Denver Broncos: Grading the 2019 tight end position

Jeff Heuerman

2019 Stats: 14 receptions, 20 targets, 114 yards, 3.5 YAC, 1 TD

2019 Grade: C

While hopes were high for Jeff Heuerman, with the emergence of Noah Fant, it is unlikely that he will see many opportunities to start at tight end going forward in 2020, barring an injury to Fant.

However, Heuerman is more than capable of being a solid #2 tight end. 2019 was not Heuerman’s best season, which may be alarming to some, considering he was inked to a two year deal in March 2019. However, if one were to evaluate Heuerman’s stats, they are not as poor as they may appear, especially considering the factor that Heuerman only got 20 targets on the season, 28 fewer times than he was thrown at in 2018.

When Heuerman is healthy, he is more than capable of making a big play. However, his availability has come into question; he has yet to be healthy for an entire regular season, although he was available for 14 of 16 games in 2019. Heuerman’s YAC has dropped drastically from his rookie season to now, with a difference of 4.2 yards, which may suggest that he has lost some speed.

It is unlikely that Heuerman will be competing for a starting job in 2020, but he could be a very reliable #2; it is also pretty common for multiple tight ends to receive reps in a game, so Heuerman will not lose opportunity by not starting.

However, it is likely that the new man in charge of the offense, Pat Shurmur, will need to see more out of Heuerman, otherwise he may find himself fall down the depth chart in favor of Troy Fumagalli and Jake Butt, assuming that Butt is healthy and ready to go.

Before Heuerman receives a higher grade, I need to see more production from the man who was a third round talent upon being drafted in 2015.