Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith Join Very Interesting Tight End Crop In Free Agency

If you like tight ends, well, you might suddenly enjoy NFL free agency a little bit more. That’s because two of the NFL’s most notable TEs weren’t franchise-tagged Tuesday and are now available for the taking: Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jonnu Smith of the Tennessee Titans.

Though neither the Rams nor Titans want to move on from Henry or Smith, respectively, it could still happen in the topsy-turvy and unpredictable world of the NFL offseason.

“Henry has been advertised as one of the NFL’s most promising, young tight ends in recent years but was disappointing in 2020. The 26-year-old reached career highs in receptions (60) and targets (93), but his receiving yard (613) and receiving touchdown (9) totals decreased,” wrote David Fucillo of SB Nation.

Meanwhile, Smith caught the third-most touchdowns of any tight end in the league (eight). He was also a big part of the Titans’ offense, particularly in the red zone. He had 43 receptions and 448 yards, which aren’t necessarily impressive, but he was also efficient and came through when his team needed him most.

Insiders seem to believe that Henry and Smith will, in fact, return to their respective teams. But this is the NFL, and this is free agency. Anything can happen when a bidding war erupts.

Henry and Smith join an intriguing list of available tight ends that also includes Kyle Rudolph and Zach Ertz.