With Season 2 finally in the books and a little bit of free time to write an article, it's time to present my best of the Tight End position. Arguably no position this season has been as exciting and dramatic as the Tight End. While TEs in the league are generally under-performers and have come under some criticism for balance issues, there's no doubt that the spirit and determination of the players have made it one of the most interesting positions. From Carmel Gibson's roaring start to shameful downfall, and from Wright's gritty success to Maddox's struggle to overcome the odds, Season 2 has provided us with all the ups and downs we need to crown our league's best Tight End.
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3. Paul DiMirio - Philadelphia Liberty
@124715
|| Receptions: 3rd || Yards: 2nd || Touchdowns: T-5th || Blocking: 7th ||
The rookie Paul DiMirio deserves a lot of recognition for the hard fought and even harder earned performance that he showed this season. Despite early season struggles and a poor supporting cast on expansion Philadelphia, DiMirio had an unbelievable end to the season with back to back 100 yard games that propelled him just 2 receiving yards shy of the position record. DiMirio is the picture of the modern Tight End, an oversized Wide Receiver who can win physical contests for tough catches and can also burn defenses up the middle for big gains. With all of the good though, there also comes some bad. DiMirio needs to work on becoming a scoring threat as he recorded just one touchdown all season and his blocking is, to be polite, atrocious. For a team that struggled to run the ball effectively but was also dead last in passing touchdowns it's clear that Philly needs DiMirio to become a more balanced player in the future. With an already impressive stockpile of TPE for a rookie and no shortage of potential, you may just see Paul DiMirio at the top of this list next year.
2. George Wright Jr. - Orange County Otters
|| Receptions: 1st || Yards: 3rd || Touchdowns: T-1st || Blocking: 2nd ||
For the stocky blocker George Wright Jr., this season had a bittersweet ending. Wright stunned the league with a good start early in the year and maintained consistent performance throughout the season. Few fans or analysts expected the run-heavy Otters to make Wright a prime target, but a switch in the playbook led to exactly that when the coaches showed renewed faith in their once turnover plagued QB. Mike Boss became a machine gun with the league's most pass attempts while Wright broke the record for receptions and finally showed his abilities as a red zone threat, something he was missing last season. He entered Week 14 with a tenuous lead in yardage over rival Ricky Maddox but simply couldn't hang on. What may be even worse for him personally is he also fell short of Maddox by a single pancake. The fact is Wright simply doesn't have the elite athleticism to top the charts in yards or average, but he brings excellent consistency and balance that will make him a valuable long term asset to the Otters.
1. Ricky Maddox - Yellowknife Wraiths
@SimmerDownBruhh
|| Receptions: 2nd || Yards: 1st || Touchdowns: 4th || Blocking: 1st ||
At the beginning of the season it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Maddox would end up here, but it's been anything but that. Maddox's season was a roller coaster from start to finish, as his slow start despite QB Chris Orosz's phenomenal season made him look extraneous on a Wraiths offense that was loaded with talent. That certainly didn't bring him down, in fact it only made him fight harder. With 140 receiving yards in his last 2 games Maddox managed to push ahead of Wright and claim the Tight End receiving record, which we would narrowly hold against a surging Paul DiMirio. Adding onto that 2 touchdowns and a season's worth of excellent blocking, and Maddox has shown that he can do it all and at a good to elite level. With plenty of room to continue growing and the attitude that if he isn't the best he'll just be the rest, Ricky Maddox is the gold standard that the whole league should try to live up to. There's no doubt in my mind that Ricky Maddox earns the honor of Season 2's Best Tight End.
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There you have it, these are my three top Tight Ends in the league right now and honestly I don't think #4 is very close. Would you rank these three players differently? What do you think the rankings will look like next year, will we have the same three in a different order or will someone else emerge like Carmel Gibson almost did but then didn't because he's a cheater? Bottles would be my best bet if he can bring the kind activity he had in S1, or a rookie like Joyce or Askins could break out on the right team.
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3. Paul DiMirio - Philadelphia Liberty
@124715
|| Receptions: 3rd || Yards: 2nd || Touchdowns: T-5th || Blocking: 7th ||
The rookie Paul DiMirio deserves a lot of recognition for the hard fought and even harder earned performance that he showed this season. Despite early season struggles and a poor supporting cast on expansion Philadelphia, DiMirio had an unbelievable end to the season with back to back 100 yard games that propelled him just 2 receiving yards shy of the position record. DiMirio is the picture of the modern Tight End, an oversized Wide Receiver who can win physical contests for tough catches and can also burn defenses up the middle for big gains. With all of the good though, there also comes some bad. DiMirio needs to work on becoming a scoring threat as he recorded just one touchdown all season and his blocking is, to be polite, atrocious. For a team that struggled to run the ball effectively but was also dead last in passing touchdowns it's clear that Philly needs DiMirio to become a more balanced player in the future. With an already impressive stockpile of TPE for a rookie and no shortage of potential, you may just see Paul DiMirio at the top of this list next year.
2. George Wright Jr. - Orange County Otters
|| Receptions: 1st || Yards: 3rd || Touchdowns: T-1st || Blocking: 2nd ||
For the stocky blocker George Wright Jr., this season had a bittersweet ending. Wright stunned the league with a good start early in the year and maintained consistent performance throughout the season. Few fans or analysts expected the run-heavy Otters to make Wright a prime target, but a switch in the playbook led to exactly that when the coaches showed renewed faith in their once turnover plagued QB. Mike Boss became a machine gun with the league's most pass attempts while Wright broke the record for receptions and finally showed his abilities as a red zone threat, something he was missing last season. He entered Week 14 with a tenuous lead in yardage over rival Ricky Maddox but simply couldn't hang on. What may be even worse for him personally is he also fell short of Maddox by a single pancake. The fact is Wright simply doesn't have the elite athleticism to top the charts in yards or average, but he brings excellent consistency and balance that will make him a valuable long term asset to the Otters.
1. Ricky Maddox - Yellowknife Wraiths
@SimmerDownBruhh
|| Receptions: 2nd || Yards: 1st || Touchdowns: 4th || Blocking: 1st ||
At the beginning of the season it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Maddox would end up here, but it's been anything but that. Maddox's season was a roller coaster from start to finish, as his slow start despite QB Chris Orosz's phenomenal season made him look extraneous on a Wraiths offense that was loaded with talent. That certainly didn't bring him down, in fact it only made him fight harder. With 140 receiving yards in his last 2 games Maddox managed to push ahead of Wright and claim the Tight End receiving record, which we would narrowly hold against a surging Paul DiMirio. Adding onto that 2 touchdowns and a season's worth of excellent blocking, and Maddox has shown that he can do it all and at a good to elite level. With plenty of room to continue growing and the attitude that if he isn't the best he'll just be the rest, Ricky Maddox is the gold standard that the whole league should try to live up to. There's no doubt in my mind that Ricky Maddox earns the honor of Season 2's Best Tight End.
---
There you have it, these are my three top Tight Ends in the league right now and honestly I don't think #4 is very close. Would you rank these three players differently? What do you think the rankings will look like next year, will we have the same three in a different order or will someone else emerge like Carmel Gibson almost did but then didn't because he's a cheater? Bottles would be my best bet if he can bring the kind activity he had in S1, or a rookie like Joyce or Askins could break out on the right team.
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