NFL Tight Ends Ranked: Patriots’ Hunter Henry Top 10?

Hunter Henry had a productive first season in New England.

FOXBORO – The New England Patriots have had a long line of production from the tight end position throughout the last 30 years.

But recently, that production sputtered out with the retirement of legendary Rob Gronkowski. After missing on two rookies (Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene) in the 2020 draft, head coach and de facto general manager Bill Belichick broke the bank on the top two tight ends in free agency.

While Jonnu Smith did not contribute as much in year one, Hunter Henry broke out in a Patriots offense that was focused heavily around the run game.

As such, ESPN spoke with dozens of personnel and coaching staffs to rank the top 10 tight ends in the league today.

Henry is ranked 10th, a year removed from being No. 7.

ESPN’s analysis:

Henry won a tiebreaker with Miami's Mike Gesicki to land the final spot in the top 10, with voters preferring Henry's traditional tight end presence over Gesicki's vertical-threat ability.

Henry went for 50 catches, 603 yards and nine touchdowns last season despite playing with a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones and a run-heavy Patriots attack. And he did not record a single drop in 75 targets. "Really reliable player," an NFL scouting director said. "Great hands. Quick and savvy."

The former Los Angeles Charger was brought over on a three year, $37.5 million deal before the 2021 season. His nine touchdowns set a career high for Henry, who quickly became Mac Jones’ go-to target in the red zone.

ESPN’s list of the best tight ends:

1. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

2. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chief

3. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders

4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

6. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

7. T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions

8. Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys

9. Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills