In the coming weeks, ZoneBlitz will feature rankings for each fantasy position in five scoring formats. The rankings will be accompanied by a brief article highlighting some of the big names, surprises and sleepers. Combined cheat sheets for each format will be available August 1 and constantly updated based on the latest news to keep you prepared for your drafts.
Editor’s Note: Tight end rankings are the fourth of six rankings to be posted to ZoneBlitz.com. Quarterback rankings can be found here, running back rankings can be found here and wide receivers can be found here.
OK, so things are obviously a bit in flux at the moment thanks to Aaron Hernandez and his current trouble with the 5-0. So let’s start in New England with a couple of assumptions when it comes to these rankings. Assumption No. 1: Hernandez’s legal situation will have no impact on his availability to the Patriots. Assumption No. 2: Rob Gronkowski will miss at least two games as he recovers from yet another surgery—this one on his back.
Should things go south for both of those guys, then changes happen elsewhere in terms of wide receiver rankings, running back rankings, and so on. Heck, Tim Tebow could very well find himself on the tight end rankings by the time we release cheat sheets. So stay tuned.
As for the rest of tight end lot, there was a time in fantasyland that if you didn’t nab Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez at the position, you might as well forget it. The big, burly blocker types dominated the position landscape, and the few with athletic builds a la Kellen Davis also came with hands a la Kellen Davis. These days, not so much.
Check out the top 10 across all formats. If you’re in a 10-team league, you have nothing to worry about. Sure, you’re feeling good if you nab Jimmy Graham, but are you really going to be upset if you trot Owen Daniels or Kyle Rudolph out there on a weekly basis? The answer should be no, assuming you strengthened your roster in other areas while waiting to fill your tight end position.
Those in larger leagues have a little more volatility to worry about, but still, Jermichael Finley, Brandon Pettigrew, Fred Davis and Dustin Keller, for all their questions, are more than capable of putting up starter-worthy fantasy digits on a weekly basis. And there are always sleepers, like Martellus Bennett, Jordan Cameron, and maybe even Rob Housler.
In my other positional write-ups I haven’t done much draft strategy discussion, but in the case of tight ends this year I think it’s worth it. I’m not overpaying for a top five tight end this season, because by the time my draft is over, if I’ve landed two of my top 18 in any scoring system—even numbers 17 and 18—I’ve cast myself a reasonable net for success. Sure, the upside of a top five tight end may not be there, but I can make a reasonable argument for as many as 20 tight ends winding up in the top 10 in positional scoring, and if you’ve appropriately built your roster elsewhere, all you need is a top 10 tight end to be successful.
I’d also anticipate at least two waiver wire types winding up vying for top 10 or 12 fantasy tight end status by the end of the year, so if you go the risky route in your draft, be ready to act on early-season success elsewhere—think Heath Miller from last year. Heck, Heath Miller could be this year’s version of Heath Miller considering he’s coming back from injury and not likely to be drafted, but could still help your squad the final 10 weeks of the fantasy season.
Regardless, I think I’ve made my point. Talented tight ends are plentiful.
Have a question? Take umbrage with any of my rankings? Want to discuss the topic further? Post in the comments section and let’s chat! And if enough questions trickle in through the course of the offseason and training camp, I’ll post a few mailbag stories. Thanks for reading. Now comment away!
STANDARD | PPR | Yardage-Heavy | ||||
TM | Player | TM | Player | TM | Player | |
1 | NO | Jimmy Graham | NO | Jimmy Graham | NO | Jimmy Graham |
2 | NE | Aaron Hernandez | ATL | Tony Gonzalez | NE | Aaron Hernandez |
3 | ATL | Tony Gonzalez | DAL | Jason Witten | ATL | Tony Gonzalez |
4 | SF | Vernon Davis | NE | Aaron Hernandez | DAL | Jason Witten |
5 | DAL | Jason Witten | SF | Vernon Davis | SF | Vernon Davis |
6 | NE | Rob Gronkowski | NE | Rob Gronkowski | NE | Rob Gronkowski |
7 | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | BAL | Dennis Pitta | MIN | Kyle Rudolph |
8 | BAL | Dennis Pitta | HOU | Owen Daniels | BAL | Dennis Pitta |
9 | HOU | Owen Daniels | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | HOU | Owen Daniels |
10 | SD | Antonio Gates | SD | Antonio Gates | CAR | Greg Olsen |
11 | CAR | Greg Olsen | CAR | Greg Olsen | SD | Antonio Gates |
12 | CHI | Martellus Bennett | DET | Brandon Pettigrew | CHI | Martellus Bennett |
13 | STL | Jared Cook | GB | Jermichael Finley | STL | Jared Cook |
14 | NYG | Brandon Myers | NYG | Brandon Myers | NYG | Brandon Myers |
15 | GB | Jermichael Finley | CHI | Martellus Bennett | GB | Jermichael Finley |
16 | DET | Brandon Pettigrew | STL | Jared Cook | DET | Brandon Pettigrew |
17 | MIA | Dustin Keller | WAS | Fred Davis | WAS | Fred Davis |
18 | WAS | Fred Davis | MIA | Dustin Keller | MIA | Dustin Keller |
19 | CLE | Jordan Cameron | CLE | Jordan Cameron | CLE | Jordan Cameron |
20 | IND | Dwayne Allen | ARI | Rob Housler | IND | Dwayne Allen |
21 | CIN | Jermaine Gresham | IND | Dwayne Allen | CIN | Jermaine Gresham |
22 | IND | Coby Fleener | CIN | Jermaine Gresham | IND | Coby Fleener |
23 | DEN | Jacob Tamme | IND | Coby Fleener | DEN | Jacob Tamme |
24 | ARI | Rob Housler | DEN | Jacob Tamme | ARI | Rob Housler |
25 | SEA | Zach Miller | SEA | Zach Miller | SEA | Zach Miller |
26 | CIN | Tyler Eifert | CIN | Tyler Eifert | CIN | Tyler Eifert |
27 | PIT | Heath Miller | PIT | Heath Miller | PIT | Heath Miller |
28 | PHI | Zach Ertz | DET | Tony Scheffler | PHI | Zach Ertz |
29 | PHI | Brent Celek | PHI | Zach Ertz | PHI | Brent Celek |
30 | DEN | Joel Dreesen | PHI | Brent Celek | DET | Tony Scheffler |
31 | DET | Tony Scheffler | TEN | Delanie Walker | DEN | Joel Dreesen |
32 | TEN | Delanie Walker | BAL | Ed Dickson | KC | Tony Moeaki |
33 | KC | Tony Moeaki | KC | Tony Moeaki | TEN | Delanie Walker |
34 | JAX | Marcedes Lewis | DEN | Joel Dreesen | JAX | Marcedes Lewis |
35 | BAL | Ed Dickson | OAK | David Ausberry | BAL | Ed Dickson |
36 | BUF | Scott Chandler | JAX | Marcedes Lewis | BUF | Scott Chandler |
37 | TB | Tom Crabtree | BUF | Scott Chandler | TB | Tom Crabtree |
38 | PHI | James Casey | TB | Tom Crabtree | OAK | David Ausberry |
39 | OAK | David Ausberry | PHI | James Casey | PHI | James Casey |
40 | NYJ | Jeff Cumberland | NYJ | Jeff Cumberland | NYJ | Jeff Cumberland |
TD–Heavy | Dynasty | |||
TM | RB | TM | WR | |
NO | Jimmy Graham | NO | Jimmy Graham | 1 |
SF | Vernon Davis | SF | Vernon Davis | 2 |
ATL | Tony Gonzalez | MIN | Kyle Rudolph | 3 |
NE | Aaron Hernandez | NE | Aaron Hernandez | 4 |
NE | Rob Gronkowski | DAL | Jason Witten | 5 |
MIN | Kyle Rudolph | NE | Rob Gronkowski | 6 |
BAL | Dennis Pitta | BAL | Dennis Pitta | 7 |
HOU | Owen Daniels | CAR | Greg Olsen | 8 |
SD | Antonio Gates | HOU | Owen Daniels | 9 |
DAL | Jason Witten | CLE | Jordan Cameron | 10 |
CHI | Martellus Bennett | WAS | Fred Davis | 11 |
CAR | Greg Olsen | IND | Coby Fleener | 12 |
STL | Jared Cook | CIN | Tyler Eifert | 13 |
MIA | Dustin Keller | CHI | Martellus Bennett | 14 |
NYG | Brandon Myers | STL | Jared Cook | 15 |
GB | Jermichael Finley | IND | Dwayne Allen | 16 |
DET | Brandon Pettigrew | PHI | Zach Ertz | 17 |
CLE | Jordan Cameron | GB | Jermichael Finley | 18 |
WAS | Fred Davis | DET | Brandon Pettigrew | 19 |
IND | Dwayne Allen | SD | Antonio Gates | 20 |
CIN | Jermaine Gresham | PIT | Heath Miller | 21 |
DEN | Joel Dreesen | ARI | Rob Housler | 22 |
IND | Coby Fleener | MIA | Dustin Keller | 23 |
SEA | Zach Miller | WAS | Jordan Reed | 24 |
ARI | Rob Housler | CIN | Jermaine Gresham | 25 |
CIN | Tyler Eifert | NYG | Brandon Myers | 26 |
PIT | Heath Miller | BAL | Ed Dickson | 27 |
PHI | Zach Ertz | TB | Tom Crabtree | 28 |
PHI | Brent Celek | KC | Travis Kelce | 29 |
TEN | Delanie Walker | DEN | Joel Dreesen | 30 |
DEN | Jacob Tamme | SEA | Zach Miller | 31 |
DET | Tony Scheffler | PHI | Brent Celek | 32 |
BUF | Scott Chandler | DEN | Jacob Tamme | 33 |
PHI | James Casey | PHI | James Casey | 34 |
KC | Tony Moeaki | ATL | Tony Gonzalez | 35 |
JAX | Marcedes Lewis | TEN | Delanie Walker | 36 |
TB | Tom Crabtree | BUF | Scott Chandler | 37 |
BAL | Ed Dickson | STL | Lance Kendricks | 38 |
STL | Lance Kendricks | DET | Tony Scheffler | 39 |
NYJ | Jeff Cumberland | JAX | Marcedes Lewis | 40 |
For Zoneblitz.com’s quarterback ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s running back ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s wide receiver ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s kicker ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s defense ratings, click here.
TE was a key position in winning two leagues for me last year–but both of them were based on stashing Dennis Pitta with about 3 weeks left in the season, then breaking him out for the playoffs (benching in one case Vernon Davis). If you don’t get Graham this year, that’s the approach I would take–a lot of guys that could be great with the right matchup, very few that I would consider every week starters.
So, Maggio, Aaron Hernandez was arrested today. And let’s say your hypotheticals are wrong and he does miss extended time this season. With Gronkowski also questionable, who on the Patriots benefits as a fantasy contributor, both at tight end and other positions?
OK, so obviously the previously posted rankings are going to need some adjusting, which will certainly happen in the cheat sheets that will be posted to ZoneBlitz in the coming weeks. But for now, here’s what I’ve got in regards to the above questions.
First, you can definitely do some cherry-picking at the tight end position this season. That was kind of what I was getting at I s’pose when noting that you could reasonably argue a case for 20 guys having a shot at finishing in the top 10 in TE scoring. And if you wind up with a dud or your guy gets injured, Heath Miller will likely be waiting there as a stash play a la Pitta last season.
As for the Patriots, Hernandez is obviously out of the picture, and Gronk is still the same question mark he was yesterday. Two guys I would watch who aren’t already in my rankings at their respective positions are Jake Ballard and Michael Jenkins. Ballard was actually pretty good as an undrafted rookie for the Giants two years ago, and obviously Tom Brady has a way of making his teammates look even better. Jenkins isn’t a guy who’s going to dominate statistically, but given his size and Brady’s dearth of options, he could become a factor in the red zone. He’d likely be a deep-league bye-week play at best, though TD-heavy formats could make him an even more valuable asset.
Tony Hill was a very good player.
Whoops I ended up on the wrong page. Never mind.