[Shields68]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

I would not say that's completely accurate. They can succeed right away in the right situation. Here's a few from last year and over the last 5 years.

Sam Laporta: 86 rec, 889 yards, 10 TDs
Dalton Kincaid: 73 rec, 673 yards, 2 TDs

Kyle Pitts: 68 rec, 1,026 yards, 1 TD (how the hell did he only have 1 TD?)

Evan Engram: 64 rec, 722 yards, 6 TDs

Noah Fant, TJ Hockenson, and Irv Smith all had pretty decent rookie years in 2019, as well.

Historically, you're correct. But over the past years, that has become a position that more and more teams are focused on in college, and it's translating to better "ready to play" TEs coming into the leage.

In fairness most of the above were first round picks or high seconds and a lot on bad teams without a lot of competition at that position.