The free agency period and NFL draft has come and gone, rookies are being signed, and teams are actually taking the field. All this means is that not only are we closer to baseball season being over (thank you!), but it’s time for fantasy football (it’s a year-round thing for some of us. Shhhhh, please don’t tell my wife…)
The rankings are starting to tumble out here at Razzball, and the most recent was the tight end position (Non-PPR Rankings, PPR Rankings). The first thing I did with the newly released rankings was start digging for players that I feel are being ranked lower than they should be. I know it’s nothing new, but I am all about finding those draft day bargains. I want to try and get maximum value for each one of my draft selections. With all that being said, I am going to shine some light on three players that will bring much more in return compared to their current rank. I will be focusing on the PPR ranks and 12-team leagues, being that is what the Razzball Commentary Leagues (RCL) will be using for scoring.
The first player that jumps out is Martellus Bennett. And I want to focus on the 10 games that he was catching passes from Jay Cutler. In these 10 games, he (Bennett) posted 4.7 catches, 54.9 yards with 0.3 touchdowns and a healthy 6.6 targets. Not only are those top 10 numbers, but a key stat to focus on is the targets. He would have been the sixth most targeted player at his position. Right now, Jay has him as the 16th ranked tight end. If I miss out on a Jimmy Graham or Julius Thomas (I really like both of them) with a top-36 pick, I am coming around to the idea of holding off on the group of Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen, Dennis Pitta, Jordan Reed and Jason Witten. Instead, I will use that draft pick on a running back or wide receiver and pick up the “Black Unicorn” once I get into the double digit rounds of my draft.
The next player is Garret Graham. The Houston Texans was forced to insert him (Graham) as the primary tight end with the injury to Owen Daniels (week 5). From weeks 6-14 (did not play final three weeks), he produced 4.3 catches, for 50.5 yards, with .3 touchdowns and 8.4 targets per game. Just like the player above him (Bennett), he was giving us top 10 numbers and was a major part of the passing game. In fact, he would have been the second most targeted tight end in the NFL. Right now, Jay has him as the 24th tight end. I do have to caution that I do not expect him to see that many targets. That being said, he will be in an offense that will use it’s tight ends, so I can see him getting around six targets (top-12) a game. I like him as a solid TE2 option with the upside to represent more at this position.
This final player is Marcedes Lewis, and I know, I know, he’s part of the Jacksonville Jaguars prolific passing attack (wink-wink). But, before you stop reading, I want to bring to your attention his final eight games for this last year. In this stretch of games, the services of Justin Blackmon were not available (due to injury), so Lewis was a bigger factor in the passing game. He did not let this opportunity go to waste, and had a stat line of 2.9 catches, 40.3 yards, 0.5 touchdowns with 5.1 targets. He had one touchdown in half of the games and was targeted at least six times in five of the games. Right now, Jay has him ranked as the 28th tight end. Not only did he produce top 12 numbers for his position with Blackmon not on the field, but the Jags are not expecting to have him (Blackmon) as an option this year. I expect to get quality TE2 numbers with room for more and I can 100% guarantee, he will not cost you a draft pick.
Alright, I have just given you three players that are being overlooked by Jay, but I believe that’s a mistake. They have showed that they can produce, whether it is with a certain quarterback, getting the additional snaps or the subtraction of another option on the outside. I hope that you don’t make that mistake and instead take advantage of the value each one of them can represent on draft day.
As always any comments, other players that you feel are being overlooked, or just want to talk fantasy football are weclomed. You can hit me up in the comment section or on twitter (@FwDorD)
