On Monday, Alex Kozora and I discussed the outlook for Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller for the upcoming season on the latest episode of The Terrible Podcast. Because of his age, Alex doesn’t believe that Miller, who will turn 32 in October, will catch more than 50 passes in 2014. I, on the other hand, believe that Miller should easily surpass that number as long as he stays healthy.
Our discussion, however, got me thinking about Miller’s age as it relates to history and the tight end position. I researched it and found out quickly that Miller will be in some pretty elite company should he indeed catch 60 or more passes in 2014.
As you can see in the table below, there have only been eight different tights ends that were 32 years of age or older that have caught 60 or more passes in a season dating back to 1966. Future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez accomplished the feat six straight times while current Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe hit the 60 reception mark four straight years before calling it quits. Antonio Gates also caught more than 60 passes just last season at 33 years of age and many believe that he has a good chance at getting a bust in Canton down the road as well.
Miller, however, won’t be alone in trying to join the 32 and older, 60 plus catch tight end club in 2014 as Jason Witten hit the magic age number back in May. Barring an injury, he should easily eclipse the 60 catch number this upcoming season as he’s failed to hit that mark just once during his career and that was his rookie season.
I was able to track down the target numbers for all but one of the players listed in the table below so that you can see where Miller’s 71.4% career pass completion percentage ranks compared to the single seasons of the players listed. It’s an impressive number and Witten is right there with him (70.6%).
Miller has only cracked the 60 reception mark twice during his career and would have easily done it again last season had he not missed the first two games of the season. When you consider all of the variables listed in this post, however, you can see why Alex questions whether or not Miller will even catch more than 50 passes in 2014.
What say you? Will Miller catch at least 50 passes this season. What about 60 or more?
Tight Ends With 60 Or More Receptions At 32 Years Of Age Or Older (1966-2013)
| Rk | Player | Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | TGTS | REC | REC % | YDS | Y/R | TD | Y/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Gonzalez | 2008 | 32 | KAN | 16 | 16 | 155 | 96 | 61.9% | 1058 | 11.02 | 10 | 66.1 |
| 2 | Tony Gonzalez | 2012 | 36 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 124 | 93 | 75.0% | 930 | 10 | 8 | 58.1 |
| 3 | Tony Gonzalez | 2013 | 37 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 121 | 83 | 68.6% | 859 | 10.35 | 8 | 53.7 |
| 4 | Tony Gonzalez | 2009 | 33 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 135 | 83 | 61.5% | 867 | 10.45 | 6 | 54.2 |
| 5 | Tony Gonzalez | 2011 | 35 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 116 | 80 | 69.0% | 875 | 10.94 | 7 | 54.7 |
| 6 | Antonio Gates | 2013 | 33 | SDG | 16 | 15 | 113 | 77 | 68.1% | 872 | 11.32 | 4 | 54.5 |
| 7 | Shannon Sharpe | 2001 | 33 | BAL | 16 | 15 | 114 | 73 | 64.0% | 811 | 11.11 | 2 | 50.7 |
| 8 | Tony Gonzalez | 2010 | 34 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 109 | 70 | 64.2% | 656 | 9.37 | 6 | 41 |
| 9 | Mickey Shuler | 1988 | 32 | NYJ | 15 | 15 | N/A | 70 | N/A | 805 | 11.5 | 5 | 53.7 |
| 10 | Pete Metzelaars | 1993 | 33 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 94 | 68 | 72.3% | 609 | 8.96 | 4 | 38.1 |
| 11 | Shannon Sharpe | 2000 | 32 | BAL | 16 | 15 | 105 | 67 | 63.8% | 810 | 12.09 | 5 | 50.6 |
| 12 | Wesley Walls | 1999 | 33 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 109 | 63 | 57.8% | 822 | 13.05 | 12 | 51.4 |
| 13 | Jay Novacek | 1995 | 33 | DAL | 15 | 15 | 90 | 62 | 68.9% | 705 | 11.37 | 5 | 47 |
| 14 | Shannon Sharpe | 2003 | 35 | DEN | 15 | 15 | 94 | 62 | 66.0% | 770 | 12.42 | 8 | 51.3 |
| 15 | Shannon Sharpe | 2002 | 34 | DEN | 13 | 13 | 88 | 61 | 69.3% | 686 | 11.25 | 3 | 52.8 |
| 16 | Brent Jones | 1995 | 32 | SFO | 16 | 16 | 101 | 60 | 59.4% | 595 | 9.92 | 3 | 37.2 |
