Steelers All 90: Zach Gentry Ready to Handle Dirty Work

Coming out of high school in New Mexico, Zach Gentry was a highly-touted quarterback recruit and decided to commit to Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan. After Harbaugh gave Gentry some advice following his freshman season, Gentry made the switch to tight end. Fast forward a few years and Gentry is entering his fifth NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Entering his freshman season at Michigan, Gentry weighed about 235 pounds but bulked all the way up to 265 pounds by the end of his colligate career. Today, Gentry is a lofty 280 pounds run-blocking human.

“He comes in here [in the offseason], his first year or two, he’d come into the weight room for an hour and a half,” said Gentry’s high school coach Charlie Dotson. “Now, he comes in and works out three or four hours per day. He understands the business and he’s going to be one of those guys that takes care of his body. He’s not a guy that likes to go out and do all the things like most of the guys his age. [Gentry is] a smart kid as far as he understands the Tom Brady, the Kobe Bryants of the world that take care of their bodies. He’s doing that and doing things right.”

Gentry realized after he entered the NFL that he was not fit to be the typical “stretch the field” type of tight end and keyed in on his strengths which include his size and athelticism. This led Gentry to work with former Steelers tight end coach James Daniels on his blocking techniques in hopes of carving out a role on the Steelers roster.

“Zach has really had to have the attitude and appetite to mix it up the likes of those guys inside, blocking T.J. (Watt) in practice,” said Steelers tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts. “James Daniels had that job, making the transition of being a tight end that thinks ‘I want to be more in the passing game,’ to being a blocker. So, some of the transitional part, I give that to James Daniels.”

Nonetheless, Gentry has carved out his own role on the Steelers offense and has appeared in all 34 of the team’s regular season games the past two seasons. With another offseason under his belt, Gentry looks to carry last year’s late season sucess, especially in the run game, into the 2023 season.

“I think that we had one of the more efficent running offenses in the National Football League in the second half of the year,” said Gentry. “To see the way that progessed throughout the year with the metrics of our team, it was something that we needed to happen. It was kind of what I think was ultimately sparked our offense to move the ball a lot better [in the second half.]”

If the Steelers’ offense can continue the momentum that they built over the last nine games of last season into the next, then Gentry should play a huge role in the Steelers offense once again as he clears running lanes for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

81 • Zach Gentry, Tight End, Michigan
6-foot-8, 265 pounds, 26 years old, 5th Season

Acquired: The Steelers drafted Gentry with the 141st overall pick in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Steelers received the 141st pick when the team traded wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Las Vegas Raiders following the 2018 season.

Last Season: In Gentry’s fourth professional season, the backup tight end appeared in all 17 games for the Steelers. Gentry caught 19 passes on 23 targets and one drop. In total, Gentry converted those 19 catches for 132 yards while failing to score a touchdown. Most of Gentry’s receiving production came within the first half of the season as he hauled in 12 of his 19 catches before the team’s Week 10 bye week.

Steelers tight end Zach Gentry makes a catch against the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium.

Career: After the Steelers drafted Gentry in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he appeared in only four games as a rookie and caught one ball for 4 yards and did not score a touchdown.

In his second year, Gentry appeared in only two games and failed to record a target. Gentry finished the 2020 season with only five offensive snaps.

The 2021 season is when Gentry became the team’s full-fledged backup tight end as he appeared in all 17 games for the Steelers. Gentry set career-highs with 19 catches for 167 yards. The most memorable catch of Genry’s career was during the Steelers 2021 Wild Card defeat in which he caught Ben Roethlisberger’s last professional pass. Gentry received a career-high blocking grade from Pro Football Focus with an 82.0 in 2021.

Last season, Gentry tied his career-high in receptions with 19 while converting them for 132 yards. Genry has a 70.6 PFF blocking grade last season. In his NFL career, Gentry has failed to score a touchdown.

College: Gentry originally committed to the University of Michigan as a quarterback and arrived in 2015 for his freshman season. After Gentry failed to see the field as a true freshman, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh offered the advice of moving to tight end because he could see Gentry having an NFL career at the position given his size and athleticism.

As a sophomore in 2016, Gentry played in seven games with playing time at tight end, wide receiver, and on the special teams unit but failed to record his first career reception.

In 2017, Gentry appeared in all of the team’s 13 games while starting 11 of them at tight end. Gentry recorded his first colliagte catch and touchdown as a junior. Gentry finished his 2017 season with 303 receiving yards and two touchdowns. For his efforts, Gentry won the team’s Most Improved Offensive Player award and was named a All-Big Ten honorable mention.

As a senior, Gentry started all 13 of Michigan’s games at tight end and was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team by the coaches after the season. Gentry was named as the team’s Offensive Player of the Week twice and as a John Mackey Tight End of the Week nominee once during his last season at Michigan.

In his Michigan career, Gentry caught 45 passes for 751 yards and four touchdowns.

Salary cap and future: Gentry will cost $1.23 million against the Steelers cap for the 2023 season. He is owed $1.25 million in salary and $152,000 in bonus money. Gentry signed a one-year deal with the Steelers this offseason after his inital rookie contract expired following the 2022 season.  Gentry will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season.

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