Who will be Auburn football's "safety valve" in 2022?

The emergence of the tight end. It's a beautiful thing, truly.

Auburn's pass catchers have mainly been wide receivers for a while now. Former offensive coordinator turned head coach Gus Malzahn didn't utilize tight ends in the passing game of his "hurry-up no-huddle" style offense. Instead, they were primarily blockers on the line of scrimmage or even sometimes in the backfield as a hybrid H-back. The receptions were reserved for receivers, a unit that was underdeveloped and underachieved during Malzahn's tenure with Auburn.

Schemes have changed now that Bryan Harsin is at the helm for the Tigers. He's implemented more of a west coast feel to the passing game, and he's done what every Auburn fan has wanted to see for so long; throw the ball to the tight end.

John Samuel Shenker was the primary target of the room in 2021. He hauled in 33 catches for 413 yards while setting the record for most receptions and receiving yards by a tight end in a single season.

Check out what he did on third downs.

Stat of the day

John Samuel Shenker was the only receiver on Auburn's roster catch every pass thrown his way on third down (min. five attempts).

Six receptions, 80 yards, and three first downs.

What it means

Auburn has a number of tight ends to look towards in the passing game this year. JSS, Tyler Fromm, Luke Deal, Landen King, and Micah Riley-Ducker all will compete for playing time this fall. However, Shenker should be Auburn's guy in third down situations. The "safety valve," if you will.

While he only had six targets on third downs last season (hauling every pass in, as noted earlier), it would be expected that in year two under Harsin that the Tigers try and look his way a little more, especially with quarterback being an unknown.