Kansas City Chiefs Positional Review: Tight End

by Chris Thorman on Jun 29, 2007 10:25 AM CDT in 2007 Kansas City Chiefs Season

#	Name	Pos	Ht	Wt	Born	Exp	College	Acquired	Career Receptions
47	Michael Allen	TE	6-6	254	9/8/1983	R	Whitworth	D7-07	0
89	Jason Dunn	TE	6-6	274	11/15/1973	11	Eastern Kentucky	FA-00	79
88	Tony Gonzalez	TE	6-5	251	2/27/1976	11	California	D1-97	721
45	Mike Pinkard	TE	6-5	259	12/27/1979	1	Arizona State	FA-07	0
48	Keith Willis	TE	6-6	260	12/14/1980	1	Virginia Tech	FA-07	0
84	Kris Wilson	TE	6-2	251	8/22/1981	4	Pittsburgh	D2b-04	18

One important note to make when reviewing our tight ends is to distinguish between blocking tight ends and tight ends who have receiving ability. Tony Gonzalez is obviously our no.1 receiving tight end while, for the time being at least, Jason Dunn is arguably our no.1 blocking tight end. Where to from here?

I would describe former division III tight end Michael Allen as more on the receiving side than the blocking side, considering he pulled in nearly 120 receptions and 29 TDs at Whitworth College. You could say that, despite being a "project", Allen is the heir apparent to Tony G's incredible reign. Just not this year. Allen will hopefully develop into the next TG but for now, Kris Wilson is probably the next best receiving tight end we have.

Keith Willis from VA Tech would appear to be Jason Dunn's eventual replacement as the blocking TE. Willis only put up few receptions a year, from the stats I can gather. He's big and apparently very strong, just like Dunn. The new recruit, Mike Pinkard, doesn't seem to have much potential beyond the practice squad.

Jason Dunn and Tony G are more than likely going to be retiring in a couple of years. It makes sense that we are stockpiling tight ends with our top two guys entering their 12th year in the league.

As I'm finishing this, I'm realizing just how boring it is to write about our tight ends. So I'll throw this question out there for today and the weekend. Where does Tony Gonzalez rank in terms of the greatest offensive Chiefs players of all time? The guy is a guaranteed Hall of Famer, a class act and an inspiration to those in the dating scene. Probably top five in Chiefs history.

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Keith Willis

Don't let Keith's stats at Va Tech fool you. They never threw too their TE's then. It was his success in the Insight bowl(2 TD's)his senior year that led to Tech using the TE's more now. He can catch the ball. Look at his stats From 2006 World Bowl Champion Franfurt Galaxy. He was a big part of their championship.

by Oak22 on Jun 29, 2007 10:39 PM CDT reply actions

Re:

His college stats were the only thing I was really able to find. Thanks for the info and wlecome to the site.

by Chris Thorman on Jun 30, 2007 1:39 PM CDT reply actions

Wes Murphy

We also picked up an UDFA from Arkansas, Wes Murphy.

I think he will eventually pose a daunting challenge to Keith Willis for top blocking TE. He was a major blocking force that was a part of Arkansas' killer run game.

by Direckshun on Jul 1, 2007 6:53 PM CDT reply actions

Hey welcome to the site

I didn't see Wes Murphy on the roster on the website and I thought I read a snippet somewhere that said we released him but I can't find it again.

by Chris Thorman on Jul 1, 2007 7:34 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks.

I've read nothing but the May 7 announcement that we signed him.

He's a blocking specialist, though. I think he tallied one total reception his entire time at Arkansas.

The good news? That's great news for run blocking. The bad news? He doesn't catch, and opposing teams will know exactly what we're going to do when he's on.

by Direckshun on Jul 1, 2007 9:20 PM CDT reply actions