5 best NFL comparisons to Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews

The Baltimore Ravens have a star talent when it comes to Mark Andrews. The question is, just how good is he historically, and where will he land when all is said and done? He already has 4,000 yards and is not even 28 years old, so he is in pretty rare company as he heads toward the middle to late stages of his career.

Through five NFL seasons, the best NFL comparisons for Mark Andrews are the following players.

5. Antonio Gates

It is not bad when the first comparison has the chance to make the Hall of Fame. Antonio Gates had a great career, and he had similar numbers at this stage of his career to Mark Andrews.

Gates was the box-out king, and that led to more touchdowns, but in terms of catches, and yards you will not see a comparison much closer. What is good news for Baltimore Ravens fans is that if Andrews stays on the trajectory of Gates, this is just the start.

Gates had a career year at age 29, but he kept up this level of production until he was 37 and 38 years old when he put up 316, and 333 yards respectively. Still, at age 36 he posted 548 yards and seven touchdowns. If the Ravens are getting that type of play from Andrews nearly a decade from now, they are going to be mighty happy.

4. Jason Witten

Another comparison that Ravens fans would not mind seeing play out is Jason Witten. Witten did outproduce Andrews before his age-27 season, but he also entered the NFL a full year before Andrews did. Below you can see how they compare through five NFL seasons.

Through age 27 Witten hit 4,900 yards, but he averaged 53.7 yards per game, while Andrews was at 56 yards per game at that age. In his age 28 season, Witten put up 1,002 yards, and he put up 942 yards at age 29. Then, at 30 he put up 1,039 yards. If that is the next three years of Andrews it would be an incredible run.

Beyond that, Witten played until he was 38 despite a brief retirement at age 36. Still, he had 529 yards at age 37 which is impressive. In both Witten and Gates, you saw production before age 27 last into their mid-30s, which has to be a good sign for Mark Andrews.

3. Kelln Winslow Sr.

Jason Witten and Antonio Gates may make the Hall of Fame, but Kellen Winslow Sr. is in there. To be fair, he did produce a bit more than Mark Andrews, but the touchdowns are close.

Winslow played at a different time, but he retired at age 30. Still, he was producing in his final seasons, and he is known as a player who changed the game, so it is cool to see that Andrews is on a similar trajectory.

2. Jeremy Shockey

Jeremy Shockey is the one player on this list that is not getting Hall of Fame discussion. He had a solid career, but nothing that put him over the edge. At this point, he had similar numbers to Mark Andrews.

Shockey spent ages 28-31 catching between 37 and 50 balls for between 408 and 569 yards. Still, he retired early at age 31 and never had a season with 1,000 receiving yards.

1. Tony Gonzalez

Yes, this one is a little optimistic. And, through five seasons Tony Gonzalez was actually just 25 years old, whereas Mark Andrews is 27. Gonzalez has over 1,000 yards more than Andrews by the time he turned 27, but through five seasons, they have extremely similar numbers.

Even still, Gonzalez averaged 50.9 yards per game through his age-27 season, and Mark Andrews was at 56 yards per game. So, he has been as productive, he just did not have two more seasons than Gonzalez did.

Still, when we are talking Tony Gonzalez we are talking Hall of Fame, and one of the best ever. Gonzalez had a career year when he was 28 years old, and his run from 28 through 32 was the best run of his career.

Considering Jason Witten had his best run around the same time, and Gates also had a career year in that time frame we can probably expect one or two more big seasons from Andrews. Also, Gonzalez played until he was 37 years old, so longevity appears to be a major possibility for Andrews as well if these historical comparisons hold up.