Fantasy Football 2018: Ranking the top 25 tight ends
By Jon Dove
Having a productive fantasy football tight end could mean the difference between winning and losing your weekly matchup.
The strategy for when to pull the trigger on drafting a tight end is all over the place. There are some who won’t hesitate to take someone like Rob Gronkowski in the first two rounds. While others, prefer to wait until later rounds and take a high-upside option.
This year’s crop of tight ends offers some solid depth. Those playing in a 10-team league should be able to play the waiting game and still land a good starter at the position.
Deep Sleeper- the Philadelphia Eagles quickly replace free agent tight end Trey Burton with rookie Dallas Goedert. The backup tight end spot in Philadelphia gets plenty of action and could be a target monster should Zach Ertz suffer an injury.
There’s a case to be made to use a late round pick on Goedert who has some major upside.
Riskiest Pick – in order to land Travis Kelce you are going to have to use an early round pick. In year’s past, he has rewarded fantasy owners with plenty of production. The issue this year is that he has a new quarterback and needs to fight for targets with new offensive weapons.
Biggest Injury Risk – Tyler Eifert has earned the label of injury prone. It is really too bad because when healthy he is a major playmaker.
Safest Pick – Jimmy Graham is going later than usual in fantasy drafts which could make him a very safe addition. He’s now in an offense that uses the tight end position and with a quarterback who will want to get him in the mix.
25. Jake Butt, Denver Broncos
The Broncos depth chart at the tight end position is still very fluid. Butt is working against Jeff Heuerman and Troy Fumagalli for playing time. However, Denver has showed a lot of two tight end sets throughout the preseason.
Butt is my top Denver tight end based on his upside. Prior to the injury he suffered his last year in college, many saw Butt as a potential first-round pick.
24. Hayden Hurst, Baltimore Ravens
Hurst has had a solid preseason showing that he has the ability to be a red zone threat. The Ravens used a first-round pick to bring this pass catching and appear ready to immediately work him into the game plan.
23. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars
Seferian-Jenkins had a nice run with the New York Jets last year. That helped him land a solid free agent contract from the Jaguars. He represents a big-bodied target capable of winning in contested situations.
22. Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders
Cook is typically a boom or bust fantasy option when you are forced to use him. It can be maddening as there are too many performance where he barely gets involved. However, he’s a starting tight end and could see more targets in Jon Gruden’s attack.
21. Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons
I’m still waiting for Hooper to have a true breakout season. He’s an extremely talented player who has the upside to be a top-10 fantasy football tight end. The problem is that the Falcons have a lot of mouths to feed.