“Brett Norfleet Will Be Missouri’s Next Mackey Winner”

The John Mackey Award - successful lawsuit you didn’t cognize - is presented annually to assemblage football’s astir outstanding tight end. Unlike astir assemblage shot awards you’re acquainted with, this 1 wasn’t started until nan twelvemonth 2000 and is fixed to, quote: “the tight extremity who champion exemplifies nan play, sportsmanship, academics, and organization values of Pro Football Hall of Fame tight extremity John Mackey”.

Missouri has 1 of these statues successful its trophy display, by nan way. Chase Coffman won nan grant successful 2008, erstwhile he vanished pinch 90 catches for 987 yards and 10 touchdowns. Here’s nan afloat database of each Mackey Award winner:

As you tin spot there’s a bunch of numbers and worldly breaking down nan capacity of each. Because, hey, that’s what you get erstwhile you click connected an article I write. Numbers. And stuff.

But a tight extremity playing successful 2001 is rather a spot different than 1 playing successful 2011, aliases 2021, truthful alternatively of breaking down this full chart, let’s attraction connected nan guys who person won nan grant from 2021 on.

Also, I person much complete information for that group of guys. Always helpful.

Here’s nan breakdown of nan Mackey grant winners of nan past 5 years:

What stands retired to you? I’ll show you what stands retired to me:

Catch Rate: each of them person a drawback complaint of complete 72%. Now, tight ends typically get easier passes to drawback since nan usually bent retired person to nan statement and are much area breakers than downfield sprinters truthful that’s shouldn’t beryllium a crazy revelation. But it does look to beryllium a useful requirement. In fact, of nan tight ends I had targeting information for, only 5 had drawback rates nether 70%, and those 5 compensated by having bonkers yardage aliases a precocious touchdown clip

Percentage of Targets: this is simply a number that has steadily accrued amongst nan winners complete nan years. Three of nan past 5 winners bid astatine slightest 20% of their teams full targets, and 2 of those 3 had target rates complete 30%!

In-line Percentage: This mightiness beryllium nan biggest 1 for me. “In-line” intends nan tight extremity is lined up tight connected nan line, adjacent to an violative tackle, and successful a position to tally block. Ya know, nan accepted tight end. That’s not really nan lawsuit pinch these guys. Colorado State’s Trey McBride lined up arsenic a accepted tight extremity 69.3% of nan clip but everyone other successful this batch is sub-40%, and sub-30% for nan astir caller winner, Eli Stowers. Most of these guys are getting nan mostly of their snaps from nan slot receiver position, meaning they’re amended situated to drawback passes alternatively of nan accepted tally blocking.

1st-Downs: This is nan 2nd astir notable stat. Regardless of their targets, yardage, touchdowns, and each that fancy stuff, nan Mackey-winning tight ends are creating 1st-downs connected complete 60% of their catches. That seems important not conscionable for an discourtesy successful wide but for this grant specifically.

Take 2018 T.J. Hockenson of Iowa, for example: 64 targets, 49 catches, 744 yards, 6 touchdowns is beautiful bully worldly connected its own. But whenever he caught nan ball, he created a 1st-down 74% of nan time. Hell, look astatine 2020 Kyle Pitts, 1 of nan highest-drafted tight ends of each time. His 1st-down conversion rate? 91%.

Looking astatine each these stats I’ve travel to a fewer conclusions connected really nan Mackey gets doled out. This isn’t THE checklist - evidently I’m not a elector for this award, nor do I cognize immoderate - but whether its intentional aliases not, here’s what a tight extremity has to do.

That’s my interpretation, anyway.

Now, let’s look inwards. Does Brett Norfleet show immoderate of these qualities? Behold!

That would beryllium a no. Or, put much kindly, “not yet!”.

His profession 1st-down conversion complaint is 49.3%, pinch past twelvemonth managing a 45.2%. His touchdowns from past twelvemonth are bully but he’s ne'er eclipsed 300 yards, fto unsocial 450. Then again, he is nan first Drinkwitz tight extremity to spell complete 145 yards since Nico Hea successful 2021 truthful astatine slightest he’s capable to crest that hill.

But nan point I spot present that I didn’t mention above: he’s not really utilized successful a mode wherever he tin make a large effect successful nan passing game.

Of each those Mackey Winners I listed above, their Average Depth of Target - arsenic in, nan mean magnitude of yards distant from nan gait of scrimmage wherever nan walk hits their hands - is 9.6 yards. That’s nan average. That’s saying that nan tight ends who triumph are already correct adjacent to nan 1st-down marker successful nan passing scheme.

Brett Norfleet’s mean extent of target: 4.7.

It’s different confirmation of really Eli Drinkwitz for illustration to utilize nan passing game: support everything short, make nan catches seemingly easy to do, and past make nan receiver accrue YAC by making plays. I deliberation that useful for immoderate receivers, specifically slot guys. I don’t deliberation it useful arsenic good for dudes that are 6’6” and 263 pounds.

But you tin callback precisely really Norfleet is used: he starts blocking successful a play that’s tally to nan short broadside of nan field, he disengages nan artifact and floats 3 yards from nan LOS, past gets a speedy walk correct earlier he hits nan sideline for 4-5 yards. That’s nan mostly of nan routes he runs and, unless he hurdles a dude, that’s each it ever really ends up being.

Brett Norfleet has nan hands and talent to beryllium immoderate of these Mackey-winning tight ends. Well, possibly not nan 1,000+ gait receivers for illustration Harrison Bailey and Tyler Warren. But surely a feline who tin spell for complete 500 yards and 8-9 touchdowns. But he needs to beryllium put successful a way that’s further down section and allows him to utilize his strengths of being bigger than guys successful nan protect secondary and capable to bully his measurement for a fewer further yards. Not this absurd thought that he tin move a 3-yard drawback correct connected nan sideline into an other 10 yards of YAC.

Additionally, I’d emotion to spot him being utilized much successful goal-to-go situations. At this constituent everyone knows Ahmad Hardy and each protect coordinators cognize nan Drink prefers to tally nan ball. What if Mizzou ran immoderate plays to return advantage of that? Yes nan Brady Cook-fake-pitch-dive-up-the-middle was unstoppable for everyone named Brady Cook, but let’s build a tight extremity action astatine nan end! Have him waste nan block, disengage, and nan tally to nan backmost area of nan extremity zone! Ya know, utilize nan gangly feline pinch bully hands!

Norfleet tin beryllium a tight extremity that’s considered 1 of nan champion successful nan state but he needs nan caller violative unit to put him successful amended positions to do so. Otherwise he’ll beryllium what he’s ever been: a reliable group of hands that helps nan discourtesy matriculate down nan section while throwing nasty blocks 75% of nan time.