Coby Fleener, an Easy Choice at Tight End

Coby Fleener made a bold move this offseason deciding to leave from Indianapolis for New Orleans. Last season the Saints utilized aging tight end Benjamin Watson but decided this season to let him go. When the Saints reached out to Fleener in the offseason his fantasy value began to grow exponentially. Any Drew Brees led offense has been known to use the tight end position.  In many cases Brees can make a no name tight end into a top option in fantasy football. However, some fans believe the simple transition will not add up to success. This is due to Fleener’s stats while in Indianapolis and poor blocking ability. Will Coby Fleener finish as a top ten tight end? In my opinion he will finish far beyond that, even pushing near the top five.

Benjamin Watson Effect 

Benjamin Watson departs from New Orleans just a year after joining the Saints. Watson put up new career highs in nearly every major stat category and saw his value increase at a rapid rate. Now how does this translate to Fleener? Watson entered New Orleans at a much older age and more importantly after years of low output statistically. Watson finished 2014 with just 20 catches, 136 yards, and two touchdowns. He tripled (and nearly quadrupled) this output in New Orleans finishing with 74 catches, 825 yards, and six touchdowns. Fleener enters New Orleans at a younger age and can only get better with a few more years of experience. Although Fleener finished 2015 with just 491 yards and three touchdowns on 54 catches, I believe he will surpass Watson’s numbers of last season. Watson finished last season easily in the TE1 group but Fleener could push into the top five if all goes well this season.

Blocking is Irrelevant in Fantasy

Unless your league has some odd settings that give out points per block, blocking does not matter. Indianapolis let Fleener leave since he “could not block well”. This fact may be true but that does not impact Fleener’s fantasy value at all this year. The Saints tend to use their tight ends as red zone threats and more like receivers then linemen. Fleener may lose a few snaps for blocking purposes but Jimmy Graham and Benjamin Watson both were not the best blockers. Neither of these players lost significant snaps over this fact alone. Fleener is bound for a breakout season as the number one tight end in New Orleans.

Ultimatum

It is quite obvious that Coby Fleener will have a breakout season this year in New Orleans. He enters at a young age and has had mild success in the past. Although Indianapolis believes Fleener could not block this will not change the minds of fantasy players who intend to draft him. When you factor in his extremely low average draft position (73.7) and his high potential upside, it is quite easy to select Fleener. Fantasy owners are making a huge mistake if they pass on Coby Fleener this season.