Preseason Tight End Rankings Revealed
July 5th, 2010
“Here we go”.
Those 3 simple words are usually said right after the first Tight End is selected each August in my fantasy football drafts. After the first one goes in the draft, 3 or 4 will follow right after that and you either got on the Tight End train or you missed it. I prefer to get on the Tight End train, in fact, I prefer to start the train.
Many magazines and web sites will tell you to avoid drafting a tight end earlier than the 7th round. For many years I followed that advice and would finish in the middle of the pack of my leagues and would wonder why considering I always drafted my team right off of the magazine cheat sheet. Then, about 5 years ago, I made a subtle change in my drafting philosophy and as a result I do pretty well and consistently have to claim 1099 income on my tax returns from fantasy football winnings. The Tight End changed my fantasy football life. The more teams in your league, the more important the position is. I play in a 12 team league and will draft my Tight End in the 5th round, if I was in a 14 team league I would look to draft my Tight End in the 4th round. It’s that important.
Consider this- Each year there are anywhere between 3-5 top tier Tight Ends, this year there are 5. That means more than half the league will not get a top tier Tight End. They will draft a couple tight ends in the late rounds and constantly try to play the match up game. I know because I get emails from these owners each week asking me who I would start between Ben Watson and Anthony Fasano. You don’t want to be in that situation. You want a top tier one that you know will be in your lineup every week except the bye week.
Last year Dallas Clark was the top Tight End averaging 11.1 points a game. That would have put him into the top 10 of Wide Receivers which is good but you can’t think of it that way. What you need to consider is that the #7 Tight End (Visanthe Shiancoe) averaged 7.1 points a game. That’s a 4 points per game difference between #1 and #7 at the Tight End position. That’s a significant point differential. In the Wide Receiver department, in which many magazines and web sites will tell you to draft in the 5th round instead of a Tight End, the # 1 position (Andre Johnson) averaged 13.7 points per game while the #7 (Brandon Marshall) averaged 11.7 for just a 2 point differential. Not only does drafting a top tier Tight End give you a 4 point average advantage over half of your league at the Tight End position, it gives your team 1 less top tier Tight End it has to go up against in head to head competition. There’s no logical explanation to not targeting a top tier Tight End. It’s been the biggest difference in my fantasy football life.
This year it appears the top tier Tight Ends go 5 deep. Dallas Clark was tops last year and will be there again if he can continue to stay healthy. Peyton Manning goes to him when the games mean the most. He averaged 11.1 last year but an impressive 16.5 in the last 3 weeks of the fantasy season. Vernon Davis finished second and I have him ranked second in the preseason as well. Antonio Gates is ranked 3 in my preseason poll and I might be short changing him. With Vincent Jackson’s situation murky at best, Gates’ stock would rise. I have Tony Gonzalez #4 coming off a consistent season in which he was banged up and Brent Celek is the last of my top tier at #5. You want one of these 5 on your team this year.
DRAFT STRATEGY: See above. Get one of the top 5, top 3 would even be better. Round 5 is where I like to start the run on Tight Ends. Don’t be caught 6 spots away when the run starts.
You can see the top 30 Tight Ends at the top of the page or by clicking here. You will also see who I have selected as my SLEEPER and SUPER SLEEPER.
