Buccaneers: Five best tight ends in team history
By Bailey Adams
No. 5- Jackie Harris (1994-1997)
Starting off the list is someone who spent the middle years of his career in Tampa Bay: Jackie Harris. Harris put up pretty solid numbers at a time when teams were just starting to feature their tight ends a little bit more. Playing a year with Craig Erickson as his quarterback and three more with Trent Dilfer, Harris was a part of only one winning season. That winning season came in 1997, his final year with the team. Interestingly enough, that was his least productive year in Tampa Bay.
Overall, though, Harris put together some respectable numbers in his four seasons with the Bucs. His 137 catches and 1,634 yards rank him fifth among tight ends in franchise history. His six touchdowns put him at 10th, but he did manage to put up 11.9 yards per catch, which is tied for the fourth-best mark of tight ends (who have a minimum of 50 catches). Coincidentally, current Buccaneer tight end Cameron Brate also sits at 11.9 yards per catch at this point in his career.
Harris’ production was down in his final two seasons with the team, but that was partly a result of Tony Dungy coming in and implementing a run-focused offense. 1995 was the best year of Harris’ career, as he caught a career-high 62 passes for 751 yards, which was also a career-high. The Louisiana-Monroe product might not be too notable in the grander scheme of things, but as far as tight ends go, he was one of the best the Bucs have seen.