Drafting tight ends are a bit tricky compared to the other skill positions given how thin this group is. When you think of tight ends, Rob Gronkowski is likely one that pops up in most fantasy owners’ minds. There’s more in the position than Gronk, though, and we’ll look at a few of them below.
*Note that the 2015 stats and fantasy points are all from ESPN
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Gronk is always prone to injury but owners are willing to take the gamble of drafting him early. No other tight end has played and delivered on the field when healthy as consistently as Gronkowski over the past several seasons. Even with Tom Brady’s suspension, Gronk should be the first tight end selected in fantasy drafts in all league types.
Last season was the coming out party of Reed, as we were left to see what kind of damage he can do on the field when 100% healthy. Reed led the Redskins in targets (114), receiving yards (952), and touchdowns (11). He may not see that many targets this season with DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and rookie Josh Doctson all in the mix, but Kirk Cousins sure have Reed as among his top options, especially in the red zone.
3. Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers)
2015 Stats: 1,104 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns
2015 Fantasy Points: 144.0
2016 Fantasy Points Projection: 134.3
Olsen might see his production go down this season with the return of wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to action. Still, Olsen owns terrific numbers over the past few seasons, having garnered 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and had 800 yards in each of the last four. He’s a definite TE1.
It may come as a surprise to some that Walker had the most targets (133) and catches (94) among all tight ends last season. Walker is a silent operator, which explains why he’s not as sexy of a pick as the other tight ends but he’s clearly a great option behind the likes of Gronkowski, Reed, and Olsen.
There were high hopes for Kelce to better the numbers he racked up in his rookie season. Instead, his sophomore season nearly copied what he’d done the previous year, making just 13 more receiving yards with the same total touchdowns. Kelce’s just 26, though, and his prime years are still ahead of him.
