When I was 16 years old, watching football for the first time, the Cowboys were always on TV - unfortunately, looking back at it now - but Jason Witten was the guy who carried himself, in my opinion as a 16-year-old kid, the right way. He was a phenomenal tight end.
Everybody knows I'm the biggest Dennis Pitta fan in the world.
I play this game to be the best tight end I can possibly be and win as many football games as I possibly can.
When I'm watching any game, I watch the tight end.
I try to prove that I can be either a wide receiver or a flex tight end. Put me in the slot, put me out wide, put me wherever you want, but I can play both.
I don't always answer bird calls, but, when I do, they're from Tom Brady and Gronk.
I think I had a good rookie year, but at the end of the day, I want to be one of the best tight ends ever to play, and I'm going to set my standard for that and work toward that goal.
When I got drafted, I was a spread-option quarterback. It was, 'OK, you've got to get under center, throw to the fullback, throw to the tight end. You've got to learn to be a pro quarterback.' And there was a learning curve there, and I did have to learn some of that.
The glory of the big catch is applied more at wide receiver, and tight end would be an even match at my size. It's such a huge advantage being on the outside.
Like most tight ends I was a pass-receiving tight end coming into the league.
If you go off the Senior Bowl, that's basically what I can do. I played H-back, I played fullback, I played tight end, I played slot receiver, I ran routes, I caught some balls, blocked, just doing that stuff.
Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.
I don't play this game to be an average tight end.
Brent Celek is a heck of a blocker, James Casey is a heck of a blocker.
Ideally, if you ask most tight ends, they would say we want the defender on us early. The reason for that is we feel like, for one, we know where we're going. Two, we can attack leverage, it declares itself if it's truly man coverage. We can work the release.
Sometimes, they do a great job covering everyone downfield, so you just have to checkdown and hit a tight end to convert. That's just how we play ball.
I pray that Jimmy Graham passes as a wide receiver. Because at the end of the day, if he passes as a wide receiver, that's better for the rest of the tight ends. He will have opened up a door, a pathway for the rest of the group.
Usually, you have one blocking, one catching tight end.
I have no problem lining up running back, tight end, or fullback.
I think Tony Gonzalez always set the standard. He was the guy that, I think for all of us, when I came in that was really kinda taking this league over as the tight end position. I think Shannon Sharpe was another one.
It didn't seem fair that no matter how many passes I caught or how many touchdowns I scored, I was considered a 'lowly tight end' and would never be paid anywhere close to a salary as high as the elite wide receivers.
Tight end is one of the hardest positions to play in football. It's right up there with quarterback and cornerback. You have to have the skills of a wide receiver and the strength of an offensive lineman, and it's not easy to balance those two.
When I got to the NFL, they asked me what number I wanted, and I said No. 44, but they told me tight ends are not allowed to have that number. So I said, 'Just double it up for me if you can' and took No. 88. I figured I'd be twice as good as I was.
I didn't run the ball very much in college. I sat out most of the time and played a little slot receiver, a little tight end, a little fullback but that's pretty much about it.
No disrespect to Gronk - Travis Kelce is the best tight end in football.
