Friday, August 22, 2014

2014 Fantasy Fooball TE Rankings

Most leagues will be drafting in the next few days. If you haven't already started doing your homework you're behind. Unless you're in a league with a bunch of rookies, you need to do some research. Learn your league rules, do some position ranking, and actually think about what you're going to do if you draft first or last. Continuing my series on ranking players by position, here are my 2014 fantasy football TE rankings. And no, you cannot be successful in fantasy football and overlook the TE position. 

1. Jimmy Graham- This should be obvious. No one compares to Jimmy Graham. Put it this way, in my league last year Graham went for 260.5 points. The second-highest scoring TE was Vernon Davis with 189 points. In fact, there were only six position players in my league who scored more than Graham last season- Jamal Charles, LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte, Josh Gordon, Calvin Johnson, and Demaryius Thomas. All of those players, save for Gordon, should be drafted before Graham. However no one is going to blame you if you draft Graham low in the first round. If he's somehow available in the second round, take him.

2. Rob Gronkowski- This actually worries me a little bit. We still don't know if Gronk is going to be medically cleared for Week 1, though my feeling is he will. More than that, we don't know what all that missed time is going to do to Gronk's game. When he's at his best he's pretty much unstoppable and his fantasy value is ridiculous. Gronk is definitely one of the best TE in the game when he's on the field. His injury history does worry me, but the good outweighs the bad. I wouldn't take him before the third round, but don't be surprised if someone does. 

3. Julius Thomas- Oh Peyton, my Peyton. Without Peyton and that ridiculous offense in Denver I doubt Julius Thomas would be on this list. But he is, and for good reason. He missed 2 games last season and still found the endzone 12 times. He's a top-option for Peyton in the redzone, and in a pass-happy offense he's going to see a ton of targets. I like Thomas in the mid-to-late third round. 

4. Greg Olsen- I honestly feel bad for Cam Newton. The Panthers just won't give the guy a solid receiving corp to work with. However this likely will benefit Greg Olsen this season. The receivers in Carolina are new to the team, Olsen is not. Granted he doesn't light up the scoreboard like the guys I've listed above him, but I won't be surprised at all if he improves on his 2013 numbers of 816 yards and 6 TDs. That being said, I wouldn't draft him before the 7th round. You need to fill in your big spots before taking a non-star TE. 

5. Vernon Davis- Why did the TE who scored the second-most points in fantasy last year slip this far? Michael Crabtree. Crabtree missed 11 games last season which freed up a ton of opportunities for Davis. With Crabtree healthy, it's almost guaranteed Davis is going to see fewer balls thrown his way. That being said, don't be surprised if he comes close to double digits in TDs again. He and Olsen are pretty interchangeable in terms of where they're drafted, in fact I'd expect Davis to be drafted before Olsen just because of his production last year. But I wouldn't draft him before the 7th round. 

6. Jason Witten- Oh great, here comes this idiot with another homer Cowboys player. Look, I watched every Cowboys game last year and saw how his production dropped. Nothing frustrated me more than seeing Witten get overlooked, other than the Cowboys complete ineptitude on defense and reluctance to run the ball. I see Witten having a big bounceback year. Their new offensive coordinator should be looking to stretch the field, which is going to open up Witten over the middle. I'd be happy if Witten fell to me in mid-to-late 7th round and gladly scoop him up. 

7. Jordan Cameron- He had a fantastic 2013 season, but I don't expect him to come close replicating those numbers. A new head coach and an ongoing quarterback controversy/competition in Cleveland is going to make things tough for Cameron. However, he's still a good mid-draft option. I'd take him around the 10th round and feel very good about it. 

8. Dennis Pitta- I've got him lower than a lot of the experts do, but that doesn't mean I don't have as much confidence in his abilities. As ESPN puts it, "New offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is famous for featuring athletic tight ends out of the slot, and Pitta's connection with Joe Flacco is strong." However Flacco also now has Steve Smith opposite Torrey Smith and the Ravens added Owen Daniels. Pitta could end up being a top-five TE this season, I just don't think it's worth the risk of taking him super high. He got hurt last year, playing only the last four games of the season and scoring only once. He's another TE I'd be very comfortable taking in the middle or late rounds of the draft as my starter. 

9. Kyle Rudolph- This one is definitely a gamble. However, it's an educated gamble. Rudolph was nothing short of awful last season, except for week 6 against Carolina when he caught 9 passes for 97 yards and a TD. Over the nine games he played, Rudolph scored a total of 52.7 points. That's not good enough to warrant being a starter. However Norv Turner is now in Minnesota, and if any offensive coordinator loves TE it's Turner. Look what he did for Antonio Gates and last year with Jordan Cameron. Rudolph has the athletic skills to be a great TE, he just needs to use them. 

10. Jordan Reed, Martellus Bennett, and Delanie Walker- All of these guys are capable of being near the top 10 of the league in terms of fantasy points. However, they're not really in a system that benefits their scoring opportunities. All three of these guys had weeks where they went off last season and all three had weeks where they scored 1.5 fantasy points or fewer. They're definitely feast or famine. If you end up with a TE like this you're going to need to make up the points elsewhere. 

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