Anybody with any good analysis of our TE play in these first two games?
PFF grades telling any sort of story thus far?
Curious, does the all 22 tape show anything good or bad on routes?
Anybody with any good analysis of our TE play in these first two games?
PFF grades telling any sort of story thus far?
Curious, does the all 22 tape show anything good or bad on routes?
The tight end room is so interesting because for the first two years of Cignetti we've had incredibly experienced players in the starting role (Horton and Nowakowski, of course). Now, the oldest player in that tight end room is in year 2 of college. The ceiling in that room is maybe the highest it's ever been and the talent level is strong, but in a Shanahan offense the tight end position is very complex, which is likely why the past two years they've gone for experience in the portal.
Now, this is not to say that Schott/Barker/Thiry/etc can't perform the role - they absolutely can - it's just that the learning curve is steep. We see this in the first few games. Involvement in the passing game for tight ends is already low in a Shanahan offense, but it's been especially low to begin 2026:
- North Texas:
- Schott: 29 snaps, 18 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 8 routes run, 1 rec for 25 yards, PFF blocking grades are not very good
- Barker: 22 snaps, 16 of which run block snaps, 1 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are solid
- Howard:
- Schott: 23 snaps, 15 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (better than game 1)
- Barker: 34 snaps, 24 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 7 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (worse than game 1)
So it's kind of been a mixed bag among the lead two tight ends. Barker was rewarded with more snaps in the Howard game after a good blocking performance against North Texas, but they've combined for 1 reception for 25 yards over two games. Again, this isn't uncommon in a Shanahan offense, but the usage is still quite low.
What might be happening (pure speculation) is that they're focusing so much on blocking right now that the coaching staff is hammering in this emphasis. The passing game is secondary right now and we'll focus on that later because blocking is more important in this scheme. Again, pure speculation, but given the lack of experience in the tight end room, I wouldn't be surprised if that is what was being communicated.
It was interesting to dig into this @middawg so I appreciate you asking about it! Hope I answered some questions. I think I'll make an article on this later this week now!
--Evan
Check out my latest at Hoosier Huddle here
Anybody with any good analysis of our TE play in these first two games?
PFF grades telling any sort of story thus far?
Curious, does the all 22 tape show anything good or bad on routes?
The tight end room is so interesting because for the first two years of Cignetti we've had incredibly experienced players in the starting role (Horton and Nowakowski, of course). Now, the oldest player in that tight end room is in year 2 of college. The ceiling in that room is maybe the highest it's ever been and the talent level is strong, but in a Shanahan offense the tight end position is very complex, which is likely why the past two years they've gone for experience in the portal.
Now, this is not to say that Schott/Barker/Thiry/etc can't perform the role - they absolutely can - it's just that the learning curve is steep. We see this in the first few games. Involvement in the passing game for tight ends is already low in a Shanahan offense, but it's been especially low to begin 2026:
- North Texas:
- Schott: 29 snaps, 18 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 8 routes run, 1 rec for 25 yards, PFF blocking grades are not very good
- Barker: 22 snaps, 16 of which run block snaps, 1 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are solid
- Howard:
- Schott: 23 snaps, 15 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 5 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (better than game 1)
- Barker: 34 snaps, 24 of which run block snaps, 3 of which pass block snaps, 7 routes run, 0 rec for 0 yards, PFF blocking grades are okay (worse than game 1)
So it's kind of been a mixed bag among the lead two tight ends. Barker was rewarded with more snaps in the Howard game after a good blocking performance against North Texas, but they've combined for 1 reception for 25 yards over two games. Again, this isn't uncommon in a Shanahan offense, but the usage is still quite low.
What might be happening (pure speculation) is that they're focusing so much on blocking right now that the coaching staff is hammering in this emphasis. The passing game is secondary right now and we'll focus on that later because blocking is more important in this scheme. Again, pure speculation, but given the lack of experience in the tight end room, I wouldn't be surprised if that is what was being communicated.
It was interesting to dig into this @middawg so I appreciate you asking about it! Hope I answered some questions. I think I'll make an article on this later this week now!
--Evan
Good stuff, thanks.
One thing I'd add is that Tyler Morris is lessening the need for TE targets over the middle. Chandler and/or Marsh as well. I'd rather they just concentrate on blocking, then in last 5 or 6 games we can throw in a pass or two as a change of pace.
TE is down the list of concerns for this team.
@mushroomgod Agreed, and we saw that when Myles Price was in the slot too - Horton didn't see many targets unless it was in the red zone. Good point
Check out my latest at Hoosier Huddle here
Wonder if it was a combination of cig knowing he didn't need much from his TEs other than blocking and reallocating money to other positions in the transfer portal given increasing costs. Or needing more money for sales
Or maybe there were no experienced TE's that were good and fit the culture in the portal.Wonder if it was a combination of cig knowing he didn't need much from his TEs other than blocking and reallocating money to other positions in the transfer portal given increasing costs. Or needing more money for sales