Washington Huskies Tight End Among Best at His Position

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The Washington Huskies football team's offense hasn't been one of the bright spots of the program through the first two weeks of the season.

The Huskies have amassed 40 total points against Pac-12 teams, the Washington State Cougars and Utah State Aggies. Washington won both those games by scores of 24-10 against the Cougars and 16-14 against the Aggies, respectively. But, those wins have also come with injuries to several key starters on offense, including top two running backs Quaid Carr and Jayden Limar and wide receivers Rashid Williams and Christian Moss.

However, there have been several bright spots on the offense.

Second-year tight end Baron Naone has emerged as a consistent target for third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Through two games, Naone has reeled in eight catches for 70 yards, including a long of 19 yards.

Naone's performance through the first pair of games has led to him being recognized as one of the best tight ends in the country, at least by one outlet.

Pro Football Network has Naone as the 10th-best tight end in the country with a grade of 91.4.

The nine tight ends PFN has ranked ahead of Naone are: Noah Bennee (Utah; 98.2), Hunter Tipton (Memphis; 97.3), Willie Rodriguez (Kentucky; 95.1), Trey'Dez Green (LSU; 94.2), Mark Bowman (Southern California; 93.7); Rocky Beers (Oklahoma; 92.9), Jelanie Thurman (North Carolina; 92), Jaleel Skinner (Louisville; 91.8) and Mason Mini (Cal; 91.4).

Naone emerged as a legitimate starter on the offense this offseason, where he started making consistent down-the-field catches that put his offensive production on par with the chemistry between third-year tight end Decker DeGraaf and Williams.

The second-year tight end was a top-end recruit for head coach Jedd Fisch and the rest of the staff in the Class of 2025. Naone, who attended West Linn High School (Ore.) was ranked as a four-star recruit and was placed as the 19th-best tight end and second-best player in Oregon, per the 247Sports composite.

UW is still looking to find its footing on offense and has one more game left on its nonconference schedule: a showdown against the Eastern Washington Eagles at 4:15 p.m. PT on Sept. 19 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

After that point, Washington will get thrown into the thick of the Big Ten schedule with two matchups against Associated Press Top 25 teams in its first three Big Ten games. If the Huskies are able to get through that stretch, Naone will likely be a focal point of the offense.

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