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Tennessee football’s top five NFL TEs of all time

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 21: Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a catch against the Carolina Panthers during play at Bank of America Stadium on October 21, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Cowboys won 19-14. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 21: Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a catch against the Carolina Panthers during play at Bank of America Stadium on October 21, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Cowboys won 19-14. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images /

839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 2000-2003. Years in NFL: 16. 1. player. Jason Witten

Teams played for:

  • Dallas Cowboys, 2003-2017; 2019
  • Las Vegas Raiders, 2020-present

Similar to Peyton Manning among Tennessee football quarterbacks, Jason Witten stands out above everybody on this list. And the ironic part is he committed to the Vols with the specific goal of not playing the position.

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Witten committed in 2000 as a defensive end. Phillip Fulmer told him he’d play that after other teams wanted to convert him to tight end. However, early on in his tenure, the coaches asked him to convert to tight end. He did it begrudgingly, but it paid off. In 2001 and 2002, he had 67 catches for 786 yards and seven touchdowns, emerging into a star.

As a result, Witten declared early for the NFL Draft. At 6’6″ 263 pounds, he was considered a lesser Jeremy Shockey, and he fell to the Dallas Cowboys in the third round. However, Witten emerged into a star immediately. In his second season, he had 987 receiving yards and six touchdowns. From 2007 to 2012, he had at least 900 yards receiving each year.

In the process, Witten turned into a superstar. A nature of his game was his ability to be such an elite receiving tight end and a guy who could truly line up at left tackle. Witten is the only player in NFL history who is a top five blocking tight end and a top five receiving tight end of all time. He had over 1,000 receiving yards four times.

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After retiring in 2018, Witten returned to the Cowboys in 2019, and he just signed with Jon Gruden’s Las Vegas Raiders for 2020. As a result, he may not even be done with his Hall-of-Fame NFL career. What’s clear, though, is he’s easily Tennessee football’s best tight end to ever play in the pros. There’s no close second.

For other posts ranking Tennessee football players at specific positions with the greatest NFL careers, please click here.

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