Purdue football position breakdown: Payne Durham ready to lead tight ends

WEST LAFAYETTE – This is the seventh in a series breaking down each Purdue position group heading into the 2022 season.

TIGHT ENDS

Familiar faces

Payne Durham (RS-senior, 45 catches, 467 yards, 6 TD); Paul Piferi (RS-junior, 5 catches, 61 yards 1 TD); Ben Buechel (RS-sophomore); Drew Biber (So.)

New faces

Charlie Kendrich (Fr.); Max Klare (Fr.)

The skinny

Losing backup Garrett Miller to a season-ending knee injury is a serious setback for this group but Durham is capable of carrying the load and Piferi has grown into a solid option after moving from quarterback. Miller’s absence creates a void that will be hard to replace based on his physical skillset combined with his freakish athletic ability. Durham should be regarded as one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten but needs more opportunities in the passing game to shine.

3 questions

▶ Can the offense overcome the loss of Miller? He didn’t put up huge numbers last season but was a threat and was usually in single coverage since everyone was paying attention to Durham and other receivers.

▶ Will the tight ends help open up the running game? More blockers to aid in short-yardage situations and maybe spark the ground attack throughout the season.

▶ Does Buechel catch a touchdown pass? The walk-on from Wisconsin is currently No. 3 on the depth chart and hauled in what would’ve been a 90-yard TD pass from Brady Allen in practice last week. He’ll get an opportunity at some point.

What to like

Durham is one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten and the more quarterback Aidan O’Connell finds him the better. He’s athletic, physical, and dangerous in the open field as evident by his long catch and touchdown run against Tennessee in the bowl game. The depth took a hit when Miller suffered the knee injury but Piferi has reshaped his body and still retained his athletic ability to become a difficult matchup for opponents.

Biggest concern

The lack of depth if Durham is limited by injuries. He struggled to stay on the field last season but Miller and Piferi helped carry the load. Now, it’s just Piferi if Durham doesn’t last the whole season. The development of Buechel, Kendrich and Klare becomes vital during the last two weeks heading into the Sept. 1 opener against Penn State.

By the number

6: Touchdown receptions by Durham last season to lead Big Ten tight ends

Quote

“I think we’ve got to stay healthy and if our team is having success, we're having success. I know Payne’s got high goals for this year just because this is a senior year and I've got high aspirations for him. I think he can be one of, if not the best tight end in the Big Ten. I think he's got to stay healthy, and we’ve got to get the other guys coming along. I want everybody to contribute but the two and three guys have got to come on.

“We've got to keep pushing them to play because (Durham’s) not going to play every snap and we don't want him to play every snap. I want Payne to have the senior year he wants, but we've got to get those guys better for the future and to be able to play a role on the team.”

Tight ends coach Ryan Wallace

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football 2022: Breaking down the Boilermakers' Tight Ends