Fantasy Football News and Rumors

[molsaniceman]

speaking of TEs
coming to a football field near u
be interesting to see where he goes

Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia​

Accruing 119 catches for 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns across his first two seasons, Brock Bowers is on a collision course with Round 1 capital. The Georgia offense has always been proficient at giving Bowers space, but he makes the most of it with his instant acceleration, zone awareness, contact balance, and vice-grip hands at the high point.

 

[TREFF]

speaking of TEs
coming to a football field near u
be interesting to see where he goes

Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia​

Accruing 119 catches for 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns across his first two seasons, Brock Bowers is on a collision course with Round 1 capital. The Georgia offense has always been proficient at giving Bowers space, but he makes the most of it with his instant acceleration, zone awareness, contact balance, and vice-grip hands at the high point.

Yeah, many good looking TE's have entered/will be entering the picture recently. But it just takes forever to see if they'll ever get there. Noah Fant was supposed to be great, Njoku was heralded, Geisiki, OJ Howard, even the great Kyle Pitts has been mostly a let down. It took Tj Hockensen 2+ years to be anything more than a desperation play.. And I would expect that of the most recent bunch - McBride, Woods, Dulcich, Kincaid, LaPorta, Mayer- maybe 1-2 of them ever really get there, and we'd be lucky if it happens prior to 2025 season. Currently, the best of the very most recent guys, is I. Likely, who up until mid season, no one knew of, nor cared about, being the 9th TE taken in 2022. Very tough position to forecast. The willingness and/or ability to block and work in line is the only key I've found to ensure playing time for all these would be studs. If they can't or won't block, there aren't many coaches who will let them play much, if at all. No matter how good they are at catching the ball.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

Currently, the best of the very most recent guys, is I. Likely, who up until mid season, no one knew of, nor cared about, being the 9th TE taken in 2022.

team Chig over here if we're talking about no-name TEs that showed us a little pop as rookies that made them worthy of stashing on dynasty rosters

 

[TREFF]

team Chig over here if we're talking about no-name TEs that showed us a little pop as rookies that made them worthy of stashing on dynasty rosters

sadly, yes- a dude who only broke more than 4 catches once, and only broke 60 yards receiving once-oddly they weren't even the same game- and only scored 3 TD's, is enough to get hopes up for those of us desperate at TE (or looking to hold other desperate owners' feet to the fire in a trade).

Shockingly, upon further review- Isiah Likely's numbers aren't much more impressive, he just looked smoother doing it- leading me to believe those numbers were better than they actually were..ughh, probably fragged that trade, eh?

 

[Clayton]

I strongly suspect Brock Bowers will be more popular with the fans than with NFL teams in the draft process. He has great body control, decent hands...but if he is only 6'4 230 and he isn't a blocking TE then I suspect many teams wont have a 1st round grade on him.

That said, from a fantasy perspective, Bowers dropping to a good team is an ideal situation.

I also really like Waller on the Giants next year and there really isnt any data backing that up. Just a talented guy still in his prime upgrading coaches and in a good position to get targets. Drafting a mid tier TE just always seems like a bad idea, though.

 

[eaglesnut]

sadly, yes- a dude who only broke more than 4 catches once, and only broke 60 yards receiving once-oddly they weren't even the same game- and only scored 3 TD's, is enough to get hopes up for those of us desperate at TE (or looking to hold other desperate owners' feet to the fire in a trade).

Shockingly, upon further review- Isiah Likely's numbers aren't much more impressive, he just looked smoother doing it- leading me to believe those numbers were better than they actually were..ughh, probably fragged that trade, eh?

I'd like to see some updated content on the age of TEs and their production. Seems to be age 26 before you can count on anything. Njoku flashed at age 22, but took him until age 26 to flash again. Not a lot of meat on some of these bones.

 

[averagejoe]

I'd like to see some updated content on the age of TEs and their production. Seems to be age 26 before you can count on anything. Njoku flashed at age 22, but took him until age 26 to flash again. Not a lot of meat on some of these bones.

homework. Not sure if this is what you're looking for....

Only went back 5 seasons. 2018 thru 2022

In the last 5 seasons, 12 TE have had over 1000 receiving yards. The average age of those 12 is 28 even. (Kelce has surpassed 1000 yards in all 5 seasons.) The youngest TE was Kyle Pitts in 2021 at age 21.
Next in the 800-999 yard group, there were 9 TE in the last 5 seasons. Their average age was 27.4. The oldest was Gronk (32) in 2021. The youngest was Mark Andrews (24) in 2019.

Of the top 10 TE from each of the last 5 seasons (yardage only), the average age was 27.1.
If you remove only Travis Kelce, the average age of the top 9 TE from the last 5 seasons is 26.6.
Of those 50 TE (5 season x top 10), ten of them are 30 or older.
The remaining 40 TE have an average age of 26 even.

TE age groups with 500 yards or more in the last 5 seasons:
21 year-olds (1) Kyle Pitts
22 (4)
23 (4)
24 (11)
25 (10)
26 (13)
27 (10)
28 (9)
29 (8)
30 (1)
31 (4)
32 (4)
33 (2)
34 (2)
35 (none)
36 (none)
37 (1) Jason Witten

 

[TREFF]

homework. Not sure if this is what you're looking for....

Only went back 5 seasons. 2018 thru 2022

In the last 5 seasons, 12 TE have had over 1000 receiving yards. The average age of those 12 is 28 even. (Kelce has surpassed 1000 yards in all 5 seasons.) The youngest TE was Kyle Pitts in 2021 at age 21.
Next in the 800-999 yard group, there were 9 TE in the last 5 seasons. Their average age was 27.4. The oldest was Gronk (32) in 2021. The youngest was Mark Andrews (24) in 2019.

Of the top 10 TE from each of the last 5 seasons (yardage only), the average age was 27.1.
If you remove only Travis Kelce, the average age of the top 9 TE from the last 5 seasons is 26.6.
Of those 50 TE (5 season x top 10), ten of them are 30 or older.
The remaining 40 TE have an average age of 26 even.

TE age groups with 500 yards or more in the last 5 seasons:
21 year-olds (1) Kyle Pitts
22 (4)
23 (4)
24 (11)
25 (10)
26 (13)
27 (10)
28 (9)
29 (8)
30 (1)
31 (4)
32 (4)
33 (2)
34 (2)
35 (none)
36 (none)
37 (1) Jason Witten

Look at my boy the hatless horseman getting it done at damned near 40!

Goof stuff Joe

 

[averagejoe]

After losely going through the TE stats, sure you can focus on the 24 to 27 age range as a productive age.
But these stats dont seem any more or less telliing imo. Kelce is a freak. Like Gonzalez was. Like Gronk was. The #2 thru "whatever" TE varies just as much as the WR or RB position from year to year.
Plus, some teams dont put scheming the TE into the offense as a priority as other teams do. Could be a weak WR core. Could be the OC's decision.

 

[molsaniceman]

I strongly suspect Brock Bowers will be more popular with the fans than with NFL teams in the draft process. He has great body control, decent hands...but if he is only 6'4 230 and he isn't a blocking TE then I suspect many teams wont have a 1st round grade on him.

That said, from a fantasy perspective, Bowers dropping to a good team is an ideal situation.

I also really like Waller on the Giants next year and there really isnt any data backing that up. Just a talented guy still in his prime upgrading coaches and in a good position to get targets. Drafting a mid tier TE just always seems like a bad idea, though.

not sure where u get bowers isnt a good blocker

Outside of Caleb Williams, Brock Bowers has the best case for top returning player in America

The Georgia tight end is already in elite company, and there's an argument that he's the sport's top player entering 2023.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Before you say “well, he’s really just a receiver playing tight end,” let me ask you this: Have you watched how much pride Bowers takes in blocking? This was the guy that Georgia coaches were comparing to George Kittle before he ever played a college game. It shows. Of the 10 FBS tight ends who played at least 810 snaps in 2022, Bowers was the only tight end with a PFF run blocking grade north of 70.0 (it was 73.8). Bowers actually had the No. 10 run-blocking grade among Power 5 tight ends, which is an insane thing to comprehend with how well he does everything else.

 

[eaglesnut]

After losely going through the TE stats, sure you can focus on the 24 to 27 age range as a productive age.
But these stats dont seem any more or less telliing imo. Kelce is a freak. Like Gonzalez was. Like Gronk was. The #2 thru "whatever" TE varies just as much as the WR or RB position from year to year.
Plus, some teams dont put scheming the TE into the offense as a priority as other teams do. Could be a weak WR core. Could be the OC's decision.

Is 24 productive for any of the non-top guys?

Seems like by age 26 you can get a TE breaking out from almost anywhere. Waller did nothing until he was 27. He's a rare case, but not the only example.

Vernon Davis was drafted near the top and did nothing until age 25. Julius Thomas was a nobody and shot out of a cannon at age 25.

 

[Clayton]

not sure where u get bowers isnt a good blocker

Outside of Caleb Williams, Brock Bowers has the best case for top returning player in America

The Georgia tight end is already in elite company, and there's an argument that he's the sport's top player entering 2023.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Before you say “well, he’s really just a receiver playing tight end,” let me ask you this: Have you watched how much pride Bowers takes in blocking? This was the guy that Georgia coaches were comparing to George Kittle before he ever played a college game. It shows. Of the 10 FBS tight ends who played at least 810 snaps in 2022, Bowers was the only tight end with a PFF run blocking grade north of 70.0 (it was 73.8). Bowers actually had the No. 10 run-blocking grade among Power 5 tight ends, which is an insane thing to comprehend with how well he does everything else.

Some guy named Jeff Risdon from USAtoday:

Bowers is much more of a supersized slot receiver labeled as a tight end than a traditional TE. Listed by Georgia at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he’s a receiving specialist in the vein of 2023 Bills first-rounder Dalton Kincaid or a smaller version of Falcons’ 2021 first-rounder, Kyle Pitts.

Neither Pitts nor Kincaid was noted for their blocking prowess. Yet at the same point in the process, I’d give the blocking edge to both of them over Bowers. He’s got to improve significantly at technique, tenacity and strength to become even average as a run blocker in the slot. No. 19 is often effective as a one-hit blocker in space, but sustaining and driving are just not clubs Bowers has in his bag right now.

It’s difficult to envision Bowers ever being successful as an inline blocking presence at the next level. He’s just not physically built like that, but Bowers can still improve his initial hand placement; he’s often both late and high with his hands.

Bowers also stays too narrow as a blocker, which makes his lack of bulk and power even more of an issue. His feet are often too close together, and Bowers also gets too upright when engaging targets in space. Those are technical issues that can be coached into improvement.

Again, teams aren’t going to draft Bowers for his blocking at tight end. But he can improve upon it nonetheless.

That said, PFF is usually pretty good in this regard. His blocking is going to dictate where he gets drafted because we know he can catch and we know he isnt Kyle Pitts.

 

[TREFF]

Some guy named Jeff Risdon from USAtoday:

Bowers is much more of a supersized slot receiver labeled as a tight end than a traditional TE. Listed by Georgia at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he’s a receiving specialist in the vein of 2023 Bills first-rounder Dalton Kincaid or a smaller version of Falcons’ 2021 first-rounder, Kyle Pitts.

Neither Pitts nor Kincaid was noted for their blocking prowess. Yet at the same point in the process, I’d give the blocking edge to both of them over Bowers. He’s got to improve significantly at technique, tenacity and strength to become even average as a run blocker in the slot. No. 19 is often effective as a one-hit blocker in space, but sustaining and driving are just not clubs Bowers has in his bag right now.

It’s difficult to envision Bowers ever being successful as an inline blocking presence at the next level. He’s just not physically built like that, but Bowers can still improve his initial hand placement; he’s often both late and high with his hands.

Bowers also stays too narrow as a blocker, which makes his lack of bulk and power even more of an issue. His feet are often too close together, and Bowers also gets too upright when engaging targets in space. Those are technical issues that can be coached into improvement.

Again, teams aren’t going to draft Bowers for his blocking at tight end. But he can improve upon it nonetheless.

That said, PFF is usually pretty good in this regard. His blocking is going to dictate where he gets drafted because we know he can catch and we know he isnt Kyle Pitts.

That's pretty much what I was thinking to...blocking in space..generally on a nickel back, is vastly different than being in 'inline' TE, being asked to 'set the edge' against DE's or edge rushers.
And the way organizations compile the obscure metrics and rankings for college players is questionable at best. Remember Leonard Fournette breaking the record for 'missed tackles forced'..or whatever the term was? No idea what criteria was used there...no idea what criteria would be used to rate a TE's blocking, nor how one would compare a block in space vs a block on the edge, and determine who did it better.

 

[averagejoe]

Here's more TE stuff....

How does each NFL divvy up their passes?
Of course, each team my vary in their number of passing attempts, but this chart shows how each position is targeted.
Same data, but I sorted the TE position on the right image.

 

[TREFF]

Here's more TE stuff....

How does each NFL divvy up their passes?
Of course, each team my vary in their number of passing attempts, but this chart shows how each position is targeted.
Same data, but I sorted the TE position on the right image.

View attachment 332766

Wow..check out the Eggles...70% to AJ Brown, Smith and co...a paltry 18% to the TE, and they've got a dude like Goedart..and their entire RB room also excells in the passing game, and they only got 12..and the 4th lowest passing percentage in the league at just a fraction over 50% of the time. Poor Goedart.

 

[averagejoe]

Wow..check out the Eggles...70% to AJ Brown, Smith and co...a paltry 18% to the TE, and they've got a dude like Goedart..and their entire RB room also excells in the passing game, and they only got 12..and the 4th lowest passing percentage in the league at just a fraction over 50% of the time. Poor Goedart.

The one that jumped out at me is Buffalo. All those ecstatic rookie Kincaid owners last month...

 

[wilwhite]

The one that jumped out at me is Buffalo. All those ecstatic rookie Kincaid owners last month...

Gotta wonder, though - does the team’s scheme drive player performance, or does a player’s performance drive the team’s scheme?

It’s a stew, of course. But look at RB receptions for both the Panthers and Niners with/without McCaffrey.

 

[TREFF]

The one that jumped out at me is Buffalo. All those ecstatic rookie Kincaid owners last month...

Well peeps should've known that Knox never got volume, that was pretty clear.
Goedart is a little surprising considering his points scored status. He must've been ultra efficient.

 

[Bandit]

Well peeps should've known that Knox never got volume, that was pretty clear.
Goedart is a little surprising considering his points scored status. He must've been ultra efficient.

When you have the read option game that they do, it makes it a lot easier to be efficient in the pass game. When Hurts pulls up and throws instead of running, his guys are usually wide ass open. I'm with Wil though in that a lot of that is personnel driven. The Lions were dead last throwing to the tight end once they got rid of Hockenson, but they didn't really have any tight ends to throw to so that number is a bit of an anomaly.

 

[Chef99]

Well, he ain't no DeHop...

Patriots signed WR DeVante Parker to a three-year extension worth up to $33 million.


Just days after The Athletic’s Chad Graff suggested Parker could be a cap casualty if the team signed DeAndre Hopkins, the Patriots opted to extend Parker for three years. The nine-year vet will receive $14 million in guaranteed money, which is a handsome reward for a receiver who hasn’t gone for more than 793 yards over the last three years. Parker is a reliable downfield target who is capable of winning contested catches, but a $33 million extension is far from what anybody expected him to receive heading into this season. The Patriots were set to take on $6.5 million against the cap under Parker’s previous deal. This new deal may lessen Parker’s 2023 cap hit and create space for additional players to sign.