Sometimes rankings aren’t enough. Don’t have much time before your draft? Here’s a quick rundown for some of the later round TE picks in 2015:
The number one consensus tight end is clearly Gronk followed by Olsen, Grahm and Kelce, but after that the water gets murky.
Julius Thomas — No longer a part of the Bronco’s offense, Thomas will be catching passes from Blake Bortles this year. Last year, Bortles and the Jaguars ranked last in total points. You can already see where this is going, but Thomas gained most of his 2014 fantasy points from his 12 touchdowns that he reeled in from Peyton. The Jaguars only had 15 receiving touchdowns in 2014 and Thomas’ fantasy value will not only suffer from it, but he will also be out for the first 4 games with a finger injury. Even though he is talented there are too many factors pointing to a down season.
Zach Ertz — Chip Kelly loves Brent Celek and that is bad news for Ertz. Last season Celek played 70% of the Eagles snaps while Ertz was only in the mix 50% of the plays. It looks like Celek will continue to be the lead tight end in 2015 as Ertz is recovering from a groin injury and is questionable to even play in week one. He ranked 17th among tight ends last year and is expected to fall into that range again.
Owen Daniels — It has been two years since Daniels has had a good fantasy season and he is only getting older. Yet this year might be an up one, since he will be receiving the ball from Peyton Manning. Although Daniels will have to share the field with Virgil Green, he has the potential for some big games. Don’t expect consistency from week to week, but he will make a splash from time to time throughout the season.
Delanie Walker — Last year he averaged 7.5 fantasy points per game and had a career high 890 receiving yards. He should have a clear upgrade at quarterback now that Marcus Mariota has taken the reigns. You can expect him to come close if not exceed his 2014 career marks.
Tyler Eifert — The reports from training camp have been great. Eifert should be able to get open plenty with the opponent’s defenses worrying about A.J. Green. He has the possibility to end the season with the second most targets on the team. He has TE1 upside and compared to many of the tight ends going ahead of him he is a great value pick late in the draft.
Larry Donnell — Donnell is being selected as the 25th tight end option and while last season was a rollercoaster he was able to hand out a few big games. He finished the season as the 11th best tight end and should out perform his ADP. Eli has never had a tight end out of the top 20 and with Victor Cruz still questionable, Donnell could become a more reliable option in the Giant’s offence.
Jordan Cameron — Cameron looks like a good pick, because of his talent and his move into a vastly superior offense. Two years ago he was a top 4 fantasy tight end and could do the same in 2015 if he stays healthy. It’s too bad that staying healthy is a questionable prospect for Cameron. He hasn’t played a full 16 games in all four of his years in the league. He has had three concussions in the last two years and has TE1 upside, but it comes at a high price for the risk associated with him.
Dwayne Allen — A touchdown-scoring machine Allen has scored touchdowns in 9 of the last 13 games he played. He is being drafted as a TE1, but know that touchdowns are a fluky thing. If the touchdowns dry up, so will his fantasy value. He is in a timeshare with Coby Fleener and won’t see enough targets to make him a TE1 without touchdowns. He is a decent pick if you believe the red zone looks will keep coming.
Heath Miller — Miller is turning 33 this year and his ceiling can’t compare to other tight ends. He has only had four touchdowns and broke 10 fantasy points only two times in the last two seasons. He should have another mediocre season, but don’t expect him to win your matchups week to week.