While Vernon Davis is widely considered one of, if not the best, tight ends currently in the NFL, the NFC West is chock full of talented and versatile tight ends. Division newcomer, tight end Jared Cook, signed a wealthy free-agent contract this offseason, in hopes of taking his game to the next level in St. Louis with the Rams. Heading into the 2013 season, which of these tight ends is a better fantasy option for your roster? Let’s find out.
Vernon Davis - San Francisco 49ers
Davis has been a top-15 fantasy tight end for the last four seasons, and was in the top-10 from 2009-2011. He slipped a little in 2012 because of the 49ers switch from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick halfway through the season. Davis was still able to put up top-end TE2 numbers despite the decline in targets from Kaepernick.
In the playoffs it was very evident that Davis and Kaepernick were starting to click, as Davis put up consecutive 100-plus receiving yard games in the Conference Championship Game and Super Bowl, scoring 17 and 10 fantasy points, respectively.
With Kaepernick’s favorite target, Michael Crabtree, set to miss a significant chunk of the season due to an achilles injury; Davis has the most experience and best chemistry with Kaepernick of any pass-catchers on the roster. Davis is set to step up and be a huge part of the 49ers’ offense in 2013, and will likely see the most targets of anyone, even more so than Anquan Boldin, which will easily mean he’ll be back to putting up solid TE1 numbers once again.
Projected Stats: 70 Receptions, 900 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Jared Cook - St. Louis Rams
Cook is a talented pass-catcher, but has never finished higher than 14th in the fantasy rankings in his four-year career. This can be blamed, in part, to a lackluster offense and quarterback play for the Tennessee Titans.
But now that Cook is with the Rams, many fantasy owners are hoping this will all change. St. Louis beefed up its offensive line and added numerous offensive weapons to finally give Sam Bradford a good chance to succeed. The problem here, is that former Rams’ No. 1 tight end, Lance Kendricks never saw the targets necessary to warrant TE2 numbers, and that was when St. Louis had less weapons. Now that Bradford has rookies Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey added into the fold, Cook isn’t going to see the targets he needs to put up TE1 numbers like most are hoping for. That said, he’s now the veteran of the pass-catchers on the team, and will be able to step up when the youngsters struggle, resulting in high-end TE2 numbers.
Stat Projections: 50 receptions, 625 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
In Comparison
Davis is the obvious choice here, as he has top-five tight end potential this season, where as Cook will level off near the top of the TE2 tier. Make sure to get another tight end on your roster before drafting Cook, or you better hope your running backs and wide receivers are very solid to make up the difference if you look to depend on Cook as your TE1.