The tight end position has taken on renewed importance in the NFL, thanks to stellar seasons from Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. But with a relatively weak draft class, teams interested in adding capable bodies at the position may have to rely on free agency.
One guy who’ll be available when the market opens is Martellus Bennett. He joined PFT Live on Friday, four days before becoming a free agent and one day before his 25th birthday.
Bennett said he’s ready to step out of Jason Witten’s shadow.
“I want to be the No. 1 guy,” Bennett said during the show, via Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. “I feel like I’m a 60-catch-plus guy on a team, so I want to be in a system where I could do [that]. I think a lot of people say the hybrid tight ends or the new type of tight ends are the ones to catch the ball, but I think the perfect tight ends are the ones who could actually block and do things with the ball after they catch it.”
Bennett also said that players from the Bears, Bucs, and Dolphins have been trying to get him interested in joining their teams. (If it comes from players not acting at the direction of the coaching staff or management, it’s not tampering.)
Regardless, it became pretty clear that the second-round pick from the 2008 draft won’t be a Cowboy for much longer.