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Frank Reich adjusted his bifocles, inhaled a deep breath filled with mile-high air, and stared endlessly into the eyes of Nathaniel Hackett. The newly-minted Denver Broncos head coach didn’t flinch. Instead, he extended his right hand, embraced Frank and whispered, “Three-pointers only. Deal.” They shook. They cackled in unison. And the rest was history: another dreadful Thursday Night Football game highlighted by zero touchdowns and a concerning brain injury on the national stage. And I’m making no joke of that last part. Once again, it was a bad look for the NFL, as Nyheim Hines sustained a hit from several Denver defenders and was unable to stand under his own power upon getting up. He was noticeably wobbly as teammates helped him off the field. His status will need to be monitored moving forward, especially since it was clear Indianpolis was going to lean on him in Jonathan Taylor’s absence — feeding him on each of the first three plays from scrimmage. But enough is enough. Here’s what else happened on Thursday night.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

In my 1-25 rankings post I recommended you not roster more than four tight ends. With this group of players, I look to fill out bench spots. You should be able to nab a starter to fill in on a bye week and a longshot high-upside player to dream on. Dreamers at this position find themselves among the top 10 if they materialize, so it is worth your time to take a shot on a profile you like. Next week, I’ll be on to the 2022 draft class, so let us button up these rankings for now.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

I have previously outlined some important college stats that help project NFL success here. In short, similar to wide receivers, a high market share is a good indicator of future fantasy relevance. However, tight ends do not have to reach the same level of market share dominance with 15% being a fine number.

Other things that are important are career yards over 1200, low forty times and weight adjusted speed scores over 107. Unfortunately at this stage in their development, we don’t know true forty times for these tight ends.

I have used age-adjusted production to identify promising candidates and will refine the rankings as we get more information leading up to the 2021 NFL draft. This is the initial devy list, but follow along as players rise and fall and new targets breakout during the 2020 season! 

Please, blog, may I have some more?