Texas A&M Football: Who will emerge at the tight end spot?

Despite a large handful of key losses offensively, the Texas A&M football team has a unique opportunity to take a step forward on the attacking side of the ball. But sometimes it can be hard to be optimistic — after all, Jimbo Fisher’s team lost its three most important offensive players to the NFL.

Those players are Kenyon Green, Jalen Wydermyer, and Isaiah Spiller. Oh, and don’t forget about the loss of the team’s starting quarterback in Zach Calzada to the transfer portal.

Still, things feel optimistic surrounding the Texas A&M football team’s offense. Last season left much to be desired and after a couple of disappointing offensive seasons, questions emerged about whether or not these players were actually holding back the offense. 2022 will provide as much of a reset as you’ll find in the sport.

Who will emerge at the tight end spot for the Texas A&M football team in 2022?

While the open offensive line and quarterback positions have clear replacement candidates, one of the areas with more questions than answers is the tight end spot. After three straight years of consistent production out of Jalen Wydermyer (1,468 yards, 16 TD), the offense will be looking for answers.

Saturday Down South thinks that they might have an answer. Here’s a potential solution at the tight end spot, according to Glenn Sattell.

"In 2 of the past 4 seasons, a tight end has led the Aggies in receiving yards. Don’t look for that trend to continue in 2022, but that doesn’t mean the position won’t be critical in the passing game. Used more in a blocking role over the past 2 seasons, Wright will get be targeted more in 2022. No, Wright won’t replace Wydermyer’s production — 40+ catches, 500+ yards each of the past 2 seasons with 10 combined 10 TDs catches. But 20 catches for a TE who has a total of 4 for his career shouldn’t be out of the question."

The emergence of Max Wright makes sense, as he earned more snaps than any tight end not named Jalen Wydermyer last season. To this point, we haven’t seen him have much of an impact in the passing game — he has just a single touchdown, four catches, and under 70 yards in his career. 2022 could be his year.

Wright will also benefit from the departure of Baylor Cupp, who looked like a candidate to fight for the starting position. He, however, has entered the transfer portal.

This leaves a few players to compete for the starting tight end spot. It’ll likely be Max Wright, though a strong group of freshmen will have a say in the position battle. Those freshmen are Theodor Ohrstrom, Donovan Green, and Jake Johnson.