Former Tennessee Volunteers star Jason Witten could be the greatest tight end ever after his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Everybody in Knoxville remembers Jason Witten’s breakout game. It was 2001, and the Tennessee Vols were just coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. They traveled to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide.
That’s when the legend of Jason Witten, a converted defensive end, was born.
Witten had seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. He led the team that day, but what was most memorable was how he carried defenders.
Because of Tennessee’s weapons in Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington, Witten remained a backup in 2001. Phillip Fulmer’s philosophy for that team was to make blocking a priority at tight end. Senior John Finlayson was the best in the business at that, and Witten still had to learn blocking schemes.
Still, he had more highlights throughout the year, most notably showing his speed by outrunning the Michigan Wolverines secondary for a touchdown in the Citrus Bowl.
The next year, as he picked up the blocking schemes, he became the full-time starter. He was also the only reliable receiver on a disappointing Vols team hampered by injuries. Tennessee went 8-5 in 2002, but Witten did everything he could. He caught the game-winning touchdown in six overtimes against the Arkansas Razorbacks, and he carried the running game when Casey Clausen was hurt.
His contributions at tight end were ahead of his time, and when he left early for the NFL Draft, the 6’6″ 263-pound monster who could outrun defensive backs was somehow overlooked. Witten was called a lesser Jeremy Shockey, and he fell to the Dallas Cowboys in the third round.
Fast-forward to now, and Witten is about to enter his 14th season in the NFL,13th as a starter.
He is second all time in career receptions with 1,020, and he has 60 touchdowns and 11,215 yards to go with it.
By the end of his career, only Tony Gonzalez and maybe Antonio Gates will have better receiving stats at tight end.
But Witten has a strong case to be better than both.
Tight end requires two abilities: blocking and receiving.
Witten is 10 times as great a blocker as Gates and solidly better than Gonzalez was. He also has leadership abilities that are very rare for that position. Just ask Dez Bryant and Tony Romo about his leadership.
It’s very rare to find a tight end who is an elite blocker and an elite receiver. Gonzalez, Gates, and Rob Gronkowski are all elite receivers. Witten is in their category.
Meanwhile, he is also in the category of greatest blocking tight ends ever. The coaches even line him up at tackle sometimes because of his greatness there.
This is why Darren Woodson considers him to be the greatest tight end of all time. You can see his reasoning here.
Nobody has been a more consistent workhorse at the position in NFL history than Witten.
With Peyton Manning out, Witten joins Eric Berry at the top of our list of Top 10 former Vols in the NFL for 2016.
He will continue to add on to his Hall-of-Fame stats this year. And as of right now, Witten is clearly the best tight end of all time because of his diversity.