Tight Ends
Tight End Dollar Values (Standard Leagues)
| Name | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns | Receptions | Points | Yahoo 10 Team $ Value | Yahoo 12 Team $ Value | ESPN 10 Team $ Value | ESPN 12 Team $ Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 1100 | 12 | 75 | 182 | $36 | $33 | $31 | $28 |
| Travis Kelce | 1100 | 6 | 85 | 146 | $23 | $21 | $20 | $18 |
| Greg Olsen | 1100 | 6 | 85 | 146 | $23 | $21 | $20 | $18 |
| Jordan Reed | 850 | 8 | 80 | 133 | $18 | $17 | $16 | $14 |
| Tyler Eifert | 800 | 8 | 60 | 128 | $16 | $15 | $14 | $13 |
| Jimmy Graham | 850 | 6 | 65 | 121 | $13 | $13 | $12 | $11 |
| Delanie Walker | 750 | 6 | 60 | 111 | $9 | $10 | $9 | $8 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 750 | 6 | 75 | 111 | $9 | $10 | $9 | $8 |
| Eric Ebron | 750 | 6 | 70 | 111 | $9 | $10 | $9 | $8 |
| Martellus Bennett | 650 | 7 | 60 | 107 | $8 | $8 | $8 | $7 |
| Austin Sefarian-Jenkins | 750 | 5 | 55 | 105 | $7 | $8 | $7 | $7 |
| Julius Thomas | 550 | 8 | 60 | 103 | $6 | $7 | $6 | $6 |
| Jack Doyle | 600 | 7 | 65 | 102 | $6 | $7 | $6 | $6 |
| Hunter Henry | 550 | 7 | 45 | 97 | $4 | $5 | $5 | $5 |
| CJ Fiederowicz | 600 | 5 | 60 | 90 | $1 | $3 | $3 | $3 |
| Coby Fleener | 650 | 4 | 55 | 89 | $0 | $2 | $2 | $2 |
| Zach Ertz | 700 | 3 | 65 | 88 | $0 | $2 | $2 | $2 |
| Charles Clay | 550 | 5 | 60 | 85 | $0 | $1 | $1 | $1 |
| Cameron Brate | 600 | 4 | 50 | 84 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 |
| Zach Miller | 600 | 4 | 60 | 84 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 |
Tight End Dollar Values (PPR Leagues)
| Name | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns | Receptions | Points | Yahoo 10 Team $ Value | Yahoo 12 Team $ Value | ESPN 10 Team $ Value | ESPN 12 Team $ Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 1100 | 12 | 75 | 257 | $33 | $29 | $31 | $25 |
| Travis Kelce | 1100 | 6 | 85 | 231 | $25 | $23 | $24 | $19 |
| Greg Olsen | 1100 | 6 | 85 | 231 | $25 | $23 | $24 | $19 |
| Jordan Reed | 850 | 8 | 80 | 213 | $20 | $18 | $19 | $16 |
| Tyler Eifert | 800 | 8 | 60 | 188 | $12 | $12 | $13 | $11 |
| Jimmy Graham | 850 | 6 | 65 | 186 | $12 | $12 | $12 | $10 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 750 | 6 | 75 | 186 | $12 | $12 | $12 | $10 |
| Eric Ebron | 750 | 6 | 70 | 181 | $10 | $10 | $11 | $9 |
| Delanie Walker | 750 | 6 | 60 | 171 | $7 | $8 | $8 | $7 |
| Martellus Bennett | 650 | 7 | 60 | 167 | $6 | $7 | $7 | $6 |
| Jack Doyle | 600 | 7 | 65 | 167 | $6 | $7 | $7 | $6 |
| Julius Thomas | 550 | 8 | 60 | 163 | $5 | $6 | $6 | $5 |
| Austin Sefarian-Jenkins | 750 | 5 | 55 | 160 | $4 | $5 | $5 | $5 |
| Zach Ertz | 700 | 3 | 65 | 153 | $2 | $3 | $3 | $3 |
| CJ Fiederowicz | 600 | 5 | 60 | 150 | $1 | $3 | $3 | $3 |
| Charles Clay | 550 | 5 | 60 | 145 | $0 | $1 | $1 | $2 |
| Coby Fleener | 650 | 4 | 55 | 144 | $0 | $1 | $1 | $1 |
| Zach Miller | 600 | 4 | 60 | 144 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 |
| Hunter Henry | 550 | 7 | 45 | 142 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 |
| Cameron Brate | 600 | 4 | 50 | 134 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 |
I still have Rob Gronkowski atop the mountain because as wonderful as Travis Kelce may be, he doesn’t have Tom Brady throwing him the ball. Gronkowski is a touchdown machine on a team which I believe will be racking up the passing scores this year. You’re always taking a chance with Gronk’s health, but no tight end can match his per game production when he’s on the field. Tight end is one of the few positions where I advocate taking a risk on injury because for whatever reason the biggest injury risks are also the biggest touchdown scorers.
I’m high on Tyler Eifert because he’s one of the few players in the NFL who I believe can come close to or even match Gronkowski’s touchdown production. Eifert is often hurt, but when he does play, he scores. This year, with a lousy offensive line, I expect Andy Dalton to look for the quick pass to Eifert often, especially in the red zone.
The last of the players at this position that I’m abnormally high on is Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Pretty much nobody has Jenkins on their radar, but I think he’s a top 10 tight end this year and that’s with a two-game suspension already in tow. On a per game basis, I think Jenkins has the chance to put up top 6 PPR tight end numbers this year. My reasoning is that the Jets have literally nobody to throw the ball to, compounded further by Quincy Enunwa going down for the season. Jenkins was already lighting it up at camp and he’s a big target. I see an old Antonio Gates/Tony Gonzalez role for Jenkins, where he is the best receiver on the team. Now, I don’t expect many touchdowns because the Jets offense is miserable, but he can certainly lead the team in receptions and he likely won’t even be drafted in most leagues.
The only two tight ends that I think I rank lower than most are Jordan Reed and Hunter Henry. I think both are super talented players and I hate to project them where I did. However, Reed is already hurt again and the guy just can’t stay healthy. I do advocate taking on risk with Gronk and Eifert so I wouldn’t advocate against taking Reed based on the same premise, but because he’s already showing injury signs. I had to knock him below guys like Kelce and Greg Olsen who are more steady.
Henry is a player where I think my projection might be too conservative. My concern with Henry is that Gates is still around, Allen is returning, Tyrell Williams looked like the real deal last year and Travis Benjamin might actually be healthy again. There are a lot of mouths to feed on the Chargers and while I think Henry has a nose for the end zone, I just don’t see a path to him getting any more than 50 receptions on this team (barring injuries of course).
Okay, that’s it for the projections and dollar values. I tried to explain what I believe will be some of the more questioned projections and the dollar values that necessarily accompany those projections. Make sure that you keep in mind that these are player values and not expected auction prices as there is a difference between the two (which I explained at the top). Use these numbers to give yourself a clear indication of how much players are worth and where the bargains are. Any comments or discussion about prices or projections are highly welcomed in the section below! We’ll be back next Wednesday with an identification of who I think are some of the biggest bargains and traps based on Yahoo and ESPN dollar values.
