The SEC produced one of the best tight end prospects in recent memory this year in Florida standout Kyle Pitts. Pitts went to the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ole Miss TE Kenny Yeboah didn’t hear his name called during the 3-day draft, but he did sign with the New York Jets as an NFL undrafted free agent.

So, who is left at the position this fall in the SEC? Well, fortunately, there’s another potential star in the making in College Station. And, there’s still plenty of talent left around the league.

Here’s who I’d pick to make up the perfect SEC tight end for the 2021 season:

Hands: Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M

Wydermyer is the best tight end in the SEC this year. It’s not particularly close, either. He led the Aggies with 46 catches in 2020. He tied for the team lead with 6 touchdowns and finished second with 506 yards.

He’s a smooth route runner, and he secures the catch away from his body, which is the sign of a guy with good hands. Look at the way he adjusts to this tipped ball against Auburn:

On this play, he makes a catch near the sideline in the end zone and never brings the ball into his body:

And here’s a nice 1-handed snag over the middle against Florida:

He’s going to be a matchup nightmare this fall. The sky is the limit for Wydermyer in this new era of the A&M offense.

Size: Darnell Washington, Georgia

This was the easiest call on the list. Washington is a massive man, standing 6-7 and weighing 265 pounds.

He’s not just a big person taking up space, though. Here he is using every inch of his frame to go up and grab a pass over the head of a Mizzou defender:

And here he is demonstrating just how tough he is to tackle during Georgia’s spring game this year:

If the Bulldogs can figure out how to get Washington the ball a few times per game this fall, he’s going to become a star. He can do it all on the field and no defenders are going to be happy to see him barrelling toward them.

Speed: Jahleel Billingsley, Alabama

Outside of Wydermyer, there aren’t many tight ends in the Kyle Pitts mode this year. But, Billingsley is one of them. He’s fast, as he shows on this play, getting across the field behind the Notre Dame defense for an easy touchdown:

He’s also athletic. He clearly learned from Najee Harris last year, as he showed off on this hurdle of a Kentucky defender:

Don’t be surprised to see Billingsley post a 4.5-second 40-yard dash when his time comes to prepare for the NFL Draft. He may not be the fastest guy on the field, but he’s definitely among the fastest tight ends in the SEC this fall.

Blocking: Daniel Parker Jr., Mizzou

In today’s college football, big burly blocking tight ends are a bit of a rarity. These days, everyone wants to be the next Kyle Pitts — a guy who is more like a receiver than a traditional tight end.

Well, that’s not how Parker plays football. Parker has never met a defender he doesn’t want to hit. Just look at this play from last year’s Arkansas game, when he blocked 5 Arkansas defenders on the same play:

Parker only caught 8 passes for 37 yards last year. But that’s fine; that’s not his role. His job is to block for the running backs, and he did just that. He’s a big reason Larry Rountree III was so successful last year, and Tyler Badie will be counting on him to continue being a physical presence this fall.

Red-zone ability: Ben Bresnahan, Vanderbilt

Even in Vanderbilt’s sluggish offense in 2020, Bresnahan found a way to snag 4 touchdowns. That wasn’t easy for a team that finished the year 0-9.

Here he is using his big frame to shield a defender from the ball on a touchdown against LSU last season:

And here he is running a smooth route to find some open space for an easy touchdown against Kentucky:

QB Ken Seals showed some promise at times last year. If he wants to keep improving this year, he should look for Bresnahan even more when the Commodores are in the red zone.

Big-play ability: Nick Muse, South Carolina

Nick Muse has a knack for making the most of every catch. He secures the ball and then turns upfield, getting every yard possible. He can make defenders miss, but he also has the speed to simply leave guys in the dust.

In 2020, Ole Miss TE Kenny Yeboah averaged an SEC-best 19.4 yards per catch. Kyle Pitts was behind him, averaging 17.9 yards per grab. Of all returning SEC tight ends, Muse led the way with 14.2 yards per reception.

You can see how he manages to get so many yards in this highlight reel, where he often is at full speed when the ball arrives:

With a new offensive system in place in Columbia this fall, it’ll be interesting to see how Muse is used. But, he has the talent to put up more than the 425 yards and 1 touchdown he had in South Carolina’s struggling offense last year.