Last year in fantasy football drafts, if you weren’t lucky enough to snag, Rob Gronkowski (Gronk), you watched one of your teammates select him probably around the 14th or 15th pick, becoming the first tight end to scratch off the list. It wasn’t surprising that just a couple of selections later at the most, Jimmy Graham was called by you or another smiling teammate. It was fairly common knowledge when we drafted last year, our tight end radar was fixed on Gronkowski and Graham, the two tight end fantasy point leaders from the previous season.
Walking away from your 2012 draft, you couldn't help but be happy securing one of these two elite tight ends. Now, let's fast forward to the end of the 2012-13 season, where once again, it is confirmed that neither one of these studs left you disappointed in overall tight end fantasy points. With another fantasy draft coming up in the next few months we will now take a more detailed look at Gronk’s and Graham’s past performances to see how we will rank them on the tight end fantasy drafting scale for 2013-14.
Rob Gronkowski –Tight End, New England Patriots
Despite breaking his arm towards the end of 2012, Gronkowski still managed to score the second-highest fantasy points for tight ends coming in second after Jimmy Graham last season. The only disappointment to his fantasy owners was that his numbers were not anywhere near what they were in 2011, where he likely helped your team into playoffs and possibly first place. If you average the Gronkowski’s points over the last two years, you come up with an amazing 283.90 points which leaves little for fantasy owners to be sad about.
Statistics:
2011-12 Fantasy Points: 240.90 Rushing Yards: 1327 Touchdowns: 17 Rank: First
2012-13 Fantasy Points: 143.00 Rushing Yards: 790 Touchdowns: 11 Rank: Second
Jimmy Graham - Tight End, New Orleans Saints
It’s hard to shine next to Gronkowski, but for the past couple of years, Graham owners have reaped the benefits of drafting him for the tight end position as well. Graham scored more fantasy points in 2011-12 than he did last year, but because of Gronkowski’s monster 2011-12 year, Graham was second in fantasy points. However last season, Graham, who played through a few minor injuries managed to slightly edge out Rob Gronkowski scoring the highest in tight end fantasy points.
Statistics:
2011-12 Fantasy Points: 195 Rushing Yards: 1310 Touchdowns: 11 Rank: Second
2012-13 Fantasy Points: 152.20 Rushing Yards: 982 Touchdowns: 9 Rank: First
Comparison:
When drafting for your 2013-14 fantasy team, let’s say you have the opportunity to pick the first tight end position, so who do you select? Both tight ends are incredibly powerful players, nearly identical in height and weight with 6’7” 265 pound Jimmy Graham vs. 6’6” 265-pound Rob Gronkowski. Each player has four years of NFL experience and a remarkable history in receiving yards and touchdown scoring points. What doesn’t hurt either is both tight ends work with amazing, elite quarterbacks. Drew Brees more often than not, lands the ball in the hands of his favorite receiving target, Jimmy Graham, and Tom Brady is always looking for Rob Gronkowski to haul in a touchdown pass.
I’ve been thinking what I would do this year if I am able to choose my tight end before anyone else can this coming season, and I will pick Graham. Gronkowski is a fantastic tight end, who I hope can start out the season this year in the first game, but the injury risk that looms over him is hard to put aside. One more fall on that arm might be the last one he can endure. If Gronkowski can finish the season without injury, I think he’ll lead in tight end fantasy points, but I’m going with who I see as a safer choice, and that would be Graham. I have more confidence in him finishing the season healthy and still hitting fantasy points consistent with his past couple of years.