2022 Washington Commanders Preview: Tight Ends – sneaky area of strength?

A lot has been written and said about the retooling of the Washington Commanders skill positions during the offseason.

Understandably, much of that focus has centered on the acquisition of QB Carson Wentz, as the rise and fall of the Commanders’ offense will be heavily dependent on the sometimes erratic signal caller, who should bring some much needed consistency and stability to the position.

Outside of Wentz, the wide receiver room has generated some buzz, with the deserved new deal for Terry McLaurin and the drafting of Jahan Dotson, accompanied by his subsequent head turning performances in the spring. Then of course comes the intriguing possibility of a fully healthy Curtis Samuel, if such a thing exists!

The running backs have also been upgraded with the drafting of Brian Robinson providing a muscular complement to Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic.

However, the one skill position group that hasn’t received much attention is the tight end group. In fact, the only attention it has received has generally been negative, mainly thanks to the knee injury suffered by Logan Thomas in week 13 of last season against Las Vegas. The injury capped off an already truncated campaign for Thomas who was only able to manage 18 catches for 196 yards and 3 TD’s. Judging by Thomas’s own comments in a recent interview, it seems unlikely that he will be ready for week 1 which on the face of it is bad news for the Commanders’ offense.

A reason for optimism 

Yet, things may not be as gloomy as first impressions may suggest. There is young, upcoming talent emerging that could help stabilise the position until Thomas’s return, and may even turn it into a real area of strength.

Assuming Thomas doesn’t make it back for week one, the next cab off the rank is second year man John Bates. Drafted primarily as a blocking tight end, Bates was capable in that role, but surprised many with his receiving capabilities, snaring 20 catches for 249 yards and a touchdown in his rookie season. He possibly received more opportunities than he would have expected had Thomas and Ricky Seals-Jones not gone down, but he proved more than capable of being a solid second tight end. 

The potential wildcard in the tight end room is fith round rookie Cole Turner, who has been turning heads almost since the first OTA practices. The former wide receiver only played the tight end position for his final two years at Nevada but used his 6′ 6″ frame to make a number of spectacular catches in the Mountain West, displaying an outstanding catch radius and a genuine red zone threat.

Regarded by some draft analysts as being lightweight (listed as 246 lbs.) and an inconsistent blocker, Turner will no doubt work on those areas as he settles into professional life, but it’s his receiving skills that have been catching the eye as spring has given way to summer and training camp.

Production in training camp

With both Thomas and Bates not participating in the early part of training camp, it has been largely Turner that has been running with the first team offense, and he has literally grasped the opportunity with both hands. One beat reporter after another has tweeted about outstanding catches and red zone touchdowns, as Turner has begun to develop a rapport with quarterback Carson Wentz. Full Press Coverage’s own George Carmi watched practice last week and was impressed by what he saw, reporting that “Turner ran with the 1’s and was heavily targeted by Wentz. He was featured primarily in the short and intermediate passing game, on out routes and crossers. Wentz felt very comfortable with him”.

Tight ends are increasingly being drafted on traits as much as production in college, but Turner ticks both boxes in that regard. His size and athleticism can be molded into a dynamic weapon and he has a real nose for the end zone as his 19 TD’s in 20 college starts bear out. 

It is of course worth pumping the brakes a little, as the list of training camp darlings to flame out and never be heard of again is longer than Dan Snyder’s charge sheet! The pads only came out for the first time on Tuesday and the intensity was duly ramped up, so the acid test for Turner will be in the coming days and into the preseason games and beyond. The early signs are good however, as Turner appears to have an extraordinary catch radius, which may be useful if Wentz’s accuracy is an issue, and an ability to win the contested catches.

Tight ends notoriously find it difficult to contribute right away, but few will have had as many opportunities and reps as Turner has had this spring and summer and a Bates/Turner ticket could more than hold the fort until Thomas is back. When the main man returns, the Commanders would like to be in a position where they can utilise all three in a variety of formations, without tipping their hand as to whether they are running or passing. The solid blocking of Bates combined with either Thomas or Turner out of 12 personnel could offer some intriguing possibilities in both the run and pass game, although the Commanders only operated out of that personnel group 18% of the time last season (compared to 75% in 11 personnel).

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Competition and depth 

With the retirement of Antonio Gandy-Golden, the other remaining tight ends on the roster are the still developing Sammis Reyes, undrafted rookie Curtis Hodges and recently converted quarterback Armani Rogers who are likely to be battling for the final roster spot. Reyes has shown gradual progress since joining from the International Player programme although he missed some time in the off-season programme with soreness from a screw in his leg but is now back in action. He will have to take a huge leap to challenge Thomas, Bates and Turner but is in a good competition with the gigantic 6′ 8″ frame of Hodges and Rogers, who only converted to the position from quarterback prior to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl to make the team as the fourth tight end.

The tight end group may not have the star names of the other skill positions but it has the potential to be at least a solid group. Clearly a fully healthy Thomas will be a huge boost as his presence in the red zone offers Carson Wentz a proven target, but the young guns Bates and Turner bring complementary strengths of their own which are likely to be on full display in the early part of the season at least.