A quick, little happy recap:
1. Russell Wilson scrambled for the No. 1 spot in my Quarterback Rankings, but I expect him to be chased by familiar faces Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, as well as rising stars Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo and Carson Wentz (if healthy).
2. It was Todd Gurley's world in my Running Back Rankings, but we'll keep an eye on Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson near the top of the list. Like Garoppolo at the QB position, youngster Saquon Barkley is riding that preseason Hype Train. Full-steam ahead!
3. The usual suspects dominated Tier 1 of my Wide Receiver Rankings, leaving question marks like Amari Cooper, Mike Evans and Doug Baldwin behind in the dust. All right, enough of that...
PART I: GRONK, KELCE...THEN EVERYBODY ELSE
Rob Gronkowski is probably the greatest tight end to ever play the game of football.
Six-foot-six, 270 pounds with unparalleled power and surprising speed -- he's the textbook definition of a monster. He's had incredible chemistry with Brady since day 1, and you can exploit his mismatches in a variety of different ways. One could make fair arguments for Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe and Jason Witten because of their longevity, durability and reliability, but in terms of talent and pure domination, I think Gronk is the best of the best.
But that doesn't mean he's the No. 1 fantasy tight end heading into this season.
Gronk has only appeared in 22 of his last 32 possible regular season games, and he left a number of contests early. His long-term health must be questioned, along with his desire to play and deteriorating relationship with Bill Belichick. Still...with Julian Edelman suspended and a thin receiving corps, I'm having difficulty knocking Gronk off his tight end throne. It's not gonna happen; but Travis Kelce still needs to be taken very seriously.
Kelce has played in 63 of his last 64 possible regular season games, and in most PPR formats he outscored Gronk last season. However, he doesn't have Gronk's upside, and we can't be sure about his chemistry with new QB Pat Mahomes. We know Brady knows where and when to find Gronk. Kelce is the safe play as the No. 2 overall fantasy tight end.
TIER 1 RANKINGS:
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Travis Kelce
Then there's Zach Ertz. In a vacuum, right now, he might be the best player at his position. Gronk constantly battles injuries and isn't as fast as he once was, and Kelce is fundamentally-sound across the board, but lacks Ertz's overall athleticism and pure, unadulterated talent.
The problem is that the Eagles' quarterback situation is falling apart real quick. Carson Wentz simply does not look ready to play, and Nick Foles went down in Philly's last preseason game. With that kind of uncertainty, we can't group Ertz with Gronk and Kelce. Ertz, by default, becomes the leader of Tier 2.
In Tier 2, he's joined by Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham. To me, like Tier 1, it's a small group. Kelvin Benjamin's out of the way in Carolina and the Panthers' receiving corps is thin, so Olsen will get all he can eat. Pre-retirement, I'm sure he wants to go out with a bang, too.
Tight ends never seem to work out with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but Graham is a different animal. They already look synced up in the preseason. Graham has always been one of the most physically gifted players at the tight end position, and Jordy Nelson is out of the picture. Davante Adams and Graham should be awfully busy this season.
TIER 2 RANKINGS:
3. Zach Ertz
4. Greg Olsen
5. Jimmy Graham
Embed from Getty Images
Kelce has played in 63 of his last 64 possible regular season games, and in most PPR formats he outscored Gronk last season. However, he doesn't have Gronk's upside, and we can't be sure about his chemistry with new QB Pat Mahomes. We know Brady knows where and when to find Gronk. Kelce is the safe play as the No. 2 overall fantasy tight end.
TIER 1 RANKINGS:
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Travis Kelce
Then there's Zach Ertz. In a vacuum, right now, he might be the best player at his position. Gronk constantly battles injuries and isn't as fast as he once was, and Kelce is fundamentally-sound across the board, but lacks Ertz's overall athleticism and pure, unadulterated talent.
The problem is that the Eagles' quarterback situation is falling apart real quick. Carson Wentz simply does not look ready to play, and Nick Foles went down in Philly's last preseason game. With that kind of uncertainty, we can't group Ertz with Gronk and Kelce. Ertz, by default, becomes the leader of Tier 2.
In Tier 2, he's joined by Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham. To me, like Tier 1, it's a small group. Kelvin Benjamin's out of the way in Carolina and the Panthers' receiving corps is thin, so Olsen will get all he can eat. Pre-retirement, I'm sure he wants to go out with a bang, too.
Tight ends never seem to work out with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but Graham is a different animal. They already look synced up in the preseason. Graham has always been one of the most physically gifted players at the tight end position, and Jordy Nelson is out of the picture. Davante Adams and Graham should be awfully busy this season.
TIER 2 RANKINGS:
3. Zach Ertz
4. Greg Olsen
5. Jimmy Graham
PART II: TAKE YOUR PICK - RELIABLE VETS OR KIDS WITH UPSIDE?
Jordan Reed's the best player left, but again he's hobbling into the season. Alex Smith had a great connection with Kelce, so there's reason to believe he'll enjoy throwing to Reed at the same position. Reed is athletic and makes himself very available in the redzone, but he just can't seem to stay on the field. Buyer beware - it's your decision to gamble.
Kyle Rudolph and Delanie Walker are dependable vets. Neither guy has super-high upside, but we're talking about high floors, here. Kirk Cousins worked well with Reed in Washington, so he should have a redzone eye for Rudolph.
The youngsters are Evan Engram and David Njoku; the latter was looking better before Dez Bryant signed with the Browns. Now Njoku has to share looks with Dez, Jarvis Landry and buzz burner Antonio Callaway. Engram was pleasantly productive last year, so he's a much safer play than Njoku, though both are physically gifted.
TIER 3 RANKINGS:
6. Kyle Rudolph
7. Jordan Reed
8. Evan Engram
9. Delanie Walker
With Cleveland getting more crowded, Njoku is better suited for Tier 4, where he will be joined by Trey Burton, George Kittle and Tyler Eifert.
Burton is looking like one of Mitchell Trubisky's most trusted targets; Kittle, despite a separated shoulder, is expected to be ready for Week 1 and Eifert is a redzone vulture who can never stay healthy. Burton looks to have the highest upside here, as weak, young QBs like Trubisky tend to check-down and pepper short, underneath routes to tight ends and backs.
Embed from Getty Images
I'm keeping Burton in Tier 4, but I could definitely see him outperforming Delanie Walker. Eifert, generally speaking, is just too risky for me.
TIER 4 RANKINGS:
10. Trey Burton
11. David Njoku
12. George Kittle
13. Tyler Eifert
The rest of the way out, it's pick your poison. Jon Gruden likes to make blockers out of his tight ends, but Jared Cook had nice chemistry with Derek Carr last season.
Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron are going to split Andrew Luck's looks in Indy.
Luke Willson could emerge a bit more in Detroit. Contending with Jimmy Graham was a difficult task in Seattle.
Charles Clay, receiving passes from rookie Josh Allen or sophomore Nathan Peterman, could have a similar role to Burton. Again, young, un-confident QBs tend to fall back on safety valves.
In the end, if you can squeeze out a top-10 guy, that's probably the best way to go with this group. It gets pretty thin, pretty quick.
Thanks again for reading, and best of luck this fantasy season!
No comments:
Post a Comment