2007 NFL Preseason Fantasy Rankings -- Tight Ends
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Antonio Gates, SD. This is the one tight end that deserves to be drafted anywhere near wide receivers. Gates has been the best tight end in fantasy football the last three seasons. Gates has averaged 80 catches, over 1,000 yards, and 11 TDs over that span. He will probably be drafted somewhere between rounds 3 and 5 in your draft. I can understand the 5th round, but if someone is willing to go round 3, then you have to be ok with that. I know that you have to draft a TE, but the gap between Gates and the rest of the crowd doesn’t warrant such a high draft pick as it did in years past. Gates didn’t seem to have the same relationship with new QB Phillip Rivers as he did with Drew Brees, but based on the receiving corps in San Diego, Rivers would do himself well to find Gates more often. He’s still the best, but the field is closing in.
Jeremy Shockey, NYG. Shockey owners wish that there were fantasy points for showboating, excessive celebration, complaining about not getting the ball enough, and calling out teammates in the media. Luckily for his owners, however, mixed in with all of that baggage is an explosive receiving option at tight end. Shockey seems to have formed a pretty good relationship with struggling QB Eli Manning, and Manning seems to look Shockey’s way when he is in trouble. Eli also tends to look his way in the red zone as only two TEs scored more times than Shockey in 2006. He does tend to get nicked up during the season, but has only missed one game in each of the previous three seasons, although he shows up on the injury report a lot. As Eli continues to progress and mature, I expect an upward swing in the numbers of the Giants big tight end.
Tony Gonzalez, KC. Tony G is really starting to get up there in age (he will turn 32 in February), but as long as the Chiefs refuse to go out and get one legitimate receiver he will remain a great fantasy option. Gonzalez numbers continued their downward spiral in 2006, but it was at a much slower rate than previous years. For years, Gonzalez and Trent Green had a great “you throw it, I’ll catch it” kind of relationship. Now with Green off to Miami, Tony has to start over with the new QB in KC. Even with all of these negative factors in the mix, Gonzalez remains one of the top TE options in 2007.
Todd Heap, BAL. For years, Todd Heap was held back by two things, his inability to stay healthy, and Kyle Boller. For the life of me, I can’t tell you why the Ravens stuck with Boller behind center for so long. He is terrible. And for a while Heap was stuck at just average production. Finally, the Ravens sucked it up and scooped up Steve McNair so that they could have something that resembled a passing game. For the last two seasons, Heap has played all 16 games and had good fantasy production. He has averaged 74 catches, 850 yards, and 6.5 TDs. Baltimore still isn’t loaded with great WRs so Heap remains a target that is used often, especially around the end zone. Look for him to have his best year yet, 85 catches, 900 yards, and 8 TDs.
Alge Crumpler, ATL. Allow me to introduce you to the only man that Michael Vick is able to throw a pass to. People are always giving Vick a pass, saying that his receiving corps is below average. That could be because their QB can’t put a throw anywhere near their general area. But he can always find Crumpler. But when you are 6′2″, 262 lbs it is hard to be lost. Crumpler is quite the athlete for a man that size. He will never outrun the defense down the sideline, but he is great at finding holes in the zone, and then is a load to take down once he has the ball. Expect him to hover around the 55-60 catch, 800 yard, 6-7 TD range and you’ve got yourself a decent option once the elite are off the board.
Make or Break Year — Randy McMichael, STL. In 2004, McMichael had 73 catches and nearly 800 yards and had turned himself into a top 5 fantasy option. Just two years later the Dolphins decided that he was not part of their plans and released their once star tight end. McMichael has a little problem dropping passes, and is in love with himself more than he should be. The Rams brought him in to fill their tight end position, a position that hasn’t been featured much in their offense in a while. McMichael needs to have a better year for the Rams this year than his previous two for the Dolphins or he will find himself out of favor in the fantasy game. However, a big season could place him back in the top 10 at the position.
Rising Star — Vernon Davis, SF; Benjamin Watson, NE. Couldn’t decide between the two guys that I feel will be the next two fantasy tight end stars. Davis is just a freak of nature. 6′3″, 253 lbs. and ran a 4.3 40 yd dash his rookie season. Put that crazy speed and monster build together with great hands, and you’ve got the recipe for the next big thing. If Davis can avoid the misfortune of a serious injury again this season, he has a chance to crack the top 5. Watson also has great size, speed, and hands and has one of the more memorable plays in my football watching career. In the 2006 playoffs, Champ Bailey stepped in front of a Tom Brady pass and looked like he was going to score a 95+ yd return. But just as Bailey was about to stretch the ball into the end zone, Watson appeared almost out of nowhere to knock the ball loose and knock Bailey out of bounds at the 1-yard line. That was a tight end running down one of the best defenders in the game, 95 yards down the field!!!! If that doesn’t tell you something about the potential that Watson has (speed and determination), than you need to be hit with a hammer. Watson’s main competition for playing time, Daniel Graham, left town for Denver, so the majority of playing time should go to Watson. If you don’t get one of the top tight ends, or feel like gambling in the later rounds, Davis and Watson could yield very high rewards.
Falling Stock — Tony Gonzalez, KC. I know, it’s cheesy to use the same guy twice in one list, but no category fits better than “Falling Stock” and Tony Gonzalez. If you really look at Gonzalez career statistics, outside of maybe three years, they really aren’t all that impressive. It was just that there were no other tight ends that really scored any fantasy points, and that made Tony G look like a superstar. Don’t get me wrong, he was great for KC, but that doesn’t always translate to fantasy points. His catches and yards have fallen 3 straight years and only has 7 TDs in the last two seasons. Put that together with the fact that you have no idea who his QB will be (and there aren’t any good options for that anyway), and I would probably let someone else draft Gonzalez this year.
Bounce Back Year — Jason Witten, DAL. Ok, so he needs to bounce back after two sub par seasons, but my choice was either Witten or Gates, and I didn’t want two duplicates. Witten was another tight end that found himself as one of the best free agent pickups two years ago. He neared 90 catches and 1,000 yards, and fantasy owners thought they had found the next great reliable tight end. The last two years, Witten has only average 65 catches and 750 yards. The worst part is that in 2006 he only found paydirt once! Where had all of that production gone??? One answer is Drew Bledsoe. Quarterbacks that tend to be statues in the pocket will lean on their tight end as their safety valve. Well, Tony Romo will never be confused with Vince Young (besides the obvious) on his feet, but he can’t be considered stationary either. The ‘Boys have also gotten some more production out of the WR position since Terrell Owens came to town. Finally, Parcells was using Marion Barber III in the red zone almost exclusively, taking scoring chances away from Witten. I look for a pretty good year out of Witten in 2007. Expect 70-75 catches, 900 yards, and 6 TDs.
