5 next tight ends after the big 3

[DALLAScornhusker]

After the big 3 in dynasty:

Engram
OJ Howard
Hunter Henry
Ebron
Andrews
McDonald
Cook
Herndon
Fant
Njoku
Rudolph
Hooper

Eventually, the Bears and Seahawks primary TEs will have seasons to warrant their inclusion to this list, but as of today, those are behind these guys.

 

[Clayton]

Howard seems like the clear #4 to me if he ever gets his QB to throw to him on a regular basis. The targets really should be there in theory. The problem is that you have Winston who has proven not to look his way and Arians as a wild card. That bumps him down to the same range as Hockenson and Fant imo. 3 great TE talents that need some love to get where they should be.

Njoku and Henry seem safe with capped upside because of the weapons around them. They'll get the spacing needed for a certain number of targets but the weapons around them are more talented so they might get lost when it comes to handing out TDs.

Evan Engram's current 'yards per target' is only 7.3. Not very exciting unless he evolves into the next Ebron as the red zone target of choice. With Golden Tate and maybe Sterling Shepard only netting 4 or 5 Tds a year then that actually seems pretty likely. Like Ebron, though, you might assume that eventually the Giants will find better people to pass the ball to long-term.

I think I might actually like Fant the best.

 

[eaglesnut]

Howard has finished every year on IR.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Howard has finished every year on IR.

Most TEs spend time there though... and I don't know if I care about the lost time, sure, I don't want in the playoffs, but TE is the position I have the most confidence in finding on the waiver wire so late in the season(in dynasty)…

So I am unsure if I care whether he is MORE injury prone than the rest, But I don't think he is anyway....

 

[Chef99]

If I don't get top 3, I'm looking for Howard, Henry, Engram.

If I miss out on the top 6, I'll take two shots at young guys, preferably with 1-3yrs in the league already, or a vet in an appealing situation. If you have the option to wait, the top rooks would fall in this group too.

Herndon, Hooper, Njoku, Vance, Cook, Ebron/Doyle, Rudolph, Fant, Hock

But really, I want one of those top 6 for dynasty, the rest carry little value, at least today, imo. TE 7-20 are all pretty similar at the end of the day for fantasy purposes

I'm with ya on this; Howard first for me.

 

[eaglesnut]

Most TEs spend time there though... and I don't know if I care about the lost time, sure, I don't want in the playoffs, but TE is the position I have the most confidence in finding on the waiver wire so late in the season(in dynasty)…

So I am unsure if I care whether he is MORE injury prone than the rest, But I don't think he is anyway....

If you can just find one, then why draft any?

Sometimes I don't. Never sweat it.

 

[Chef99]

If you can just find one, then why draft any?

Sometimes I don't. Never sweat it.

That's actually a good point. After the first 8, TE is seriously the chopped liver of the NFL fantasy world.

 

[averagejoe]

I think you need to look at the WR to see if TE is a better option for the offense. Look at Kittle's WR as well as Kelce's. For that matter look at the WR when Walker and Olsen dominated. This may be more telling.

Just to dovetail off of my earlier comments.

Here's last year's (2018) TE leaders in receiving yards. Notice that in all cases, the TE was either the team's leading receiver or the 2nd-best receiver compared to the WR2.

George Kittle = 1387
Kendrick Bourne = 487
Dante Pettis = 465

Travis Kelce = 1336
Tyreek Hill = 1630
Sammy Watkings = 571

Zach Ertz = 1163
Alshon Jeffery = 843
Nelson Agholor = 768

Jared Cook = 896
Jordy Nelson = 737
Seth Roberts = 499

David Njoku = 639
Jarvis Landry = 1036
Antonio Callaway = 593​

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Just to dovetail off of my earlier comments.

Here's last year's (2018) TE leaders in receiving yards. Notice that in all cases, the TE was either the team's leading receiver or the 2nd-best receiver compared to the WR2.

Travis Kelce = 1336
Tyreek Hill = 1630
Sammy Watkings = 571

George Kittle = 1387
Kendrick Bourne = 487
Dante Pettis = 465

Zach Ertz = 1163
Alshon Jeffery = 843
Nelson Agholor = 768

Jared Cook = 896
Jordy Nelson = 737
Seth Roberts = 499

David Njoku = 639
Jarvis Landry = 1036
Antonio Callaway = 593​

I'd say Kelce, Kitle and Ertz are going to be the #1 in receiving targets this year for their team. The rest not so much.

 

[averagejoe]

I'd say Kelce, Kitle and Ertz are going to be the #1 in receiving targets this year for their team. The rest not so much.

That's my point actually.
If you want to find the next Kittle or Kelce, you need to look at the WR corp.

Bandit mentioned: Eric Ebron, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, O.J. Howard, David Njoku

Ebron > He's a good candidate since TY Hilton had 1270 yards. The next best WR was Chester Rodgers w/ 485.
Engram > He had the highest rookie yardage debuts in the last several years. His WR are a mess IMO. He should shine as a reliable target.
Henry > Might be a good candidate. Keenan Allen had 1196 yards. Mike and Tyrell Williams each had over 650 yards. But with Tyrell gone, Mike may eat into that yardage. Let's not forget the Chargers did ok on offense without Henry last year.
Howard > Mike Evans had 1524 yards. DJax is back and Godwin proved to be a reliable option also. Incidentally, Howard had one of the lowest redzone percentages on the team - granted, all before Arians.
Njoku > ODB and Landry should garner enough looks to make him an afterthought.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Too many rounds for a screen shot of all of them. Got another draft coming up soon, a redraft this time, winner take all.

 

[molsaniceman]

no love for this guy

Hockenson is the rare tight end coming out of college who is a weapon in the passing game and as a blocker. He's a naturally instinctive route runner with an outstanding combination of height, weight, playing speed and strength. He has exceptional ball skills.

Post-Draft Analysis
The Lions came into the draft looking to add weapons for quarterback Matthew Stafford and improve a running game that ranked 23rd in rushing yards per game last year. Adding Hockenson accomplishes both. Look for him to win the starting job early. -

 

[averagejoe]

no love for this guy

Hockenson is the rare tight end coming out of college who is a weapon in the passing game and as a blocker. He's a naturally instinctive route runner with an outstanding combination of height, weight, playing speed and strength. He has exceptional ball skills.

Post-Draft Analysis
The Lions came into the draft looking to add weapons for quarterback Matthew Stafford and improve a running game that ranked 23rd in rushing yards per game last year. Adding Hockenson accomplishes both. Look for him to win the starting job early. -

The very mention that he has blocking skills is enough to make me skeptical that he'll be a receiving threat.

 

[molsaniceman]

The very mention that he has blocking skills is enough to make me skeptical that he'll be a receiving threat.

jones/golladay/amendola they will need him let the outlaw block jesse james

 

[averagejoe]

jones/golladay/amendola they will need him let the outlaw block jesse james

They'll need him alright.... to block for Stafford.... sorry if I sound cynical, but unless this guy is the reincarnation of Megatron, we are talking about the Lions.

Spoiler

Sorry Obx, Smitty & Stomp

 

[leftypower]

They'll need him alright.... to block for Stafford.... sorry if I sound cynical, but unless this guy is the reincarnation of Megatron, we are talking about the Lions.

Sadly, I have to agree with this since the guy is talented - - but they started run first last yr, said that was their plan, and built on it in the draft so I don't have high expectations for anyone in the passing game. ....

 

[tlance]

The very mention that he has blocking skills is enough to make me skeptical that he'll be a receiving threat.

The fact that he has blocking skills means he is a lot more likely to produce as a a rookie than most TEs.

Howard was also a complete TE with an all around skills set coming out of college and he played a lot as a rookie too

 

[tlance]

Sadly, I have to agree with this since the guy is talented - - but they started run first last yr, said that was their plan, and built on it in the draft so I don't have high expectations for anyone in the passing game. ....

Yes, I see your point.

But to play the TE position at the NFL level you have to be able to block too. The fact that he can block leads me to believe he will be on the field. And you have to be on the field to produce.

 

[The Foot]

This is a great topic bandit. In my opinion the next best after these three would be njoku. With the addition of obj teams will never be able to cover njoku properly. Even though there is another mouth to feed I can see Baker taking the easy target in njoku.

After that I'd say Vance McDonald in Pitt since there will be a ton of targets available with ab and bell gone.

After that I really couldn't say.

 

[The Foot]

My sure fire advice: "make sure you get one of the top three"