Dawgs By Nature
25 questions with a tight end that should become an integral part of the offense with the return of two-TE sets
After last season, the Cleveland Browns had some hard decisions to make about their personnel, especially at the tight end group.
RELATED: BROWNS TENDER TWO EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS
Veteran Jordan Akins was brought in to become an acquaintance chess piece for QB Deshaun Watson, except Watson missed so many games with various injuries, the familiar presence wasn’t needed. Besides, Akins wasn’t lighting it up in the production department anyway, so when his two-year deal ran out, Cleveland just didn’t call.
Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku ended the year on IR, and at season’s end, it was just Akins, veteran Blake Whiteheart, and rookie Brendan Bates.
Whiteheart (6’-4”, 247 pounds) entered the offseason as an exclusive-rights free agent, and the Browns tendered him on March 4 before free agency officially began on March 12 to ensure they didn’t lose him. The Browns have stated they are going back to running the ball, and Whitehead is known as an excellent blocker.
He grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and attended Mount Tabor High School, where he played football and lacrosse. Get this: all four years of high school, he was named an All-Forsyth County selection. Whiteheart earned All-Region and State Honorable Mention honors in lacrosse as well. He had college football offers from Wake Forest, Appalachian State, Colorado State, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss. He chose Wake Forest and was a COVID athlete, in which he had five college seasons.
His career stats at Wake Forest included 50 games played, 44 receptions for 541 yards with six touchdowns, and a 12.3 yards per reception average. Prior to his senior year, he was named to the Mackey Award watch list given out to the nation’s best tight end.
After his senior season, he received an invite to the 2023 East-West Shrine Game. Whitehead went undrafted and then signed with the Arizona Cardinals, where he made the final 53-man roster but was released the next day, then signed to the practice squad. Later, he played two games with Arizona.
The following year, he was released on the final cutdown after the Cardinals’ training camp. Two days later, the Browns inked him as they were forming their own practice squad. He ended up playing 11 games with two starts for Cleveland. Whiteheart had 207 snaps on offense (17.54%) and 111 snaps on special teams (23.87%).
Who can forget Whitehead’s juggling catch he made in the second half of the Browns’ 24-19 win over division foe Pittsburgh Steelers? The sensational catch gained 29 yards in the driving snow, where visibility from receiver to quarterback was next to nothing, yet Whitehead snagged the pass. The play moved Cleveland from their own 35-yard line to the Steelers’ 36. The drive ended with a touchdown plus a two-point conversion for an 18-6 lead in the third quarter.
Whiteheart’s X handle is @BlakeWhiteheart, while his Instagram is...
