Fantasy Football Insider: Who could be the Top Fantasy Tight Ends in 2011?

The tight end position can be a productive one and a frustrating one when it comes to fantasy football. One weekend your top tight end can have a great game and in another he can all but disappear. There are some NFL teams that utilize their tights ends in the passing game often (and have specialize pass catching tight ends as well as blocking tight ends) while other teams don’t use the tight end much for passing but more for blocking.

Before you go ahead and select a tight end in your fantasy drafts the tight end much for passing but more for blocking.

Before you go ahead and select a tight end in your fantasy drafts you must be sure that the tight end will be used often on offense because you don’t want to waste that spot on someone that won’t produce.

Remember that tight ends can be big assets to your team if you can find the right one.

Let’s take a look at five tight ends (in no particular order) that fantasy owners should be looking at in their fantasy drafts late this summer.

1. Jason Witten-Dallas Cowboys-The Cowboys have had a lot of success throwing the ball to Witten and he has been very productive in his career with the Cowboys. He has been injured from time to time and has missed some time but he will be a very valuable and sought after tight end in fantasy football.

2. Antonio Gates-San Diego Chargers-Gates has been one of the most productive tight ends in the NFL since coming into the league and has another good season or two in him before he either starts to decline. Fantasy football owners will also hope that he can stay healthy and give them a full season.

3. Dallas Clark-Indianapolis Colts-Speaking of staying healthy, the perpetually injured Clark does remain one of the top tight ends in the NFL. Fantasy football owners will take a chance on him this year and assume that he will be able to stay healthy and if he can he will go back to being a prime target for quarterback Peyton Manning.

4. Tony Gonzalez-Atlanta Falcons-Gonzalez may be in his the twilight of his career but he’s still very useful as pass catcher and may have a good season as the Falcons try to get to and win the Super Bowl. He’s going to be a primary option at tight end in most fantasy football drafts and will have another good season.

5. Chris Cooley-Washington Redskins-Depending on Washington’s quarterback situation next season, Cooley may be a hot commodity to some fantasy owners and could easily be one of the first tight ends taken. Like some of the other guys on this list, Cooley has had his fair share of injuries in the past but could have a productive season next year.

Are there any rookie tight ends that could be looked at as fantasy draft prospects? This 2011 NFL Draft’s tight end class was viewed by many experts as being pretty weak and the first tight end selected, Notre Dame’s Kyle Rudolph, wasn’t even drafted until the second round (by the Minnesota Vikings) and he may be the only rookie tight end that get’s a look in fantasy drafts this summer?

2011 NFL Draft Top Fantasy Prospects: The Tight Ends

Ask anyone who is familiar this year’s 2011 NFL Draft and they will tell you that the tight end group coming out isn’t as strong as it’s been in recent seasons. There is clearly little depth all the way through the group so it’s going to be slim pickings for NFL teams in the draft this year.

Right now, it doesn’t look like this draft is going to have many, if any, tight ends that you may want to pay attention to when your fantasy football draft comes up in a few months. The tight end position may not be one of the most productive fantasy positions in fantasy football but a good tight can help you win games and can sometimes help lead you to a big victory.

Rookie tight ends are overlooked considerably in a fantasy draft because they end up being the biggest “unknowns” when it comes to a fantasy draft. It’s hard to know what the team that drafts them is going to do with them when they come into the NFL. Are they going to use them as a pass catcher or a blocker? Will they start right away? Will they even make the team?

All of this makes it difficult for any fantasy owner to validate a pick for a rookie tight end. And in this year’s draft, with no clear cut and “solid” talent at the tight end position at the top fantasy owners might decide to forgo drafting one and wait to see what they do.

As mentioned, there are some factors that go into trying to figure out if there is a rookie tight end worth taking. The whole blocker versus pass catcher debate is one thing that you would have to consider when looking at a rookie tight end as you would the situation that they are going into. A team that utilizes its tight ends a lot in the passing game, such as the New England Patriots is the ideal spot for a rookie to land whereas looking at a tight end that may end up with the Chicago Bears could be a waste of valuable research time.

You must also look at the team that the player is going to and what their quarterback situation is and how often they pass the ball. As we discussed with the wide receivers, it’s important to now just what the tight end is walking into in terms of who the starting quarterback is, how well that quarterback has played and just how often he throws the ball to his tight ends. Obviously if it’s a tight friendly offense then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look at situation and consider a late round flier on the prospect.

As mentioned, this draft isn’t going to feature a lot of depth and talent at the tight end position. The following is a list of the top six tight ends in the 2011 NFL Draft with the first one thought to go somewhere in the middle to late second round:

1. Kyle Rudolph-Notre Dame
2. Luke Stocker-Tennessee
3. Lance Kendricks-Wisconsin
4. Jordan Cameron-USC
5. D.J. Williams-Arkansas

Rudolph will easily be the first tight end selected and could be someone that you would want to keep an eye on in your fantasy draft depending on where he lands. But remember, he spent all of last season injured so he might be a risky prospect in your fantasy draft.

What is the best advice for drafting a rookie tight end this fantasy football season? Wait. With no clear cut standout appears to be coming out at the position in this draft so keep an eye on these guys as the season goes on and see if there is someone that you might want to pick up on waivers. It’s a great idea to let these guys play a couple games before putting one of them on your roster.

Tight Ends in Review by Bob Lung

The following article was written by Bob Lung who has written for Fanball.com and now runs his own site called www.bigguyfantasysports.com. He is a fantasy football veteran who has developed a unique system that eliminates much of the luck factor in fantasy football. This site will be featuring periodic guest posts by Bob. They are well worth your time. - Jon

Quality Game Scores – Tight Ends in Review

The tight ends are normally a pretty inconsistent crowd, but in 2009 there was certainly some depth noted at this position. So, let’s take a look at those players who were consistently good, just good and consistently bad. We’re also going to look at this position for the expected and unexpected tight ends in 2009, plus which tight ends could be a “sleeper” going into next year’s draft.

So, let’s start with the top 21 tight ends ranked by total Quality Games earned. Why not the Top 20? Well, because Dustin Keller was so close to Ben Watson that I could leave him off.

Player Name	Total Points	Overall Pts Rank	Total QG	Total GP	QG Success Rate
Dallas Clark	170.60	2	14	16	88%
Antonio Gates	163.70	3	14	16	88%
Brent Celek	145.10	4	13	16	81%
Vernon Davis	174.50	1	12	16	75%
Jermichael Finley	96.60	13	9	13	69%
Tony Gonzalez	122.70	5	11	16	69%
Visanthe Shiancoe	122.60	6	10	16	63%
Kellen Winslow	118.40	7	10	16	63%
Owen Daniels	81.90	17	5	8	63%
Chris Cooley	45.20	26	4	7	57%
Zach Miller	98.50	12	8	15	53%
Jason Witten	115.00	8	8	16	50%
Heath Miller	114.90	9	8	16	50%
Greg Olsen	109.20	10	7	16	44%
John Carlson	99.40	11	7	16	44%
Kevin Boss	86.70	16	6	15	40%
Todd Heap	95.30	14	6	16	38%
Marcedes Lewis	63.80	21	5	15	33%
Fred Davis	86.90	15	5	16	31%
Ben Watson	70.40	19	5	16	31%
Dustin Keller	63.90	20	5	16	31%

THE EXPECTED

Antonio Gates tied for first place in total Quality Games is no surprise. The fact that Gates is tied for third in overall points is more surprising.

I’ll put Dallas Clark up here for one reason, he is certainly a stud tight end. However, to be second in overall points and tied for first in Quality Games at a 88% QGSR (Quality Game Success Rate) is not what anyone expected from Clark this season. I’m going to point to Anthony Gonzalez’s injury and Peyton Manning’s need for a second receiver to step up to take pressure off of Reggie Wayne, especially with two rookies having to learn the system. Clark did just that and more. I would not be surprise to Clark’s numbers drop significantly next season when Anthony Gonzalez comes back 100% healthy.

I did expect Tony Gonzalez to struggle a tad in Atlanta, but still put decent numbers. He did that. In fact if anything, he exceeded my expectations by ending up fifth overall and a QGSR of 69%. The QGSR is a little low for Tony. He’s usually a little more consistent then that. However, due to the change in teams, I think he did just fine. I would continue to count on his consistency next season.

I guess I have to admit as much as hate him personally, Kellen Winslow did meet my expectations this season. I had him ranked sixth overall and he ended up seventh. However, like most non-stud tight ends, he was fairly inconsistent as his QGSR was only 63%.

THE UNEXPECTED

No surprise there’s a pretty big list of tight ends who did not meet expectations, good and bad. Let’s start with a tight end that ended the year being ranked fourth overall and earned 13 Quality games for an 81% QGSR. Jason Witten? Nope. Owens Daniel? Nope. Oh yeah, this tight end was a rookie! That’s right, rookie tight end; Brent Celek made everyone a believer in his abilities, but especially Donovan McNabb. He should be a top pick at tight end again next year. It’s truly a question of how high he’ll go.

Next up is Vernon Davis. He’s been the perennial “great talent, bad fantasy numbers” since he came into the league. However, this year, Coach Singletary turned him into the stud that everyone knew he could be. Davis ended the season as the No. 1 tight end in overall points and had a 75% QGSR. He should also be a top pick for next season.

Jermichael Finley came out of nowhere this season and became a top starter each week. He missed three games and still ended the year ranked 13^th overall and had a 69% QGSR. In a pass happy offense like the Packers, he will be another solid pick in 2010.

Visanthe Shiancoe completely surprised me in 2009. I had him ranked around 12^th – 15^th. However, Brett Favre found favor with him and the rest is history. He ended the season ranked sixth overall and had a solid 63% QGSR. We’ll assume that Brett doesn’t hang around in Minnesota; however, I don’t think that will hurt Shiancoe’s numbers next season. He should be a good middle-round pick.

Two players who played at expected levels and then were lost to the season due to injuries were Owen DanielsChris Cooley. I would expect a healthy Daniels to be right back up in the top eight tight ends in 2010. Chris Cooley, however, could have problems since after Fred Davis took over; he had a pretty decent season as well. If these two have to compete for targets, I would stay away from them on draft day.

The last group that I’ll discuss is the “bad” unexpected tight ends. No one ever wants to have these on their team, but many did. These four players are as follows: Jason Witten, Heath Miller, Greg Olsen and John Carlson.

They ended the season ranked 8^th through 11^th in that order. Now, Witten has been a stud for years. In fact, his stats look great: 94 receptions for 1,030 yards! That’s sick! A tight end with 94 catches! So, why is he ranked eighth overall and only had a 50% QGSR? Touchdowns! Witten only caught two touchdowns all season. If he catches just six more touchdowns, he would have ranked fourth overall and probably would have earned many more Quality Games. The other three tight ends were solid players from 2008, but for some reason didn’t step up to the next level as many experts, including myself, believed they would. Will these four be great values heading into next year’s draft? Most certainly. Witten will still be recognized as a stud, so I wouldn’t expect to see him drop too much. However, Miller, Olsen and Carlson should be solid values next year.

Well, there’s your Quality Game (consistency rankings) for the tight ends in 2009. If you didn’t make the playoffs and you had Jason Witten or Greg Olsen on your team and can’t understand why, I hope this helped clear things up.

If you have any questions about the Quality Game Scores, you can email me your questions to bob@bigguyfantasysports.com or just visit the website (www.bigguyfantasysports.com) and check out all of the great consistency analysis.