Fantasy Football 2015: Top 20 Tight Ends
#15 Larry Donnell / New York Giants / Bye Week: 11
Sep 25, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell (84) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Over the course of the last three years, quarterback Eli Manning has been throwing to a different tight end each season. Martellus Bennett in 2012, Brandon Myers in 2013 and Larry Donnell in 2014. Between them their average production per year is 55 receptions and five touchdowns. Not quite tight end #1 material in fantasy football, but solid and seemingly reliable. He’s a good player to own.
#14 Owen Daniels / Denver Broncos / Bye Week: 7
Viewed as a tight end with potentially a lot of upside now that he’ll have Peyton Manning throwing him the ball, there are questions about his ability to elevate his game at this stage of his career. Julius Thomas is off to Jacksonville, so Daniels will be the top tight end, and maybe he finds the fountain of youth and has a breakout year. You could do better for a starting tight end on your team, but you could do a lot worse for a backup.
#13 Josh Hill / New Orleans Saints / Bye Week: 11
If you’re looking for a breakout candidate, you found one in Josh Hill. With Jimmy Graham‘s trade to Seattle opening the door for Hill to be the primary tight end, he’ll have every opportunity to be the next big thing in Drew Brees‘ arsenal. He may be a guy you have to overdraft to get since your fellow owners may be trigger-happy on Hill, but he’s unproven so be patient if you can.
#12 Dwayne Allen / Indianapolis Colts / Bye Week: 10
Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen (83) in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
You know a team is doing well at the position when they have two in the top 20, and that’s exactly the case for the Indianapolis Colts. I like Allen better than his teammate Fleener because he’s on the field more often and he’s more of a red zone target. Perhaps with Gore in the backfield, more play-action opportunities could be available for Allen.
#11 Antonio Gates / San Diego Chargers / Bye Week: 10
It’s tough to keep Antonio Gates out of the top half of this list but I’m betting that father time starts to win that arm-wrestling match and his numbers dip a bit. Of course I laid down that same bet last year and he put up a 12-touchdown season that made him the second-highest scoring fantasy tight end. He’s undoubtedly Philip Rivers‘ most trusted target, especially in the red zone, but I think we’ll see a regression in his touchdowns.
Now on to the top 10.
Next: Top 20 2015 Fantasy Tight Ends: 7-10