Will the Redskins Tight Ends Fulfill their Potential

The Washington Redskins currently have one of the deepest group of tight ends. Fred Davis is the star, Logan Paulsen is the work horse, Niles Paul is the talented misfit, and Jordan Reed is the exciting new comer. However, despite the depth and potential for this unit to be a great one there is still much to be proven.

Fred Davis without a doubt has the athleticism and skill set to be a top tight end in the NFL. He may never reach the Gronkowski or Graham status but he could easily be a top 5 tight end in this league. The problem is that he missed 4 games in 2011 because of suspension and only played 7 games last year because of injury. In 2011 he was on his way to over 70 receptions 1,000 yards receiving as he was averaging over 66 yards a game. That would have put him only below Graham and Gronkowski in yards and in the top 10 in receptions and if you need more proof he was 3rd among tight ends in yards per game.
In fact even though he missed those 4 games he was still 8th in yards, 12th in receptions, and 3rd in receptions of 20 yards or more. Don't forget this is all with John Beck and Rex Grossman at quarterback. The problem is that in 2012 Davis did not immediately return to the same type of production. In the first two games he only managed a combined 4 receptions for 52 yards. However, in the next 4 games his number spiked to 19 receptions for 260 yards. So, now the question becomes how will Davis respond coming back from injury. The hope is that he can return to his previous form and provide a valuable target for RGIII in his second year. While there has been a lot of talk about Hankerson, Morgan and Robinson becoming the #2 target for Griffin it is probably more likely that Davis will be that target.

Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul are a different story. Paul is a converted wide receiver and has so far been more consistent when it comes to catching the ball and has also improved his blocking. He is very versatile. Paulsen on the other hand is by far the best blocking tight end and at times even plays a full back role. He has also shown the ability to make some plays in the receiving game so he is not a one trick pony. Both will get valuable time this year but neither figure to reach the same level as Davis.

Jordan Reed is probably the most interesting tight end on the roster. He has often been compared to Aaron Hernandez (on the field not off) because they both played college ball at Florida and both have the ability to line up all over the field. The biggest area of concern with Reed coming in was his blocking, but he has been surprisingly successful in that aspect. He has a long way to go but his athleticism is obvious on some plays and he definitely has the potential to be a dynamic tight end. Don't expect him to have tons of highlight plays this year but in the future he could be a valuable weapon.

Overall, this unit could become the best in the NFL. If Davis can play like he did in 2011 and Paul and Reed can continue to progress the Redskins will have 3 legitimate receiving threats at tight end. And of course they will also have the reliable Logan Paulsen for when they need a big man to help block. Watch out for this unit because it has the ability to be scary.