most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in their first season

Mike Ditka had the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in his first season, with 12 touchdowns in his rookie season.

NAMEREC TDSEASONTMGPRECTRGREC YDSAVGREC YDS/GRUSH YDSATTYPCRUSH YDS/GRUSH TD
1Mike Ditka
M. Ditka
12
1961
CHI CHI
14
56
1,076
19.2
76.9
0
0
0.0
0
2Sam LaPorta
S. LaPorta
10
2023
DET DET
17
86
120
889
10.3
52.3
4
1
4.0
0.2
0
3Rob Gronkowski
R. Gronkowski
10
2010
NE NE
16
42
59
546
13.0
34.1
0
0
0.0
0
4Rich Caster
R. Caster
10
1972
NYJ NYJ
14
39
833
21.4
59.5
6
2
3.0
0.4
0
5Junior Miller
J. Miller
9
1980
ATL ATL
16
46
584
12.7
36.5
-2
2
-1.0
-0.1
0
6Hunter Henry
H. Henry
8
2016
SD SD
15
36
53
478
13.3
31.9
0
0
0.0
0
7Pat Freiermuth
P. Freiermuth
7
2021
PIT PIT
16
60
79
497
8.3
31.1
0
0
0.0
0
8Joseph Fauria
J. Fauria
7
2013
DET DET
16
18
30
207
11.5
12.9
0
0
0.0
0
9Eric Green
E. Green
7
1990
PIT PIT
13
34
387
11.4
29.8
0
0
0.0
0
10Joe Senser
J. Senser
7
1980
MIN MIN
16
42
447
10.6
27.9
-1
1
-1.0
-0.1
0
11Raymond Chester
R. Chester
7
1970
OAK OAK
14
42
556
13.2
39.7
0
0
0.0
0
12John Mackey
J. Mackey
7
1963
BAL BAL
14
35
726
20.7
51.9
3
1
3.0
0.2
0
13Evan Engram
E. Engram
6
2017
NYG NYG
15
64
115
722
11.3
48.1
14
1
14.0
0.9
0
14O.J. Howard
O.J. Howard
6
2017
TB TB
14
26
39
432
16.6
30.9
0
0
0.0
0
15Charles Clay
C. Clay
6
2013
MIA MIA
16
69
102
759
11.0
47.4
15
7
2.1
0.9
1
16Aaron Hernandez
A. Hernandez
6
2010
NE NE
14
45
64
563
12.5
40.2
47
3
15.7
3.4
0
17Heath Miller
H. Miller
6
2005
PIT PIT
16
39
52
459
11.8
28.7
0
0
0.0
0
18Chris Cooley
C. Cooley
6
2004
WAS WAS
16
37
63
314
8.5
19.6
0
0
0.0
0
19Cameron Cleeland
C. Cleeland
6
1998
NO NO
16
54
684
12.7
42.8
0
0
0.0
0
20Keith Jackson
K. Jackson
6
1988
PHI PHI
16
81
869
10.7
54.3
0
0
0.0
0
21Rob Awalt
R. Awalt
6
1987
STL STL
12
42
526
12.5
43.8
-9
2
-4.5
-0.8
0
22Jerome Barkum
J. Barkum
6
1977
NYJ NYJ
14
26
450
17.3
32.1
0
0
0.0
0
23Charle Young
C. Young
6
1973
PHI PHI
14
55
854
15.5
61.0
24
4
6.0
1.7
1
24Fred Arbanas
F. Arbanas
6
1962
DLT DLT
14
29
469
16.2
33.5
0
0
0.0
0
25Bernie Casey
B. Casey
6
1962
SF SF
13
53
819
15.5
63.0
0
0
0.0
0
StatMuse has season-level data for receiving touchdowns going back to the 1921 season.

More Bears Stats

Team Rankings

PPG

26.9

6th

OPP PPG

28.4

29th

RUSH YDS/G

144.4

2nd

PASS YDS/G

245.6

10th

2025 Division Standings
TEAMWLTPCT
Packers Packers
5
2
1
.688
Bears Bears
5
3
0
.625
Lions Lions
5
3
0
.625
Vikings Vikings
4
4
0
.500
Schedule
DATEMATCHUPTIME (ET)
Sun
11/9
NYG NYG
@
CHI CHI
1:00 PM
Sun
11/16
CHI CHI
@
MIN MIN
1:00 PM
Sun
11/23
PIT PIT
@
CHI CHI
1:00 PM
Fri
11/28
CHI CHI
@
PHI PHI
3:00 PM
Sun
12/7
CHI CHI
@
GB GB
1:00 PM
Last Game
CHI Bears

5 - 3 - 0

47

Final

42

CIN Bengals

3 - 6 - 0

Sun 2 Nov 2025

NFL 2025 Leaders

NFL 2025 Rankings

NFL Fantasy 2025

NFL 2025 Betting

NFL 2025 Division Standings

AFC EastWLTPCT
Patriots Patriots
7
2
0
.778
Bills Bills
6
2
0
.750
AFC NorthWLTPCT
Steelers Steelers
5
3
0
.625
Ravens Ravens
3
5
0
.375
AFC SouthWLTPCT
Colts Colts
7
2
0
.778
Jaguars Jaguars
5
3
0
.625
AFC WestWLTPCT
Broncos Broncos
7
2
0
.778
Chargers Chargers
6
3
0
.667
NFC EastWLTPCT
Eagles Eagles
6
2
0
.750
Cowboys Cowboys
3
5
1
.389
NFC NorthWLTPCT
Packers Packers
5
2
1
.688
Lions Lions
5
3
0
.625
NFC SouthWLTPCT
Buccaneers Buccaneers
6
2
0
.750
Panthers Panthers
5
4
0
.556
NFC WestWLTPCT
Seahawks Seahawks
6
2
0
.750
Rams Rams
6
2
0
.750

NFL 2025 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATEMATCHUPSCORE
Wed
9/3
DAL DAL
@
PHI PHI
20-24
Thu
9/4
KC KC
@
LAC LAC
21-27
Sat
9/6
PIT PIT
@
NYJ NYJ
34-32
Sat
9/6
TB TB
@
ATL ATL
23-20
Sat
9/6
LV LV
@
NE NE
20-13

Schedule

DATEMATCHUPTIME (ET)
Thu
11/6
LV LV
@
DEN DEN
8:15 PM
Sun
11/9
ATL ATL
@
IND IND
9:30 AM
Sun
11/9
NE NE
@
TB TB
1:00 PM
Sun
11/9
NYG NYG
@
CHI CHI
1:00 PM
Sun
11/9
NO NO
@
CAR CAR
1:00 PM