Tony Gonzalez picks the next great NFL tight end By Connor Casey The Sporting NewsPublished on Nov. 12, 2015
When Tony Gonzalez talks tight ends, you should listen.The former Chiefs and Falcons star made 14 Pro Bowls and posted career tight end records for receiving yards (15,127), touchdowns (111) and catches (1,325) in 17 NFL seasons. Gonzalez, now an analyst for CBS, thinks the Buccaneers' Austin Seferian-Jenkins is next in line for tight end greatness. And he should know."He's my number one young guy," Gonzalez, speaking on behalf of his fitness mobile app FitStar, told Sporting News. "He’s working with a quarterback that is still learning his way, but I think the sky is the limit. He’s 6-6, 260 pounds, can run like the wind and catches the ball outside the framework of his body."Gonzalez believes that, with the right quarterback, Seferian-Jenkins could play at the same level as Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham."I really believe, and nothing against Gronkowski, but if you put (Seferian-Jenkins) with one of these great quarterbacks like a Tom Brady or Drew Brees, he’d be putting up those numbers," Gonzalez said. "As Jameis Winston evolves, I think Seferian-Jenkins will evolve, too. Within three years he’ll be a top 5 tight end in the league."Seferian-Jenkins' comparisons don't end with Gronkowski and Graham, either: He's already been compared to Gonzalez himself. Buccanners offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who coached Gonzalez with the Falcons, said in August that Seferian-Jenkins reminds him of the future Hall of Famer. “I’ll tell you, if Austin (Seferian-Jenkins) is healthy he reminds me of… I coached Tony Gonzalez at the end of his career (and) our tight ends coach Jon Embree had Tony in Kansas City,” Koetter said in a training camp interview . “Austin is talented."Unfortunately for the Bucs, Seferian-Jenkins can't stay healthy like Gonzalez could. Gonzalez only missed two games in his 17 seasons, while Seferian-Jenkins' rookie season in 2014 was cut to nine games due to a back injury. A strained shoulder suffered in Week 2 has kept him off the field for most of this season. Gonzalez said tight ends have continued to evolve since his NFL debut in 1997. Namely, they'll look more like Seferian-Jenkins."These big guys are coming into the league like Travis (Kelce) or Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham, those guys look like defensive ends. These guys are 6-5, 250, 260 moving down the field like that creates a big target."Being that tall and that athletic, it’s such as mismatch. There is nothing you can do about it. There is no 6-5, 250 pound defensive back running down the field with you. They don’t exist. Even if you’re faster or quicker than me, I’m still 6-6 and can jump high. These quarterbacks are just taking advantage of it. I love it."
