Best In The Biz- QB/TE Tandems

When a wide receiver is taken away on the outside, the quarterback can look over the middle and get the ball to the tight end. Defending a tight end is extremely difficult. You can only hope to contain them because they are so big, so strong and very physical. The tight end has really come back to life these last few years. Here are the five best QB/TE tandems.

1. Brady/Gronkowski- We could discuss these two as maybe one of the best overall receiving tandems in football. Brady hasn’t been as in sync with a weapon down the field since the Randy Moss days. Over the last three seasons, these two have connected for 38 touchdowns. No team has relied on their tight ends more than the New England Patriots. Gronk is such a mismatch for anyone to defend him. He has size, speed, strength and excellent body control. Gronk has been Brady’s go to guy in the red zone and Brady has completed more than two-thirds of his passes to #87 and less than a quarter to all his other receivers. When he’s healthy, no tight end is more productive than Rob Gronkowski.

2. Brees/Graham- When arriving in New Orleans as a free agent, Drew Brees has never really had a go to guy. I guess you can say that go to guy is Marques Colston of some sorts but Drew spreads the football around to everyone. If you’re open, he’ll get it to you. With weapons to choose from in Henderson, Colston, Sproles and Moore, you can now add Jimmy Graham to the mix. This is Brees’ go to guy on this offense. Brees can get him the football when he’s lined up on the outside, in the slot and when he works the middle of the field. Jimmy Graham has put up some impressive numbers with Brees and this duo will be on this list for a while.

3. Romo/Witten- The media has referred to Jason Witten as Tony Romo’s “BFF” or his last resort when his receivers on the outside are locked up down the field. The duo of Tony to Jason has been nothing but success year in and year out. I’ve stated that Witten is the engine to the Cowboys offense. You stop him or contain him and limit his plays, you can stop the Cowboys as an offense and really throw them off their routine. Tony knows he can get Witten the ball and he will come down with a catch to move the chains.

4. Kaepernick/Davis- They didn’t have much time together but I think they will connect pretty well together and I saw some signs of that last season when Kap was inserted as the full time starter. Before Kap came in, Vernon Davis was San Fran’s go to guy in the passing game. Kap did a much better job of involving the wide receivers than Alex Smith did but he still would hit Vernon in stride down the field no matter where he was lined up. I expect some big things from these two as the season begins.

5. Brady/Hernandez- When Gronk is down, Brady can turn to another productive tight end in Aaron Hernandez. Aaron had to step it up a lot when Gronk was slowed down due to injuries. He became that go to guy for Tom. Nobody is better at using their tight ends better than New England. They’ve even been given the nickname the “Boston TE party”. Just like Gronk, Aaron has been a very solid weapon down the field and also in the red zone.