2024 NFC North Position Rankings: Tight Ends

Like the running back position, the Chicago Bears have a long history of excellent tight ends. Mike Ditka had perhaps the greatest rookie season for any tight end in NFL history, and Chicago, to this day, mourns the trade that sent Greg Olsen to Carolina.

Tight ends are critical in a finely-tuned offense, which explains why the NFC North has spent so many resources acquiring them.

Which team has built the best tight end room as we head into the 2024 season? Let’s take a look.

Detroit Lions: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, James Mitchell, Shane Zylstra

The Lions drafted LaPorta 34th overall in 2023, and it paid off immediately as he put up one of the best rookie seasons for a tight end since Ditka, amassing 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He will continue to be a receiving threat in the NFC North.

Unfortunately for Detroit, the rest of the room is unreliable at best. Wright, Mitchell, and Zylstra have combined for just 70 receptions in the last three years, all with the Lions. There’s not a lot of experienced depth here.

Minnesota Vikings: TJ Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse

Like the Lions, the Vikings’ tight end room is led by a high-end starter, one of the best in the league. Hockenson is a receiving threat anywhere on the field, forcing defenses to gameplan for him.

Also, like the Lions, Minnesota has no reliable depth behind their TE1. Oliver is on his third team in four years, Mundt has caught just 46 passes in his 6-year career, and Muse has been a practice squad player since getting drafted in 2022.

Green Bay Packers: Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Ben Sims, Tyler Davis

The Packers spent two Day 2 draft picks in 2023 on tight ends: Musgrave and Kraft. Both had decent rookie seasons. It will be interesting to see if they can take their games to the next level in 2024.

Sims was an undrafted rookie in 2023 who the Packers claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings, he contributed just four receptions last year. Davis has been mostly a practice squad player since he was drafted in 2020, and he missed all of the 2023 season with a knee injury.

Chicago Bears: Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Stephen Carlson, Brenden Bates

Kmet is in the second year of the well-deserved contract extension he signed last summer. A respected leader in the locker room, Kmet set career highs in receptions and yards in 2023 and added six touchdowns. He’s quietly been a Top-10 tight end in the league and is still improving.

Everett signed with the Bears this offseason, bringing a new level of route-running and pass-catching ability to Chicago’s tight end room. Seeing how new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron utilizes his top two tight ends will be fascinating.

Bringing up the rear is Carlson, who’s spent the last couple of seasons as a practice squad player, and Bates, an undrafted rookie from Kentucky.

Chicago Bears have the best overall tight end depth in NFC North

This will probably be the closest ranking of any position group in the division. Each team has an excellent tight end room, but I have to give the edge to Chicago. While I think Hockenson is slightly better than Kmet, the addition of Everett gives the Bears two viable starting tight ends. Minnesota lacks that kind of versatility, so they come in second.

The Lions finish third in the division. LaPorta had a great rookie season, but we’ll have to see if he can do it again before I can consider moving them up the rankings. That leaves Green Bay in last place, but that doesn’t mean their tight end situation is bad. Kraft and Musgrave show a lot of promise, we just need to see a lot more production.