2022 RULES: Tight Ends

[Goodell]

How we incorporate tight ends in the game can be confusing. While most TEs contribute in reality (to varying degrees) to both receiving and blocking for their team, we couldn't have a TE count equally toward both the receiver and offensive line grades without making the TE the most important player in the game — unrealistically counting twice as much as an elite LT and star WR.

So we make most of the higher graded ones "TEWR"s and they count toward the receiving grade. Other lower graded TEs who don't catch many passes are just TEs and are treated similar to FBs where they contribute to the OL grade but only if they raise the average. For most blocking TEs they don't as lower graded unless really bad offensive lines.

We only have one imported overall grade for each player (not a different blocking and different receiving grade to apply in different areas). Maybe some day we'll add that level of multiple grades, but not something we'll do now and could make things more complicated with multiple different grades for some players, etc.

We can either keep things as they are and have been for decade+ for TEWR and TEs, make everyone just a regular TE and just going to receiving averages, or making everyone TE but trying to have them factor in for both receivers and OL.

How could they apply to both OL/REC as things are now without too much overhaul? Good grade TEWRs can count as starters in the REC average (starters count twice as much as backup WR/TE counting once). We could say REC average counts starting WRs twice and TE only once, but TE also counts once toward OL grade where they didn't before (as much as top backup OL). Elite pass catching TEs wouldn't help REC grade as much, but would also help OL where they didn't before. Or we say keep TEs counting as they do as starters on the REC average, but also factor them partially into OL (like reduce their grade to 75% and add it once to OL average like a backup OL -- reduced because if TE was 100% to REC and 100% to OL then they'd arguably be way too valuable in the game beyond reality).

Or maybe some other ideas that may or may not be able to be practically done with our current setup of one grade for each player.

[JonC]

Has anyone pulled data on how many TE actually help OL grades for non-tanking teams? I feel like most above 80 are TEWR at this point, but I could definitely be wrong there. My current gut feeling is to say make everyone a TE and make them all receivers with how the game has moved...several teams employ a 3rd OT as their extra TE at this point...but I don't want to vote that way if someone has evidence to the contrary.

[Goodell]

CONCLUSION: The majority voted for collective options that are effectively similar to how things are now. We'll simplify things to just have everyone be a TE going forward (not TEWR or blocking TE) and have TE grades go toward the receiver averages as the vast majority do now. In the future we'll look into more complex grading and impacts in other areas, but for now we'll simplify things and will look to implement that on rosters in the coming days for TEs.