Tight end

In American football, the tight end (TE) is a hybrid of an offensive lineman and a wide receiver.

On running plays, the tight end's job, along with the tackles, guards and center, is to block the running back's path. On passing plays, however, he runs his designated pass route just like the receivers to offer himself as a pass receiver and catch the ball, or he forms the pocket for the quarterback with the other offensive linemen and blocks the defenders. Most of the time, the tight end is lined up right next to the tackle before the play begins (hence the name tight end because that puts him close to one of the ends of the offensive line), but he can also be moved farther out as a slot receiver or moved back as a so-called H-back. The side of the offense where the tight end is lined up is called the strong side, and the opposite side is called the weak side. This often determines the assignment of the linebackers or the strong safety of the opposing defense.

A good tight end should be as big and strong as possible, but still have some basic speed and be able to catch very well, as he is usually a pass receiver for short passes and therefore doesn't have much time to prepare to catch the ball. The importance of the tight end varies from team to team and system to system. On some teams, the tight end catches more balls than the wide receivers, while on others, he is rarely - if ever - targeted. Since the tight end is usually not directly man-to-man on passing plays, he often acts as a safety option for the quarterback, passing him the ball at close range at the last second if the wide receivers are covered too tightly by the defense and the pressure on the quarterback becomes too great.

In the early days of football, tight ends were usually heavy, powerful players who were used as additional blockers for the offensive line. In the 1960s, Hall-of-Fame players like Mike Ditka, Jackie Smith, and John Mackey came along who also had great catching skills. With Kellen Winslow and Shannon Sharpe, fast, athletic tight ends became increasingly established, who distinguished themselves primarily through their offensive qualities. Since the 2000s, more and more players who played basketball at the college level, such as Pro Bowl tight ends Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas and Jimmy Graham, have come into play. What is valued about them is their ability to pull a pass out of the air like a rebound despite tight coverage. Examples of "classic" tight ends are currently (as of late 2020) Pro Bowl players Rob Gronkowski or Jason Witten.

The tight end wears a number between 1-49 and 80-99, similar to the wide receivers, as numbers 50-79 are not allowed to catch forward passes.