Vance McDonald News

Vance McDonald

30-Year-Old Tight EndTE

Pittsburgh Steelers

2019 Receiving Stats

REC

YDS

273

AVG

7.2

TAR

2020 Receiving Projections

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YDS

AVG

TAR

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2020 Fantasy Outlook

In his third season with the Steelers, McDonald logged 38 catches (on 55 targets) for 273 yards and three touchdowns in 14 contests in 2019. His modest fantasy production was in large part due to subpar QB play that ensued after Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury Week 2. Though the veteran signal-caller will be healthy enough to reclaim his starting role in the coming season, McDonald's fantasy ceiling is not especially high in the wake of the Steelers' free-agent signing of fellow tight end Eric Ebron. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

#261.76

ADP

Overall

Tight End

Bye Week 8

Height 6'4"

Weight 267

DOB 6/13/1990

College Rice

Drafted 2nd Rd 2013 #55 Overall

Role likely decided in camp

TEPittsburgh Steelers

June 3, 2020

McDonald and Eric Ebron likely will compete for starting reps at tight end in training camp, Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

ANALYSIS
McDonald played 69 percent of the offensive snaps as Pittsburgh's top tight end in 2019 and restructured his deal to remain with the team in March, but the signing of Ebron in free agency clouds the former's outlook for 2020. Despite seeing ample playing time last season, McDonald caught only 38 of 55 targets for 273 yards and three touchdowns, though the quarterback situation following Ben Roethlisberger's injury certainly played a part in the poor production. Regardless, McDonald's opportunities could become more sporadic if he doesn't separate himself in camp.

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NFL Stats

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Fantasy/Red Zone Stats

See red zone opportunities inside the 20, 10 and 5-yard lines along with the percentage of time they converted the opportunity into a touchdown.

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Advanced NFL Stats

How do Vance McDonald's 2019 advanced stats compare to other tight ends?

This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average. The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.

Air Yards Per Game

17.9

Air Yards Per Snap

0.36

% Team Air Yards

6.8%

% Team Targets

11.4%

Avg Depth of Target

4.5 Yds

Catch Rate

69.1%

Drop Rate

7.3%

Avg Yds After Catch

4.6

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2019

2018

2017

2016

2019 NFL Game Log

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2018 NFL Game Log

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2017 NFL Game Log

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2016 NFL Game Log

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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart

Steelers 2019 TE Snap Distribution See more data like this

V.Vance McDonald

N.Nick Vannett

X.Xavier Grimble

Z.Zach Gentry

% of Team Snaps

703

400

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#2 TE

Steelers

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How often does Vance McDonald run a route when on the field for a pass play?

This data will let you see how Vance McDonald and the other tight ends for the Steelers are being used. Some tight ends may have a lot of snaps, but they're not that useful for fantasy purposes because they're not actually running routes. This data will help you see when this is the case.

Vance McDonald

398 routes 55 targets

← More Blocking

% Routes Run

More Receiving →

91%

Eric Ebron

207 routes 52 targets

97%

Zach Gentry

21 routes 1 target

88%

Receiving Alignment Breakdown

See where Vance McDonald lined up on the field and how he performed at each spot.

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2019 Vance McDonald Split Stats

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Measurables Review View College Player Page

How do Vance McDonald's measurables compare to other tight ends?

This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.

Height

6' 4"

Weight

267 lbs

40-Yard Dash

4.69 sec

Shuttle Time

4.53 sec

Cone Drill

7.08 sec

Vertical Jump

33.5 in

Broad Jump

119 in

Bench Press

31 reps

Hand Length

10.13 in

Arm Length

34.38 in

Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Vance McDonald

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Best Ball Journal: Free Agency Shakeup

115 days ago

NFL signings and trades will continue for the indefinite future, but enough has happened this week to anticipate a handful of major ADP shifts in Best Ball markets.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

McDonald is one of those players who looks like a world beater if you catch him on the right day. The problem is, there aren't that many of those right days. McDonald has just 12 touchdowns in 73 career games, but three of those scores covered 75, 75 and 65 yards. Rare plays from a tight end, indeed. McDonald didn't go nuclear with his regular shot in Pittsburgh last year, but he did fashion a career-high catch rate (69.4 percent) and set or matched career-high marks in every major counting stat. Improved health was a big factor as the tight end played more than 11 games for the first time since 2015 in San Francisco. Now that Antonio Brown and timeshare partner Jesse James are both out of town, McDonald has a shot at TE1 relevance in 2019, competing with only Xavier Grimble and fifth-round rookie Zach Gentry for snaps. Just keep in mind McDonald is entering his seventh season - if something truly special were going to happen, it likely would have happened by now.

Knee, ankle, back and shoulder problems dogged McDonald throughout his Pittsburgh debut campaign, limiting him to 10 regular-season games and 270 offensive snaps. Take his seasonal stats and throw them in the garbage. He was finally healthy for the playoffs, when he threw a 10-catch, 112-yard effort at the Jaguars. Pittsburgh didn't draft a tight end or make a move in free agency, so McDonald only needs to push past the ordinary Jesse James to enter our fantasy plans. It's hard to get a ton of targets in a city that also includes Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Le'Veon Bell, but Ben Roethlisberger has always looked for big targets around the goal line. And heck, McDonald found a way to score seven times in 2015-16 with the 49ers, despite drawing only 91 targets while dealing with some messy quarterback play. There's legitimate sleeper value here if he can overcome an August foot injury.

After spending the majority of the offseason preparing to serve as the No. 1 option in San Francisco, McDonald was shipped off to Pittsburgh in the final week of the preseason. He'll join incumbent starter Jesse James as the main guys at tight end there, but McDonald -- and his second-round pedigree -- averaged a cool 16.3 yards per reception with the Niners last season and should take over as the primary receiving option at the position. However, McDonald is notorious for his penchant to drop passes, which certainly inhibits his upside in any case. Also, it's possible the Steelers opt for a tight-end-by-committee approach, which would obviously cap McDonald's upside even further -- despite playing the Steelers' powerful pass attack.

While it didn't result in fantasy relevancy, McDonald received the most playing time of his three-year career in 2015, finishing the season with 326 yards on 30 receptions to go along with three touchdowns. He enters 2016 listed at No. 1 on the depth chart, but he will share snaps with Garrett Celek due to Chip Kelly's heavy usage of two-TE sets. In an offense that doesn't boast many quality options at wide receiver, McDonald could be relied upon heavily in the passing game, especially if Blaine Gabbert -- who makes his living off of short, safe passes -- wins the starting job.

The 49ers expected McDonald to take a step forward in 2015, but he could never get things going after dealing with a slew of injuries. His career 14.9 YPC shows that he can be a big play tight end, but he will need to stay on the field in order showcase his abilities. The team retained Vernon Davis and Derek Carrier and added two more tight ends in the 2015 draft, so McDonald will have to fight for a roster spot during training camp.

McDonald is currently listed as the backup to Vernon Davis on the 49ers' 2014 depth charts. While he only had eight catches in 2013, his 14.9 YPC shows that he has big-play ability. His stock would skyrocket should Davis go down with an injury.

McDonald has received positive reports so far at rookie camp as a pass catcher and could see some targets in two-tight end sets if he wins the backup TE job.

More Fantasy News

Restructures deal with Steelers

TEPittsburgh Steelers

March 16, 2020

McDonald has restructured his contract with the Steelers, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM Radio reports. As part of his new deal, he agreed to convert $5.5 million in base salary to signing bonus.

ANALYSIS
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