What a mess. This position has officially become Highlander because there really can be only one. You know exactly which one, don’t even bother asking. Writing this list is gonna make me hate Tight Ends more than any man should. It wasn’t even a Tale of Two Cities because even at the best of times, it was the worst of times. For all the promise of talent, I’m not certain many lived up to it. Don’t make me even talk about Zach Sudfeld…but I’m already depressing you and we haven’t even started. If there was ever a position to stream moving forward, TE would be the place. Though I haven’t done the numbers, I’d bet there were way more ‘out of nowhere’ top 10 TE finishes in 2013 than at any other skill or QB position. It’s all about matchups save for a few of these guys so my stance of not overspending on TE still stands, but hopefully I get myself roped into the right late rounder in 2014. Ugh, let’s just get this over with. Here’s the Top 20 Tight Ends from the 2013 Fantasy Football season…
Stats based on receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Rankings based on a PPR setting.
1. Jimmy Graham – Graham, cracker, CRUNCH! I haven’t even looked at the actual final rankings on Yahoo because I don’t need to. He was and still is the man. He’s a wide receiver pretending he’s a tight end and it’s glorious. Preseason Rank #1, 2013 Projections: 95/1250/11/0/0. Final Numbers: 86/1215/16/0/0
2. Vernon Davis – Gotta love touchdowns, especially ones that let you say ‘VD gets a TD’. I’m a little shocked that Davis finished as second best. I guess because I didn’t draft a TE very high this year most of these numbers are gonna surprise me. Yeah, I don’t really want to have a long post about these guys, if you can’t tell. Preseason Rank #7, 2013 Projections: 71/937/6/0/0. Final Numbers: 52/850/13/0/0
3. Julius Thomas – Welcome to next year’s #2 ranked TE unless Gronk surprises us all by being a full go at the start of the season – unlikely – or Peyton decides his Papa John’s business is more lucrative than his football career – unlikely times 1000. Man, now I wanna go to the mall and get an Orange Julius and a slice of pizza from Sbarro…Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 65/788/12/0/0
4. Tony Gonzalez – Not the year he turned in from 2012 but definitely not as low as I thought he would’ve gone, I’d have to say if this was Tony’s version of a ‘it’s time to retire’ season, he could probably have about 3 or 4 more and make plenty of fantasy owners happy. Preseason Rank #4, 2013 Projections: 78/772/7/0/0. Final Numbers: 83/859/8/0/0
5. Jordan Cameron – It’s all about perspective. On the one hand, his ranking feels false because of how much he failed you after about five or six games to start the year. On the other, Cam went late enough for you to bulk up at other positions early on so his drop off should’ve been fixed by the uptick in surrounding players. Key word being ‘should’ve’. If you’re sore about it…ice up, son! Preseason Rank #21, 2013 Projections: 59/696/5/0/0. Final Numbers: 80/917/7/0/0
6. Jason Witten – I can remember maybe two games where I said to myself, ‘man, I really wish I had drafted Jason Witten’. But those thoughts were so fleeting, I can’t even tell you the weeks except for one: week 17. Yes, one of his biggest weeks came when few people even needed the stats. Given his age and the young Escobar behind him, I wouldn’t be surprised by a slight fade next year. Preseason Rank #3, 2013 Projections: 88/889/4/0/0. Final Numbers: 73/851/8/0/0
7. Charles Clay – So THIS is what I might’ve gotten from drafting Keller late…good to know! I had Keller as one of those ‘great late round TE grabs’ lists and it’s bittersweet to be talking about Charles in his stead. Because I didn’t rank him, I’ll just say you cashed in on Clay if you nabbed him. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 69/759/6/15/1
8. Greg Olsen – Here’s what I said about Greg in the Top 20 Tight End rankings to begin the year. ‘Olsen is solid..but still don’t feel Cam is a trustworthy source for WR/TE breakout potential to rate He-Man any higher’. It’s nice to know you can count on production but there’s 3 TEs ranked above him that were either undrafted or late round picks so…yup. Preseason Rank #9, 2013 Projections: 66/818/6/0/0. Final Numbers: 73/816/6/0/0
9. Antonio Gates – Twas a better year than I expected but was it really all that great? Sorry, once we hit Clay, I started thinking about how much streaming was a better option. Not undercutting what Gates did – it was his first full season since 2009 – but really, the statline was replaceable with matchups most weeks and his TE partner in crime Ladarius started stealing his end zone thunder, especially down the stretch. Again, if you drafted him, did you feel all that great you did? Preseason Rank #13, 2013 Projections: 55/649/6/0/0. Final Numbers: 77/872/4/0/0
10. Martellus Bennett – In defense of ranking the Black Unicorn very low in my original rankings, I wasn’t quite sure just how much the TE would be used in the new offense and the old offense with Davis at TE didn’t hold over much promise from 2012. Then again, I just said TEs became streamable at about Clay so whatevs. Here’s your TE that you didn’t hold onto all year but finished top 10 at his position. Yay. Preseason Rank #18, 2013 Projections: 45/594/4/0/0. Final Numbers: 65/759/5/0/0
11. Jared Cook – Oh, real funny Jared. One good week. That’s all you gave us. About 21% of his yardage game in the first game of the year. Now if it had been the last one, it wouldn’t have been as painful but when you start the year like that, you make us hold you close to our hearts, Jared. You wanna know how I send flowers to my mother? Through FTE. Preseason Rank #5, 2013 Projections: 65/851/7/0/0. Final Numbers: 51/671/5/0/0
12. Delanie Walker – Hey, he started for a team that had a poor passing attack and was very conservative. Of course he’d end up finish near this area. Does it make it that exciting? Eh, not so much. Walker on from Delanie in 2014. Preseason Unranked, 2013 Projections: 48/566/3/0/0. Final Numbers: 60/571/6/0/0
13. Coby Fleener – Much like TY had his opportunity when Wayne went down, Coby got his when Allen went out. Dwayne Allen went down game 1 of the year and you got this. How excited are we for 2014 here, people! Preseason Unranked, 2013 Projections: 45/729/2/0/0. Final Numbers: 52/608/4/0/0
14. Brent Celek – Do I even have to say anything? He finished 15% owned in yahoo leagues. Yeah, think that sums it up just right. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 32/502/6/0/0
15. Rob Gronkowski – As I’ve said many times after 1 minute of love-making with my wife, ‘oh what could’ve been’. In only 7 games, a still not 100% Gronk finished this high on the charts. It’s both a sign of how good Rob is and how bad TE is at the same time. Preseason Rank #2, 2013 Projections: 78/1107/12/0/0. Final Numbers: 39/592/4/0/0
16. Garrett Graham – I have a funny feeling if I added up all of Garrett’s, Ryan Griffin’s and Owen Daniel’s fantasy points on the year, that duct-taped TE would’ve been top 7, maybe even top 5. But as the Human Centipede once taught us, you can’t sew people together and expect to get away with it. Eh, what was I talking about? Oh, right TEs. Just sew my mouth onto someone else’s TE and crap in it this point, I’d prefer it over this. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 49/545/4/0/0
17. Tim Wright – With Mike Glennon at the helm, it looked like for a while that Wright would be a top flight TE. Unfortch, Glennon turned back into the Napoleon Dynamite-looking QB that Foles once got tabbed with and it was VJax or bust for most of the rest of the year. If Glennon progresses any in 2014, Wright might be intriguing. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 54/571/5/2/0
18. Brandon Myers – Seriously? When…just when was this even true. I thought they put him at RB at one point. No wait, that was Peyton Hillis. And the biggest question is, how much of a difference is there. Preseason Rank #10, 2013 Projections: 61/701/7/0/0. Final Numbers: 47/522/4/0/0
19. Scott Chandler – Zzzzzzzz…uh, mmm-huh? Mommy? Is it feeding time? Please close the cellar door, it’s too bright…woah, where’d I go. Must’ve been sleep typing. Oh, we’re talking about the 19th best TE. Back to sleep goes me. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 53/655/2/0/0
20. Zach Ertz – Well at least it ends on a slightly exciting note. Ertz’ role grew as the course of the season wore on and became a bit of a red zone target for Foles near the end. Depending on who comes into Philly as a 2nd or 3rd WR, Ertz might shine in 2014. Preseason Unranked. Final Numbers: 36/469/4/0/0
