Editing Tight end (section)

===Origins===
[[File:GA VS LSU E101318 85.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[LSU Tigers football|LSU Tigers]] tight end [[Foster Moreau]] (''right'') lining up on the end of the [[offensive line]] before a snap during a game in 2018]]
The advent of the tight end position is closely tied to the decline of the [[one-platoon system]] during the 1940s and '50s. Originally, substitutions were limited by rule, forcing players to be adept on both sides of the ball, with most offensive linemen doubling as defensive linemen or linebackers, and running backs and receivers doubling as defensive backs.

With the relaxation of substitution rules in professional football from the 1940s and after 1964 in the college game, a [[two-platoon system]] of offense and defense became the norm, with most players active on only one side of the ball. With the advent of the [[T-formation]], double [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]] sets quickly became a thing of the past, with a hybrid running back–receiver known as the "flanker back" positioned outside The halfback and fullback, "flanking" them. The receivers on each end of the line of scrimmage retained their historic name, [[End (American football)|"ends"]].

[[File:Rob Gronkowski 20131201.jpg|thumb|left|At 6'6" and 265 lbs., [[New England Patriots]] tight end [[Rob Gronkowski]], a four-time first-team [[All-Pro]], was large even by contemporary standards.]]

By the start of the 1960s many pro clubs had begun to position the flanker back far to the outside, just behind the line of scrimmage, part of what [[Washington Redskins]] coach [[Bill McPeak]] characterized as a "three ends" system.<ref name=Skins>"Washington Redskins: All Will Be Bright and Shiny — Except After Kickoffs," ''Pro Football 1961.'' New York: Fawcett Publications, 1961; p. 35.</ref> The receiver spread out on numerically inferior "weak" side of the formation was commonly known as the "split end"; the end lining up to the same side as the flanker, positioned close to the blocking linemen, became known as the "tight end".<ref name=Skins /> This tight end position, developed in the 1950s, embraced both blocking and receiving functions and flourished as part of the specialization of the two-platoon era.

Greater use of the tight end as a receiver in the cutting edge offenses of the 1960s led to the emergence of the first stars at the position, including [[Mike Ditka]] of the [[Chicago Bears]], [[Jackie Smith]] of the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]], and [[John Mackey (American football)|John Mackey]] of the [[Baltimore Colts]].