Tight ends have become an indefensible of a successful fantasy football roster. Not only do these guys haul in the catches, but in recent years there’s been an explosion of yardage for tight ends, not to mention touchdowns as they become almost a necessity inside the red zone.
Rob Gronkowski is probably going in the first round in all our drafts and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Travis Kelce, Tyler Eiffert and Greg Olsen go early too. Gray Barnridge helped me win a fantasy football title last year. Who’s that guy that will come out of nowhere to score you 10-15 points per week? I wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it goes.
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
2015: 77 catches, 713 yards, three touchdowns
It’s hard to justify a guy that’s probably going to the Hall of Fame as a sleeper, but I’m going to try to anyway. Witten is about to start his 14th season in the NFL, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see his production drop a little. But it won’t. Witten put up those numbers last year without Tony Romo for the vast majority of the season. With Romo back and the Cowboys in contention, Witten should see all his fantasy numbers go up, especially his touchdowns.
Jacob Tamme, Atlanta Falcons
2015: 59 catches, 657 yards, one touchdown
Tamme finally got to be the featured tight end in an offense and made it count last year, having the best season of his life as far as catches and yardage go. What he needs to bring to the table in 2016 is touchdowns. Matt Ryan has leaned on the tight end since he was a rookie and he had one of the best in history, Tony Gonzalez, to throw to. Tamme isn’t Gonzalez, but as Ryan trusts him more, and Tamme has more experience in the offense, his fantasy production should jump too.
Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks
2015: 48 catches, 605 yards, two touchdowns
Again, it doesn’t seem right to include Graham on this list, but I guarantee you he won’t show up anywhere near the top of your draft after the season he had last year. What does that mean for this season? Not a lot. It took the Seahawks a while to figure out how to use Graham in their offense and right as he was becoming a factor, he tore up his knee in Week 12. With Russell Wilson becoming the focus of the offense, the ball will be in the air a lot more and Graham will benefit, especially in the red zone.
Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints
2015: 54 catches, 491 yards, three touchdowns
Drew Brees turns tight ends into stars. He did with Jimmy Graham for years and last year he worked his magic with Benjamin Watson, helping that guy to a career year and a big free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Fleener comes in as Watson’s replacement and should have no trouble hauling in passes in Sean Payton’s offense. Two years ago Fleener caught eight touchdowns with the Indianapolis Colts. He’ll have at least that many with the Saints this season.
Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers
2015: 39 catches, 481 yards, no touchdowns
Cook has yet to live up to his potential and that’s probably because he’s spent his entire career with Jeff Fisher coached teams with the Tennessee Titans and St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams. Just as the Rams get a quarterback and a legit NFL offense, they cut Cook loose. Lucky for him he ended up with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Cook is a rare athlete with size and speed at the tight end position. With Rodgers tossing him the ball, he could be in for a Greg Olsen type season.
Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions
2015: 47 catches, 537 yards, five touchdowns
Calvin Johnson is gone and because of that all of the Lions’ offensive players should see their individual numbers go up. No one will benefit more than Ebron, who will be a nice safety valve player for Matthew Stafford as he adjusts to life without Megatron.
