Fantasy Football 2018: Antonio Gates Re-Signs with Chargers
By Bill Pivetz
The Chargers and veteran tight end Antonio Gates agreed to a one-year deal. Does he have any fantasy football value this season?
The Los Angeles Chargers were many people’s favorite to win the AFC West. They have a top-10 running back, widely underrated quarterback, a top-10 wide receiver and a rising defense. The team brought back a future Hall-of-Fame tight end in Antonio Gates. After a dismal 2017 season, can Gates rebound and produce like we’re used to seeing?
Gates finished with 49.6 fantasy points in standard and 79.6 points in PPR scoring last season. He had 30 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns. It’s been a steady decline in yards as Gates has been more of a red zone threat, averaging seven touchdowns per season between 2012 and 2016.
The Chargers were set to start the season with Hunter Henry and Virgil Green as their tight ends. Henry suffered a torn ACL before training camp even opened. With the injury happening very early in the calendar year, the team placed Henry on the physically unable to perform list.
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Placing Henry on the PUP list gives the Chargers a chance to activate him in case he’s healthy enough to return this season. The odds of that happening are low which is why the Chargers reached out to Gates.
Green, a career backup tight end, had his best season in 2016 with the Denver Broncos when he caught 22 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown.
Philip Rivers loves to throw the ball, averaging 586 pass attempts over the last five seasons. Rivers and the Chargers have a few other pass catchers. Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams will start at wide receiver. Travis Benjamin may see some targets, too.
Gates return shouldn’t affect Allen. He is still the top receiver and will see over 100 targets. Both Williams’ will likely see a decline in targets, especially in the red zone. Rivers loves targeting Gates in all aspects of the game. Just check out the stat Matthew Berry tweeted out after the news broke.
Over the past 3 years, Rivers ranks when targeting the TE: 4th in yards, 3rd in completions, 2nd in att, 2nd in TDs. The role is his. I just ranked him 12th, behind Kittle and ahead of Eifert/Njoku. He’ll be a “poor man’s” Jimmy Graham from last year (TE6): TD heavy, low yds
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) September 2, 2018
Based on his stats from last season and age, I don’t expect Gates to be the 65/800/8 tight end we saw just a couple of years ago. A stat line along the lines of 35/350/4 is more likely. Berry’s ranking of a top-15 tight end is accurate.
A TE2 with high-touchdown upside is good value. I like him over guys like Cameron Brate and Charles Clay. If you have the roster space, I would draft a top-10 tight end like Evan Engram and back him up with Gates.
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The start of the season is just a couple of days away, so 99 percent of the leagues have drafted already. If you haven’t, taking a late-round flyer on Gates bares very little risk.