There are two truly elite tight ends in the National Football League and both are fantasy football gold. Of course I am talking about Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham, both of whom set the football world on fire in 2011. The drop off following those two difference makers is pretty damn big too.
This is one of the primary reasons that it is important to find steals later in the draft at this position if you are unable to nab those two. Why reach for a player like Vernon Davis or Antonio Gates in the early-rounds when you can grab a solid TE1 later?
Today's article is going to focus specifically on that.
Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens
ESPN Position Ranking: 22
Dennis Pitta is going to miss the early part of the 12' season with a broken hand. This will only help Dickson improve on what were pedestrian numbers last season (54, 528, 5). The young tight end has an opportunity to accumulate 70 receptions for 800 yards this year, but he has failed to live up to the level of his talent thus far in two NFL seasons, though progression has been evident.
A lot of that has to do with Joe Flacco, who has been one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks in the National Football League over the course of the last few seasons. Dickson will need his quarterback to be more consistent if he is going to be a difference maker in fantasy football.
As it is, Dickson could be a solid waiver-wire pickup for the early part of the season until Pitta returns from his broken hand.
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts
ESPN Position Ranking: 19
There isn't any reason why you shouldn't pick up the rookie tight end to be your starting tight end this season. Fleener teams up with his former Stanford running mate, Andrew Luck. This means that the talented young tight end should be extremely comfortable in the Colts newly installed offense.
Moreover, we all know much rookie quarterbacks tend to look between the hashes for safety valves. This is only going to be magnified by the presence of a friend at tight end for Luck. You also have to take into account that Stanford ran an offense through their tight ends during Luck's three seasons starting in Palo Alto. While it is a completely different offense in Indianapolis, one' would have to draw the conclusion that Luck will continue to utilize that aspect of the offense.
Martellus Bennett, New York Giants
ESPN Position Ranking: 17
One of the most talented tight ends in the NFL, Bennett just never got it together for the Dallas Cowboys since being selected in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. After scoring four touchdowns as a rookie, Bennett failed to reach the end zone in his final three seasons, 44 total games, with the Cowboys. This is going to need to change if you are going to rely on him as a TE1.
That being said, Bennett has some of the best skills at the tight end position in the NFL and is still only 25 years old. A change of scenery to the New York Giants could also help him out a great deal. After all, we know Eli Manning enjoys utilizing his tight ends between the hashes.
Something to the effect of 60 receptions for over 700 yards is a distinct possibility in his first season with the Giants.
Jacob Tamme, Denver Broncos
ESPN Position Ranking: 12
Tamme caught 67 passes the last time Peyton Manning threw passes to him in 2010. Those numbers dropped dramatically with the disastrous quarterback play of the Indianapolis Colts last season as Tamme caught just 19 passes for less than 200 yards.
Manning has made a career of utilizing his tight ends, most notably Dallas Clark with the Colts. There is absolutely no reason to believe that he wont be using Tamme in the same exact role with the Denver Broncos in 2012.
In terms of talent, Tamme seems perfectly entrenched in as the final starting tight end in a 12 team fantasy league. That being said, the Manning factor could be absolutely huge here.
Fred Davis, Washington Redskins
ESPN Position Ranking: 9
As I noted before, rookie quarterbacks love to utilize their tight ends as safety valves and second or third reads in the passing game. This is only going to be magnified with Davis returning to the Redskins and the selection of Robert Griffin III second overall in April's NFL draft.
You can definitely expect Davis to get even more targets this season than what we saw from him in 2011 with Rex Grossman and John Beck throwing the ball.
Davis accumulated nearly 800 receiving yards in his first 12 games last season prior to being suspended for the final four weeks due to violating NFL's substance abuse policy. There is no reason to believe that the talented young tight end cannot reach the 1,000 milestone while nearing double-digit touchdowns. In fact, I have Davis as the No. 5 overall tight end on my fantasy board.
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