Last year I drafted New England Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski 151 overall (11th round) in my only fantasy football draft in 2011. Gronk’s 17 touchdowns, along with my first round pick LeSean McCoy, carried me all the way to the championship. In 2010, I drafted Mercedes Lewis 203 overall, (he scored 10 touchdowns), but hopefully, I already had your attention with my Gronkowski pick in 2011.
Both Gronk and Jimmy Graham were TE ADP winners in 2011. Their unprecedented years now require a 2nd round pick if you want one of these guys on your team. So a big question is which Tight Ends will provide you with the best value in the 2012-13 season?
Aaron Hernandez is the immediate player to come to mind. Hernandez may have had the quietest 7 touchdown 900 yard season, primarily because his 6 foot 6 teammate scored 17 TD’s and amassed over 1,300 yards. With BenJarvus Green-Ellis in Cincinnati, Belichick will be forced to depend even more heavily on Tom Brady’s arm, offering a lot of touchdown potential once again for Patriot receivers. Hernandez should be the biggest beneficiary of defenses double-teaming Gronkowski. He could very well surpass Gronk in TD’s in 2012, yet you can wait until the 5th round to draft him.
Jared Cook has the Jimmy Graham kind of build, standing at 6 foot 5 and 248 pounds. Cook has steadily improved with each season, last year doubling his yardage and receptions from 2010. The 759 yards in 2011 proved that he belonged on fantasy teams but his mere 3 touchdowns left something to be desired. The 4th year player out of South Carolina has been on sleeper lists before, but with the improved situation at Quarterback (Jake Locker replaces the aging Matt Hasselback), and a strong chance for a bounce-back year for Chris Johnson, Cook is primed for a breakout year.
Tony Gonzalez may be the most accomplished Tight End around, but due to the emergence of the young blood like Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, Gonzo is actually underrated with respect to his average draft position. Although he has managed to score at least 6 TDs and 650 yards in each of the last 4 seasons, you can draft Tony towards the end of the 6th round (in 12 team leagues). With Michael, the no longer burner Turner, likely to regress in production, Matt Ryan will be forced to throw even more this year. In other words, there will be more than enough passes to go around for Julio Jones, Roddy White and Gonzalez. Considering Tony has missed only 1 game in his entire 15 year career, he may one of the safest and best valued picks out there.
Written by Justin Hasan exclusively for WinMyFantasyLeague.com
Comment below or e-mail him at JHas@WinMyFantasyLeague.com
3 Comments
Brent Celek, Andy Reid loves to mirror his idol Bill Bellichek. With his two TE sets being so successful the Eagles will try and do the same with Celek & Clay Harbor.
Good point Jaycee. After his career year in 2009-2010 when he finished with 971 yards and 8 touchdowns, he has since produced 2 more productive seasons. Yet he is still flies under the radar on draft day. Definitely one of the more consistent options at the Tight End position.
Hey Jaycee, J-Has
Celek and Harbor are not close to the same talent level as Hernandez and Gronkowski