Article Written By: Andre Datyelian
UPI/Bruce Gordon
This is part three of my post-Super Bowl rankings I decided to share for this coming season. Whether you’re in a dynasty league looking to make moves, in a very early re-draft league, or just studying early to be ahead of your opponents, this list should help you. If you missed part one (QB’s) it’s here and part two (RB’s) is here as well
(http://alloutsportsnetwork.com/2014/02/10/2014-early-fantasy-football-top-20-rankings-qb-edition/ )
Pending any injuries, this should be an accurate list of rankings.
|
2014 TE Rankings |
|
| Jimmy Graham | Everyone’s unanimous number one Tight End. He’s in his own tier when it comes to fantasy football. The only TE worth a first round pick just because of the gap between him and every other TE available. |
| Julius Thomas | As long as Manning is there, Julius will be a TD threat. With Decker gone, it will make more targets available, could increase production out of Julius. |
| Vernon Davis | His talent level lands him here. His speed and skill is mostly unrivaled on the field but the only reason he’s not higher is because of the low volume passing of the 49ers. If he had more targets he could be fighting for number one. |
| Rob Gronkowski | When on the field we know what he can do. The only problem is he’s been struggling to get on the field recently. Make sure to have a good back up if you take Gronk this year. |
| Jason Witten | His age may be a problem but he’s Mr. consistent and Romo is still running the offense so expect Witten to get his usual catch total. |
| Jordan Cameron | Lost in the Josh Gordon rise is Jordan Cameron, he’s young and talented on a terrible offense. If he was able to put up relevant numbers with all the different quarterbacks they had last year imagine what he can do if they draft someone with skill. Expect a rise in stats this season. |
| Jordan Reed | Another young talented skill position for Washington to work with. The change in coaching should be a positive for him. He is part of the theme of new young TE’s who have talent but their systems will decide their fate. |
| Greg Olsen | His upside isn’t what it used to be but so far he’s still the number two option on that team so expect good returns if you invest in him. |
| Ladarius Green | Green has the talent, QB, and system to be a star for the next decade. The only issue is Gates still presence looms and, although there are enough targets in this system for both of them, he won’t become a star until Gates is gone. |
| Martellus Bennett | He’s the fourth option on this team but this team is loaded. He’ll never get enough targets to make a huge difference for your team but his red zone targets help his value. |
| Dennis Pitta | He was expected to break out last year until he suffered a season long injury. Not sure what team he’ll end up on but expect him to begin his break out this year. |
| Zach Ertz | This is more out of situation that Ertz is ranked this high. Yes he shares time with Celek, but Celek is more of the blocking back leaving less dirty work for Ertz and more opportunities to catch touchdown passes, which he proved he could do. |
| Antonio Gates | You won’t believe this but last year he had 77 catches for 872 yards and 4 TDs. Not really the slouch that people think he is. He’s on the downturn of his career, though, and that’s why he’s ranked so low. |
| Tyler Eifert | He’s got a lot of talent but he has too many weapons on his team for him to get enough targets to show his talent. Plus his new OC will switch to a run style offense. |
| Dwayne Allen | Clearly better than Fleener if he stays he should dominate Fleener for touches on the offense. |
| Kyle Rudolph | He’s on a terrible offense. Not much he can do but wait until the Vikings fix their QB situation. A lot of potential in this one, keep him stashed in dynasty leagues. |
| Heath Miller | He was the Alfred Morris of TE’s. He put up his yardage numbers but couldn’t get touchdowns. Expect him to put up better numbers this year especially with his health back. I would consider him getting close to being a low end TE 1. |
| Robert Housler | Last year he was my sleeper to become good especially since Palmer joined the squad, but I was wrong. He still has talent but not the situation yet. |
| Coby Fleener | He continues to get snaps regardless of the fact he hasn’t taken advantage of his chances. Eventually the coaching staff should realize who is the better back. |
| Tim Wright | A very small TE who plays more like a wide receiver, which works to his advantage for some reason. Don’t question it. |
| Jared Cook | He’s a sleeper every year. Last year most people thought Bradford and the Rams were his answer to breakout but turns out we were wrong. Still waiting for consistency with this guy. |
| Charles Clay | He’s a solid player but, with the situation in Miami, who knows what will happen there. |
This coming season, my draft strategy when dealing with TE’s is: if I don’t get Graham in the first round, I will wait for around the 4th or 5th round and take whoever is available because of the limited amount of great TE’s. It’s important to have that advantage because the difference between great and good in TE’s is larger than any other position.
Tune in soon for my Wide Receiver’s rankings.
Facebook Comments Box
[…] This is part three of my post-Super bowl rankings I decided to share for this coming season. Whether you’re in a dynasty league looking to make moves, in a very early re-draft league, or just studying early to be ahead of your opponents this list should help you. If you missed part one (QB’s) click HERE, part two (RB’s) click HERE, and part three (TE’s) click HERE. […]