The evolution of the Falcons TE position, 2008-2018

The Falcons have had franchise greats at quarterback and wide receiver more or less continuously from 2008-2018, and the picture has been pretty similar at running back, with only an injury-marred 2018 and the Steven Jackson years messing that up. It has been a historic run of savviness and good fortune at those positions, I’d say, which makes the positions where that hasn’t happened seem a little...lacking.

The good news with tight end is that the Falcons did have a Hall of Famer holding down the position for five seasons in the last decade-plus, and Tony Gonzalez was on hand for some of the better teams of the era. The bad news is that until Austin Hooper hit his stride in 2017 and then…