Ranking the AFC North tight ends heading into the 2020 season

The AFC North has added a lot of talent at tight end over the past few years. Here’s where the Pittsburgh Steelers rank among their rivals at the tight end position.

The days of the ‘do-it-all-for-you’ tight ends are practically gone. At least for the Pittsburgh Steelers, that is. After a lustrous (yet somewhat quiet) 11-year career from Heath Miller that stretched from 2005 to 2015, Mike Tomlin has since been using a tight end by committee approach on offense.

The Steelers experimented with a combination of Jesse James and Ladarius Green to fill the void left by Miller after his retirement. However, James was outbid by the Detroit Lions after his rookie contract and Green played just six games for Pittsburgh before being forced to retire after multiple concussion scares.

Vance McDonald was acquired in a day-three pick-swap deal with the San Fransisco 49ers in 2017, but he managed to suit up in just 10 games in his first year with the Steelers thanks to injuries. In 2018, McDonald proved to be a solid stop-gap player at tight end. Though he played just over 50 percent of offensive snaps, he managed 50 catches, 610 yards, and 4 touchdowns in 15 games.

Sadly, McDonald came right back down to earth in 2019 at the hands of poor quarterback play, and he ultimately graded out dead last out of 67 qualifying tight ends with a 45.3 overall grade last year, according to Pro Football Focus.

With the acquisition of Eric Ebron, this year’s outlook at tight end should prove to be much better. However, other AFC North teams have also done a lot to improve their tight end room recently. Here’s where the Pittsburgh Steelers rank among their division rivals at the tight end position: