We are at the dawn of a new era Fantasy Football As the tight end enters his year.
Unlike last year, Travis Kelce won’t be the only top tight end.
In fact, many would argue there are five or six players in the top tier this year.
If you can get him in the draft, I highly recommend it, but don’t panic if you don’t – there’s more talent at the position than ever before, and you can punt all the way to the bottom of the player rankings to find strengths at the position.
The key to drafting a productive fantasy tight end is to find one who ranks in the top two or three in targets for their respective teams.
Elite wide receivers like Kelce and Dalton Kinkaid show just that.
But while others who missed out on the top tier are scrambling to draft mediocre players like Cole Kmet and Dallas Goedert, you can wait a little longer and find a player with the potential to be a top-two target on the offensive line.
The Patriots’ Hunter Henry is a good example.
New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is being credited with improving David Njoku’s play over the past two seasons in Cleveland.
Without a clear No. 2 receiver on the team, Van Pelt adjusted his strategy to give Njoku a larger target share, turning him into a top-five fantasy tight end.
New England doesn’t currently have a clear No. 1 receiver, but Van Pelt plans to give Henry an equal increased workload.
There will also be changes in Los Angeles with Greg Roman bringing his proven offensive scheme to the Chargers.
We’ve all watched him develop Mark Andrews into an elite tight end in Baltimore, and now we’re waiting for him to take Hayden Hurst to the next level.
There may be some competition from Will Dissly early on, but Hurst is the better route-runner and pass-catching talent, and in this scheme, he’ll likely see a larger workload.
Even Gregg Dulcic should prove to be a solid prospect in Denver.
With no reliable receivers behind Courtland Sutton, head coach Sean Payton and coordinator Joe Lombardi have favored using him in what’s known as a “joker” role.
He has speed, can run clean routes, has good handles and is a nightmare for smaller slot corners to cover.
They did that with Jimmy Graham in New Orleans and it looks like they’re doing the same with Dulcic so far in camp.
Ideally, we would all like to have a top-five tight end in the draft, but there just aren’t enough of them.
Don’t panic if you miss out, and don’t settle for mediocre results.
Find a late-round pick or two that has the potential they need and all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place from there.
Howard Bender is Fantasy AlarmFollow him on .X translator: Tune in to the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” weekdays from 6-8pm on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Channel. Visit FantasyAlarm.com We bring you all the fantasy football news and advice.
