John Bates' impact doesn't always show up on the stat sheet for the Washington Commanders.
Bates, a fourth-round pick from Boise State in 2021, isn't the dominant pass-catching tight end many teams have come to love in modern offenses. Sure, he's caught 69.3% of his passes over four seasons, but he's only been targeted 88 times with 61 catches and two touchdowns. Those numbers alone aren't enticing enough for an NFL team to retain a player like Bates, never mind doing so for the foreseeable future.
And yet re-signing Bates was one of the first moves Washington made in free agency, bringing him back on a reported three-year deal, primarily because of how much his ability as a blocker contributed to the team's success in 2024. He's so good at it that teammate Zach Ertz, regarded as one of the NFL's best tight ends over the last decade, believes there's no other tight end who's better at clearing running lanes and protecting quarterbacks.
"John probably doesn't get the national recognition that he deserves in terms of what he did on an every-play basis for us last year," Ertz said. "He's probably the most dominant blocking tight end I've really ever seen and studied in my career."
Blocking has been a crucial part of Bates' skill set since his days at Boise State. **Pro Football Focus** ranked him as the second-best run- and pass-blocker in his class, giving him grades of 81.8 and 76.7 in each category, respectively. It played a role in the Commanders drafting him with the 124th overall pick in 2021, with then-general manager Martin Mayhew saying "he shows some of the traits we look for: great initial quickness, power coming off the ball, uses his hands really well."
And while Bates has always wanted to be an all-around tight end, he takes pride in what he can do as a blocker.
"I actually love run blocking," **Bates said during a presser at Boise State.** "When I first got here, it wasn't initially my first thought, but I had to eventually step into that role and fill it."
That's mostly what Bates has done in his NFL career, and the stats show he's been just as dominant in the NFL as he was in college. He received the best run-blocking grade for his position from PFF in 2021 and tied for the 11th-best pass-blocking grade in 2023. Last year, Bates allowed just four hurries with zero quarterback hits or sacks.
Bates said on a recent episode of "Next Man Up" that he's loved the physicality of the sport since he was a kid. Blocking is arguably the purest form of that.
"I just love moving people around and just putting my hands on people and moving dudes from 'Point A' to 'Point B,'" Bates said. "That, and I think it's just the mentality behind it. It's not meant for everyone, and I think you just gotta take that mental approach every single day that what you're gonna do is special. And it's dirty, but I love it."
With Bates' help, the Commanders put together one of the NFL's most productive rushing attacks last season. The unit finished the regular season ranked third in rushing yards per game, fourth in rushing touchdowns and fourth in yards per game. The ground game was one of the primary reasons why the Commanders started the year 7-2 and advanced to the NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Players like Jayden Daniels, Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, who combined 2,063 of the Commanders' 2,619 total rushing yards, will get most of the attention for that success. However, Washington's players know that Bates played an important role in making sure all three players had room to run.
"The guy's just dominant at the line of scrimmage," Ertz said. "There's not many guys walking the Earth that can do what John Bates does. I knew he was gonna have the opportunity to make a lot of money, and I'm just glad it's here in Washington."
