Washington Football Team: Drafting tight end still makes sense

The Washington Football Team should look for a tight end in the 2021 NFL Draft, even if it isn’t the franchise’s biggest, most pressing need. 

One of the biggest positions of need for the Washington Football Team heading into 2020 was tight end. In fact, it looked pretty desperate. They were heading into the year with Logan Thomas as their number one.

Thomas had 35 career receptions over three seasons at the position entering 2020. His career-high was 16. He had 317 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The biggest claim to fame that Thomas had was that he was a quarterback in college at Virginia Tech and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft at that position.

After fizzling out there, he tried his luck at tight end. That was going better, but he seemed more like a good backup at best. Then came the 2020 campaign. Thomas had a career year. Coming into the season with 35 receptions for 317 yards and two touchdowns, he had at least double in all three of those categories in his first season with Washington alone.

Thomas finished the year with 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns — incredible. That made things a little better for Washington. Now tight end is not in nearly as bad of a spot as it was a year ago. Still though, one tight end who is 30 years old and has one good season under his belt doesn’t make this a position to overlook when it comes to adding pieces.

Which tight end could the Washington Football Team target in the 2021 NFL Draft?

With that in mind, Washington went out and added an intriguing prospect in Sammis Reyes. Reyes is 25 and looks like an absolute genetic freak (shoutout to Scott Steiner). He comes in listed at 6-6, 260 pounds while running a 4.65-second 40 and benching 225 pounds 31 times. Those are fantastic numbers. He is pretty fast for his size and position and incredibly strong.

Fans seem to be pretty jacked up for Reyes and for good reason. He has a ton of potential. However, he is incredibly raw. Reyes has never played a game of organized football. Based off his athleticism you could project him to be a superstar. At the same time, he may never even appear in an NFL game. He simply might not have it.

There is such an insane margin for error when it comes to him. You simply can’t be sure. Despite the addition of Reyes, however, Washington can’t get comfortable. This 2021 NFL Draft has plenty of fun prospects at the tight end position.

Now, they have bigger needs, so there is no need for them to jump on a tight end right away. They could wait until the third round or so and still get a great tight end however. One name that jumps out is Hunter Long from Boston College — and not just because of the first name.

Long is big himself, being listed at 6-5, 253 pounds. He also set career-highs in receptions (57), yards (685) and touchdowns (5) in 2020. The tight end has potential to be a very good receiving threat while a solid addition to the run blocking unit. Long is far from the only option at the position in the middle rounds though. He is just a prime example of the talent in this draft.

The Washington Football Team appears to have found a gem in Logan Thomas at tight end. Meanwhile, Sammis Reyes could be a fun project.

Nothing is guaranteed however and tight end is still a position that could use some improving. This is a team that has made significant changes over the last few years and could be legitimate contenders if they make the right moves. Don’t get comfortable with “good enough”.