2015 Rankings: Tight Ends

Jay’s 2015 Rankings: Top-200 | Top-200 (PPR) | Top-200 (Half-PPR) | QB | RB | RB (PPR)| WR | WR (PPR) | TE | TE (PPR) | K | DST | Rookies |

Kevin’s 2015 IDP Rankings: Top-100 | DL | DB | LB

Now we’re getting to the meat and potatoes of the fantasy rankings, perfect for the protein-starch diet which has netted me zero results. While last week’s ranking extravaganza with an opening salvo of kickers and defense was such a memorable experience, in that, it wasn’t, this week, we start getting serious. But not too serious, because we are talking about tight ends, more specifically, our tight ends, which probably needs less pants. Why? Because everything needs less pants. Think about it.

It’s Gronk and Graham’s world, we’re just living in it, and there just isn’t much analyzation needed here. Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham practically share the top spot at this position. I’m going with Gronk, just slightly, but honestly, you could flip them and I wouldn’t care in the slightest. I can’t remember though, did Jimmy Graham ever play basketball?

One of the on-going discussions throughout the past several seasons was the eventual demise of Antonio Gates and the eventual rise of Ladarius Green. But in one of the few times that my homeristic love in a player has paid off (MATHEWWWWWWWWS!), my aggressive ranking of Gates last season paid off. They say luck is better than skill, and seeing as I have neither, being a Chargers fan is a close second I suppose. It seems that Green has been forever teasing us with strong athletic ability and good production in flashes, but has never found constant volume. Finally though, I could actually seeing him taking on a bigger role this year. As you can tell by the rankings, I still love Gates, and seeing as how the tight end position has a lot of spread value, the top-10 really doesn’t separate itself too much like it did in past seasons. Draft Gates confidently, but don’t expect last season’s totals. But a tick below, you’re still getting top-5 value. And do keep an eye on Green, who’s long since been forgotten. He may actually build some ground work to be a legitimate tight end option going into 2016.

A lot of people are jumping on the Zach Ertz bandwagon this season (DON’T ERTZ YOURSELF HAR HAR), and while I’m sort of okay with it, I’m still a bit hesitant to join them. All of his numbers improved accross the board from 2013 to 2014, but besides a 15 reception game against Washington, he only had over four receptions once, and had nine games with three receptions or less. I like Chip Kelly’s innovative™ offense, but there’s only so much volume there, and I don’t think it’s enough to push Ertz to the top.

Well, it’s happening. After writing about Josh Hill back in April and calling him a sleeper, the hype train is starting to fill up. I’m a bit nervous here, as he seems more like a guy to keep an eye on than to draft, but with the consensus rating being what he is, the experts are telling you that he’s certainly ownable AND draftable. If that’s the case, I’m fine going with Delanie Walker, Larry Donnell, and Dwayne Allen.

I’d keep an eye on Mychal Rivera. I realize that the Raiders have a history of being, well, the Raiders, but things are looking a bit better than they used to. I like what Derek Carr brings to the table, and if he takes a step forward this upcoming year, he’ll bring Rivera with him.

Jordan Reed, Dennis Pitta, and Vernon Davis all represent the elite tight ends from 89 years ago. Injuries are mostly to blame here, specifically for Reed and Pitta, but they may still carry name value, tempting your better senses to buy in. I’d stay far, far away.