Tight Ends have always been the most interesting position in football to me. As the NFL has progressed, tight ends have become more relied upon for the playmaking abilities and nose for the end zone. Here are some of your top value plays for week one of the NFL season in Draftkings formats.
Vance McDonald, San Francisco 49ers $3,100
Now that the dust has settled around the quarterback situation, we can safely say that McDonald and Blaine Gabbert will be hooking up quite a bit. This pass-catching tight end will be Gabbert’s safety blanket over the middle against a defense that ranked 27th in the league last year against the position. These two Niners showed good rapport in the preseason, and while McDonald is the only tight end listed on the depth chart, he’s a great value play at his price in the season opener.
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys $4,100
Witten isn’t the “sexy” pick that he used to be several years ago as one of Tony Romo’s top options, but he’s now a safe choice for a rookie quarterback starting his first NFL game. There’s no doubt that Dak Prescott has the abilities to become a quality quarterback, but the bumps along the way can be mitigated with by using the old veteran. Witten didn’t show much in the preseason, but he could breakout for a nice game against the worst defense against tight ends last year.
Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers $5,100
Cam Newton’s favorite target is set to reprise his role for another season and he gets his first shot against the Denver Broncos on Thursday. Olsen was hampered by back spasms in the preseason, but they seemed to have calmed down on the eve of a Super Bowl rematch. The Broncos have one of the best defenses in the league, however, they are fairly forgiving against tight ends. Cam may need to shake off the rust in the first game back against a great pass rushing defense that decimated him in the Super Bowl, Olsen is a great bet to help him get the gears turning.
Bold Prediction
Each week, I’ll take a stab at a bold prediction that I feel has some opportunity to occur and that many other fantasy players won’t be betting on. So, if you were to roll the dice, you could get a leg up on the competition.
Martellus Bennett will total at least 10 fantasy points this week.
It seems as though Rob Gronkowski will still play through a hamstring issue but he could be limited, especially if the game starts getting away from the Patriots which is possible without Tom Brady running the show. The Cardinals defense has an incredible opportunity to put a hurting on Jimmy Garoppolo who didn’t look great in the preseason. Garappolo could rely on the experienced Bennet if the Pats fall behind. Bill Belichick is the kind of coach to either completely ignore a new acquisition or make him a focal point of a game plan. Bennet could be a sneaky play this weekend.