Fantasy Football: Tight End Rankings
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Tier 2: Reliable Starters
These guys should all get you close to double-digit points every week. They are all established players with out much upside but high floors.
Jordan Cameron, Browns – Had a breakout year with 80 catches, 917 yards, and 7 TDs but…. TE guru Norv Tunrer is no longer in Cleveland and #1 target Josh Gordon isn’t either. That could mean a less TE friendly scheme and more defensive attention for Cameron since the Browns have literally no good WRs without Gordon. Cameron is a great athlete, but I am skeptical that he will come close to his numbers last season and am probably staying away from him at his current ADP (6th round).
Jason Witten, Cowboys – Old reliable is still good for around 5 catches a game, 800 yards and around 5-6 TDs. Its not exciting but Dallas will be throwing the ball constantly and Witten is still Romo’s safety valve and will finish somewhere in the 4-8 ranking range like he always does.
Vernon Davis, 49ers – Don’t let his 13 TDs last year fool you into drafting Davis early. TDs aren’t consistent year-to-year and with Crabtree back and Stevie Johnson in the mix, I think Davis will lose a few targets. You can’t draft him expecting 13 TDs, about half that number is realistic so draft him accordingly.
Dennis Pitta, Ravens: The Ravens offense finished 29th last season, it wasn’t all due to Pitta being gone but Flacco clearly missed his safety valve receiver. If Pitta can stay healthy this year he should be good for 75 catches, 800 yards, and 7 TDs. Pitta doesn’t have the athleticism or upside of Reed, Ertz, or even the Black Unicorn, but he has reliable hands and a QB that looks for him often. That should be good enough for a ranking somewhere in the 5-7 range.
Greg Olsen, Panthers – He’s getting a lot of attention due to the fact that the Panthers have no established receivers, but Jerricho Cotchery actually had more catches and TDs than Olsen and rookie Kelvin Benjamin has been Newtons’ favorite target so far in the preseason. Olsen has put up a consistent 70, 800, 6 over the last two seasons and I think that’s about his ceiling. If Newton’s rib injury is more serious that they are saying… Olsen could be a dud.