly led the team with 39 receptions for 525 yards and four touchdowns as the most consistent member of the offense, amassing those numbers while playing with four different quarterbacks throughout the season. Backup Davis Dudchock, another relative unknown in the SEC, pulled in 17 catches for 261 yards and a touchdown while playing his role as the “blocking tight end” at an above-average level. Neither player was explosive or dynamic by SEC standards, but both were consistent contributors to an offense lacking adequate playmakers.

1. Arkansas: The Razorbacks’ tight end tandem of Hunter Henry and A.J. Derby proved to be the best tandem in the SEC, providing depth at a positions where most SEC teams lack playmakers. Henry caught 36 passes for 495 yards and two touchdowns, and Derby, the best No. 2 tight end in the conference, pulled in another 22 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Both were superb blockers this season (Derby has a slight edge in that regard), showing they are more than just athletes who line up inside. They served as perfect fits for Bret Bielema’s powerful, downhill offensive scheme, helping Arkansas score 146 more points than it did a season ago.