Should we be worried about Ben Sinnott?

Just relax and give it some time

When Adam Peters drafted Ben Sinnott in the second round of the 2024 draft, I was ecstatic. I’d fallen in love with him early in the lead up to the draft and, given where they selected him, the front office may have even been higher on him than I was. They took him at pick No. 53.

In the post-draft aftermath, it came out that Peters’ former organization was poised to grab the athletic tight end as well, if Washington hadn’t first:

“The lack of production behind Kittle, 30, is why the 49ers closely studied the position in this year’s draft class and likely would have used their second-round pick, No. 64 overall, on Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott if he had been available.”

Regarding Washington’s selection of Sinnott, we’re fortunate enough to have video of when the actual pick was made, involving a discussion between Assistant GM Lance Newmark, Kliff Kingsbury, Josh Harris, Peters, and Dan Quinn. A transcription of the conversation is below (and the full video can be found in the following tweet).

Peters: “Kliffy!”

[Kingsbury enters frame]

Peters: “There’s a guy here, we going to pick or trade back?”

Kingsbury: “What do you think?”

Peters: “Think we’re getting a tight end.”

[inaudible chatter]

Kingsbury: “Let’s do it. Zach, let’s do it. Do whatever it is. He’s tough as shit. Let’s do it.”

Harris: “Will he play with Zach on the team?”

Kingsbury: “Oh yeah.”

Peters: “Hell yeah, he can play anywhere.”

Newmark: “He’s extremely versatile.”

Peters: “He’ll play. He’s fast, and he’s got a ton of upside. His athletic profile is really, really good. He’s just scratching the surface. He [inaudible] really, really good.”

Peters [to Quinn]: “All in?”

Quinn: “All in. Once you showed me the tape of him, I was all in. I like the finishing and [inaudible], that’s our identity. Make sure that keeps coming to light with all these picks. Like, every single one of them so far is making that come to light. He’s another one that does that. We can always add flash later, we need like real [muted].”

Peters [to assembled front office staff]: “We think this guy is going to be really, really, really good. He can do a lot of different [muted]. He’s tough and he plays the way we want to play. This is the fourth “Commander” out of four.”

It was clear from Peters’ take that Sinnott was “just scratching the surface” that – even though he was a second round pick – there was a belief that he was still early in his developmental journey. The unanimity of the group’s enthusiasm also comes through in the exchange.

There were lots of good reasons to think the future was bright for Sinnott, even if his drafting wasn’t likely to pay immediate dividends. Right after the draft, I concluded my article lauding the move with the following:

I couldn’t be more pumped to see what Sinnott does this year, and I could hardly imagine a better tight end mentor for him to sit behind than Zach Ertz during his rookie year. This kid is going to be special, and I cannot wait for it.

So how did Sinnott end up doing in his rookie season? He had some flashy plays in the pre-season….

….but from a statistical standpoint, he had almost no impact during the regular season, collecting 5 receptions on 5 targets for 28 yards and one touchdown.

He was also the recipient of a beautiful pass from punter Tress Way on a trick play against the Eagles in the NFC championship game. Sinnott did play on about a third of the special teams snaps during the course of the season.

But many fans were left wanting more from Sinnott, fixated primarily on his draft pedigree, and the notion that “second round picks should produce right away.” So why didn’t Sinnott get more offensive snaps?

Thankfully, we have at least one pretty sophisticated evaluator of tight end talent among the commentators who discuss the team. Logan Paulsen, former Washington tight end, routinely speaks with beat reporters about the team, and last week, he spoke with The Athletic’s Ben Standig about – among other things – Ben Sinnott and the tight end room. The full audio is below, but the relevant exchange is transcribed here:

Ben Standig: “Ben Sinnott, the two tight ends ahead of him are both free agents. I won’t assume that both are back – I know you are a big fan of John Bates and Zach Ertz. Let’s just say for argument’s sake, you are making a decision to keep Ertz or Bates based on what you think of Sinnott. I don’t know what he is yet. He ultimately didn’t have the biggest of years. What is Ben Sinnott, what is his next step. Which of those guys would he replace best, in your opinion?”

Paulsen: “That’s a really good question. I just think from a height, weight, length standpoint, I don’t think he’s ever going to be a true “Y.” And I think it would be unfair of me to say that he would step in and fill the role that Zach has done. He’s a very different player. What I mean by that is that he runs routes differently. Zach has this tremendous ability – not exactly with short area quickness – but like short area burst. Like, I understand how to stem, how to run a speed cut, how to break leverages. And, Ben just isn’t there as a player yet. And if you want that level of production from him, that just isn’t a realistic expectation. Zach is just that good. And John Bates is quite literally that good in-line. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say, try to find me a better blocking “Y” in the NFL than John Bates, and I’m not sure that you can. The NFL does value those guys.

Again, I think you’re bringing Ben in to be your “move” chess piece, “F” tight end, and that’s what Zach does right now. And, I just think it’s unrealistic to expect him, after what he’s shown this year, to fill that. I’m not saying he’ll never fill that, but Zach was tremendous this year. Like, really, outstanding. And so for a guy in his second year to fill that level of production is not realistic either. So, that’s where it’s tough for Ben, and tough for me, in terms of saying “what do you do from a developmental standpoint with these other pieces?” And, if you’re saying “it’s on Ben or bust” I think you have to bring both of them back to give Ben another year to develop and grow. But I’ve seen guys have really quick turnarounds and developmental periods in an offseason before too, so I’m not ruling that out. But right now, I do think maybe the fanbase is sleeping on how good those two guys (Ertz and Bates) were this year.”

So, essentially, in Paulsen’s opinion, Sinnott’s lack of production is the result of the fact that he’s sitting behind two very good tight ends, each of which brings different strengths to the roster.

But is this situation unusual? A second round tight end pick, sitting behind a talented vet, and failing to produce showy stats as a rookie as a result. No, in fact, we have an almost perfect analog.

In 2022, the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals was one Kliff Kingsbury. His TE1 was Zach Ertz, who he had acquired in the middle of the 2021 season from the Eagles. The Cardinals would then use pick No. 55, in the second round of the 2022 to select Colorado State tight end Trey McBride.

Through the first twelve weeks of the 2022 season, McBride would have 9 receptions for 46 yards with no touchdowns. Then, in late November, Ertz would go on IR. McBride, now elevated to TE1, would add around 216 yards and 1 TD on 20 more receptions that season.

The following season, McBride would start in the TE1 role, Ertz would go onto IR in October, and his career in Arizona was effectively over. In 2023, McBride would collect 81 receptions for 825 yards and 3 TDs. His 2024 season was even better.

Thankfully, Ertz was incredibly healthy in 2024, and I expect him to be healthy to start the 2025 season – likely in Washington. That’s good for the team, good for Jayden, and – ultimately – good for Sinnott, though the stat-watchers may disagree.

Peters’ selection of Sinnott was consistent with his “best player available” draft philosophy, even if it wasn’t at a position of immediate need – as he explained to Josh Harris on draft day. He’s taking the long view, and I’d urge fans of the team to do the same. Sinnott’s future remains as bright as ever.