Fantasy Football Info For Serious Players
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Deep Sleeper TEs
David Dodds - Norm Chow, the offensive mastermind for the USC Trojans the last few years and responsible for a slew of QBs in the NFL, loves passing the ball. But the Titans have just one legitimate WR on their roster in Drew Bennett. Look for both Ben Troupe and Erron Kinney to be very involved in this offense. In Ben's last three games as a rookie last year he caught 13 receptions (on 21 targets) for 174 yards and a TD. He is recovering from a foot injury but vows to be ready on opening day. This assures that he will get no coverage in the preseason so his stock will likely go even lower. This first round pick is too talented to not take a late round flier on. Colin Dowling - Steve McNair’s tight ends have averaged 80 receptions, 675 yards, and 5.5 touchdowns in the last two years. While Erron Kinney may take a few looks, Ben Troupe came on strong as a rookie – which is rare – and caught 33 passes. He is much more athletic then Kinney and without a true top-notch wide receiver, Troupe could find himself being leaned on much like Frank Wycheck was years ago. Cathy Fazio - Ben Troupe started to find his groove in 2004 in the last three games of the season, making 13 receptions for 174 yards over that span. While Erron Kinney is the established starter, Troupe is the tight end of the future for the Titans and should continue to be utilized in their offensive plan. Clayton Gray - There are several reasons to like Troupe this year. He is very talented which is always nice. The WRs on his team (after Drew Bennett) are suspect at best. His QB has a history of throwing to the TE. The only worries are the presence of Erron Kinney and Troupe's injury. Those can be discounted as Kinney is not the caliber of receiver that Troupe is and he is expected to be healthy to start the season. Will Grant - As a rookie, Troupe had only six starts and appeared in only fourteen games. Yet he still pulled in 33 receptions for 329 yards and a TD. Despite splitting time with Kinney and Meier, Troupe had five games with three or more receptions and three games with 50 or more receiving yards. His foot injury is a concern, but he should be good by the start of the season. He’s a great pickup in the 15th round. "Bloom" - Troupe flashed his considerable potential late last season with 2 75 yard receiving games. Erron Kinney is the incumbent starter, but Troupe is clearly the more talented receiver and should get the lion’s share of TE stats for the Titans once he returns from a broken foot. Another factor in Troupe’s favor is that Tennessee has no true possession WR on the roster, and their WR corps is very questionable after Drew Bennett. Steve McNair loves to use his TE as a primary outlet (see Frank Wycheck) and Troupe could be in for a huge season if he and McNair develop that relationship. "Couch Potato" - Troupe is highly thought of among those 'in the know,' but with an ADP of TE20 there are apparently a lot of people NOT in the know. Don't be one of them. He was a 2nd round pick in 2004 by the Titans, a team that loves to throw to the TE, and he has more ability than his predecessors at the position. He finished last year strong with 13-174-1 the last 3 games of the season, and will be the starter this year. With WR Mason gone, more passes may go to the TE than before. I see Troupe with 55-600-5, good for about TE9 or so. One caveat - he hurt his foot and had surgery in late May, but should be OK for the start of the season. Do a little research before your draft to be sure his recovery is still on schedule. "EBF" - An excellent athlete, Troupe flashed his potential last year with 190 receiving yards in the last four weeks of the regular season. Given that Drew Bennett is the only proven target on Tennessee's roster, Troupe has the potential to emerge as the team's #2 receiving option. He recently suffered a foot injury, but the early word is that he'll be ready in time for the start of the regular season. If he can pick up where he left off last year then he'll be a tremendous value in fantasy drafts.
Cathy Fazio - Chris Cooley is a versatile player, used as both a tight end and a halfback for the Washington Redskins. A rookie in 2004, Cooley made 37 receptions for 314 yards and was used frequently in goal line situations and led Washington with his six receiving touchdowns. Andy Hicks - Cooley ranked 14th in his rookie season, which was a stunning effort considering how rookie Tight Ends usually struggle. One season on, expect Cooley to become even more productive with the introduction of the shorter receivers David Patten and Santana Moss to the Redskins. Cooley’s name should be called often in the red zone, and he represents extremely good late value. Aaron Rudnicki - Cooley is a talented and athletic receiver who really seemed to emerge as a vital part of the Redskins offense in the second half of the 2004 season after Ramsey took over at QB. The Redskins offense was one of the worst in the league, yet Cooley still managed to collect 6 TDs and finish as the #14 ranked fantasy TE as a rookie. The Redskins lost their best possession WR when they traded away Laveranues Coles, and that should lead to increased opportunities for Cooley this year. As the team’s H-back he doesn’t have too many blocking responsibilities and he’s likely to be one of the main targets inside the red zone. "Jurb26" - Boy did this guy have a quiet 6 TD rookie seasons for a TE. It’s not like it was hard to miss it I guess seeing that most probably fell asleep watching the Wash offense last year. This however is hard to ignore, especially when you consider that he managed to score 6 times and Wash only passed for 18 TDs all year. On top of that, they only scored 24 all together. Cooley way not be flashy, but he seems to be in a great situation and capable of production. Wash/Gibbs will continue to use the young TE and this offense can only improve from last year. "nittanylion" - Hard to imagine, but it's quite likely going into 2005 that Cooley, coming off a surprisingly productive season in his rookie year, might be the most 'game experienced' option in the Redskins passing game, and there's no reason to think that his production can't increase. Success on offense begins with quality line play, and adding T Jansen and C Rabach will improve that aspect dramatically. Portis and Betts will be the immediate beneficiaries, providing an effective 1-2 punch, which should allow Cooley to find intermediate space during the play action, always a staple of the vintage Joe Gibbs offense. The additions of SMoss and Patten bring a new dimension of deep speed, and while it may take some time for Ramsey to develop a consistent touch and rapport with the new WR's, he's got the gun to get the ball deep, and the WR's to stretch the field, which should present Cooley some very attractive matchup opportunities in shorter routes and in the seams. Gibbs offense is predicated on exploiting mismatches, and with improvement in the other phases, Cooley has the potential to see a ridiculous amount of targets. He provides Ramsey with a familiar, reliable option, and, as a proven playmaker, will be in position to do just that. "Tick" - Cooley really came out of nowhere last season. All the draft talk was about Winslow, Troupe, and Watson. However, Cooley out-produced all of them combined. As an H-back in the Redskins offense, he only started nine games but was TE14 last season due to a strong finish. His TD numbers were too high for the amount of receptions he had, but I expect his receptions and yardage to increase as his TDs decrease, leading to a finish similar to where he was last season. After the first six TEs or so, there's a big mess of guys with question marks. Why take one of them when you can wait until after the 13th round to get Cooley, who has just as good of a chance to be a top-10 TE as the guys you have to take in the 10th round? "Unlucky" - In Cooley’s rookie year, he posted 37 rec., 314 yds, and 6 TDs. Those are solid numbers for a backup fantasy TE. With minimal improvement, he’s the #12 TE on my board, yet he’s under the radar of many fantasy owners.
David Dodds - Jeb Putzier is the reason why it almost always pays just to be patient at the tight end position. He ranked as the 12th best TE last year and at age 26 should be even better this season. Shannon Sharpe, who previously occupied this position for the Broncos, told us all to watch this guy last year. Playing in the AFC West where defense is an afterthought, Jeb should be able to build on last year's success and outplay his draft position by a wide margin. Will Grant - Talk about lack of respect. This guy had 572 yards receiving and 2 TDS last season. Those are ‘starter quality’ numbers for a TE in most performance leagues. Drafting him in the 15th round is like finding money. Great value here. Aaron Rudnicki - Putzier emerged as a solid replacement for Shannon Sharpe early last year and remained very consistent throughout the entire season. He has a nice combination of size and speed that makes him a tough matchup for most linebackers and safeties. In his first year as a starter, he finished as the #12 ranked fantasy TE and also had the second highest yards per reception (15.9) among all TEs. Putzier is one of the most undervalued players in the league according to ADP and has a decent chance to put up top-10 TE numbers if he can get more targets in the red zone. "Couch Potato" - Putzier's ADP of TE19 should easily be surpassed. Shanahan's Bronco offenses have a 10-year tradition of extensive use of the TE position. Even in the 3 years Shannon Sharpe didn't lead the team (hurt in 1999, in Baltimore in 2000-01), Denver TEs averaged 89-975-7. Last year was the lowest TE output of Shanny's Denver tenure, and the team is intent on utilizing them (and especially Putzier) more in 2005. I look for Putzier to continue the progress he began last year, get 70-80% of the TE catches, and put up something in the neighborhood of 60-700-6 which would put him in the top 5-6 tight end area. "diesel7982" - Though Jeb Putzier had almost 600 yards receiving last year he is not being respected as a top 12 TE. Putzier was signed to a long-term contract extension in the offseason, so he will likely remain a large part of Denver’s offense. If he can produce 572/2 in his first year as a starter, what lies ahead for him? Likely his first season as a top 8 TE. "SammyJankis" - The tight end position in Denver has produced some nice numbers over the years. Putzier finished as the 15th fantasy best tight end last year. In fact his 572 receiving yards were 9th amongst tight ends. The only thing keeping his stock down was a lack of touchdowns. Putzier has been working on his blocking this spring, which the Broncos hope will lead to more red zone snaps. The Broncos thought enough of Putzier to match a $12.5 million offer from the Jets earlier this year. Putzier stands a good chance to rank amongst the top fantasy tight ends. "Unlucky" - Denver uses the TE a lot in their offense, and Putzier has established himself as the clear #1 TE. He put up solid numbers last year: 36 rec., 572 yds, and 2 TDs. Carswell has been moved to OL. If Putzier can steal some TDs from Hape, he could be a viable starting fantasy TE. He’s not likely to be in the elite class, but makes a nice insurance policy as your #2 fantasy TE.
Mike Brown - The past few years, the Jets TE position has been a fantasy wasteland. Meanwhile, Jolley has had to fight for receptions in Oakland with Teyo Johnson, Courtney Anderson, and Roland Williams. Now in New York, the Jets gave up a significant package to acquire Jolley, so you can be sure they plan on utilizing him – a lot. Clayton Gray - Doug Jolley should be a very good TE this season. The number one reason to like him as a Jet is the presence of Mike Heimerdinger as offensive coordinator. In Tennessee, Heimerdinger left a long line of successful TEs. He will utilize the position, and Jolley will benifit. Also remember that the Jets traded out of the first round when they acquired Jolley. Teams don't move down like that without a plan for their new player. Cecil Lammey - When the Jets lost out on their bid for Jeb Putzier they looked to Jolley to fill the void. Jolley gives Pennington a great underneath target. Jolley is a good receiver with solid hands and a knack for finding the open spot in the defense. The Jets have some good weapons on offense and Jolley will benefit from playing on a team that is far from one dimensional. Maurile Tremblay - The Jets used their TE as a blocker a great deal last season, but their new offense will feature the TE in the passing game, and former Raider Doug Jolley was brought in specifically for his speed and hands. Jolley is coming off of two disappointing seasons, but showed his potential as a receiver as a rookie in 2002, and has a chance to be a top ten fantasy TE in offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger’s system. "EBF" - The Jets have not had an elite fantasy TE for some time, but that may have changed with the acquisition of Doug Jolley. Jolley showed promise in Oakland, but was held back by a committee situation and a lack of opportunities. The Jets clearly like his potential and he seems like a great fit with QB Chad Pennington's short-mid range style. Jolley may not get enough targets to finish among the league's elite fantasy TEs in 2005, but he offers the potential to easily exceed his draft position and become a top 10-15 TE. "Fullback Fro" - Doug Jolley has the skills to be a good TE in the league. Now he has the opportunity. The Jets for Jolley this year to be their primary pass catching TE. Herm Edwards in an interview on Sirius NFL Radio said he could see him catching 70 balls this year. Jolley offers great value this year with little risk. I want him on all my squads.
David Dodds - The Titans are going to use their TEs this season. In fact they have always been a team that has used the TE position a lot. So even in the worst case scenario that has Ben Troupe becoming a star at the position, Erron Kinney is still likely to see a lot of passes thrown his way. With Drew Bennett as the only real WR threat, the Tennessee tight ends are likely to be even more involved this season. Despite playing just 10 games last year, Kinney still managed 25 receptions and 3 TDs. He is being undrafted in many leagues this season. He makes the perfect handcuff to Ben Troupe, who is still recovering from foot surgery. Jason Wood - Ben Troupe’s injury makes this pick a no-brainer but even with a healthy Troupe, the case could be made that Kinney deserves more respect. In every game of consequence for Troupe, Billy Volek was at QB, Kinney is still McNair’s top option until proven otherwise. Considering the sorry state of the team’s WR corps, I wouldn’t be surprised to see McNair lock onto Kinney at times, a la Frank Wycheck of a few seasons ago. "Bagger" - Ben Troupe was being hyped by many as this year’s breakout TE. However, with his injury that should slow him down the first part of the season, if not more, Kinney will directly benefit. Furthermore, with Derrick Mason gone the Tennessee passing attack will have to find another option other than Drew Bennett, who is sure to be covered by the opposing defense’s best corner and/or doubled on many downs. The end result of all of these factors is Kinney breaking out in 2005 with the potential to be a top 10 tight end. "LHUCKS" - Kinney put together a surprising season in ’04 and has become by default the #1 once again in ’05 thanks to Ben Troupe’s foot injury. Although, he lacks the physical talent of a Troupe, Kinney has all the opportunity in the world to better his number from ’04 and becoming a legitimate tight end sleeper.
Maurile Tremblay - Stevens has Pro Bowl athleticism, but up to this point in his career hasn’t been able to surpass fellow Seahawk TE Itula Mili on the depth chart. Look for that to change this season. Recent reports have Mili weighing in at a sluggish 290 lbs, while Stevens has been impressive in the team’s offseason workouts. If he starts living up to his considerable potential, he will be one of the better value-picks in this year’s fantasy drafts. Jason Wood - The days of splitting time with Itula Mili may be in the past as Stevens finally appears ready to live up to the potential which led the Seahawks to draft him in the 1st round a few years ago. Stevens is a physical marvel (6’7”, 265 pounds) who is coming off an 18th place fantasy finish last year. With Mili out of shape, aging and unhappy about his contract, the door is wide open for Stevens to take the next step and push for a top 12 finish. "diesel7982" - While Stevens is usually more of a threat to himself than he is to opposing defenses, last year he showed that he was ready to become the Seahawks’ full-time starter, and to stop sharing time with Itula Mili. Luckily for Stevens, Mili has skipped workouts and ballooned to the size of an offensive lineman in the offseason. If this wasn’t enough to get Stevens more involved, the “loss” of Koren Robinson should guarantee even more targets are available. Expect an improvement over last years 350/3 and for him to be considered one of the league’s better TEs by the end of the season. "Fullback Fro" - Stevens played a whole year without getting into Holmgren’s doghouse and has been very active in Seattle’s off-season program. The former first round pick has officially taken over the starting TE position from Mili. With the release of WR Koren Robinson, we could see Seattle rely much more on Stevens this year. Is this finally his year?
Aaron Rudnicki - The Patriots had big expectations for Watson last year after spending a 1st round draft pick on him. Unfortunately, he aggravated an injury in the 1st game and wound up missing the entire season. He has an unbelievable combination of size (6’3”, 253lbs) and speed (4.4 40 time) that will make him very difficult to defend. Daniel Graham is still the starter but he’s become extremely valuable as a blocker and it’s entirely possible that Watson will see more targets than him in the passing game this year. Considering Watson can be drafted many rounds later than Graham, he represents excellent value. Ron White - Watson is being taken as low as 17.00. He was being compared to Ben Coates last season, an exceptional receiving threat. Unfortunately he was injured in the first game and was placed on IR. He is presently healthy and turning heads in camp. Due to his lack of game experience, and the presence of Graham, Watson seems to be the forgotten man this season. The Patriots like to throw the ball, and aren’t afraid to use the tight ends. It wouldn’t surprise me if Watson ended up among the top 12-15 tight ends this season, if he can remain healthy. Not bad for a player that’s not even being drafted in some leagues! David Yudkin - Watson was a first round draft pick last year but suffered a season ending injury early on. Watson has wide receiver speed and superhuman strength, making him almost impossible to cover. Look for Watson to become much more active in the Pats’ offense as the season progresses. By the latter part of the season, he could even merit consideration as a fantasy starter if he were to take over as the team’s starting TE.
Mike Brown - Graham has ranked as a starting caliber TE for two years now. And that’s with what can be modestly termed as “disappointing” seasons. Graham suffered through nagging injuries last year and STILL was the #9 TE. If he can stay injury-free, there’s no reason he can’t make a climb up into the top-5 range. "BostonFred" - Graham caught five touchdowns in his first four games last year, before injuries started to hit the New England offensive line and TE corps. After a brutal three game stretch in which he caught a total of one pass on just five targets, Graham finished strong, with 175 yards and 2 TDs in his last five games. With a healthier line and TEs, Graham should go back to his early season form. What's also nice with Graham is that, if the offensive line gets dinged up again, you know to take him out of your lineup.
Cecil Lammey - Al Davis loves this guy. We’ve learned from the past that if you are an “Al Davis guy” you will get every chance to make an impact in the NFL. Anderson is a great all around threat. He can catch and block very well. His main competition for the starting job in Oakland is Tejo Johnson. TJ is not the blocker that Anderson is, and he’s not a better receiver. Anderson has had problems staying healthy, but if he can overcome his injury woes he will produce big time.
Mark Wimer - Cleveland’s TE position has generated a lot of bad news this off-season, with Kellen Winslow’s ill-advised Evel Knievel stunt and the resulting injuries. However, Steve Heiden quietly put together a decent season in relief of Winslow last year (28/287/5) – if he can grab a majority of the playing time this year under the teams’ new regime (last year he basically split touches with Aaron Shea, who snagged 26/252/4), Heiden could ascend into the top 10 among fantasy TEs.
"SammyJankis" - The Raiders couldn’t help themselves in 2003, selecting Johnson in the second round, despite having a good tight end in Doug Jolley. Johnson is a converted WR, a big athletic tight end in the mold of Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez. With Jolley now in New York, the tight end spot in Oakland is up for grabs. If Johnson can beat out Courtney Anderson, he’ll be a very talented tight end in what looks to be a powerful offense. That’s a sleeper.
"BassNBrew" - Everything out of Panther camp has talked about the TE position being primarily one of a blocker. I don’t buy everything I read and look for Jones’ size, hands, and speed to be incorporated into the red zone package. At 6’4” Freddie Jones towers over the entire Panther’s WR corps. Let’s not forget that the Panther’s actually used Julius Peppers as a target in last year’s goal line packages. I expect Jones to pick a portion of Muhammad’s production as talent and necessity win out over philosophy.
"Bloom" - Jon Gruden successfully used Rickey Dudley to stretch the field when he coached the Raiders, and I expect him to use Alex Smith in a similar fashion, because Smith has the perfect combination of size and athleticism to fill that role. Dudley averaged around 550/7 and 15 YPC in his years with Gruden – numbers that would have been good for the #9 TE last year. The lack of solid receiving options after Michael Clayton also helps Smith’s shot at becoming an integral part of Tampa’s passing offense right away.. No need to worry about Anthony Becht, as he was brought in strictly as a blocking TE. Smith should be a big part of the Bucs passing offense from the get-go and act as a serviceable fantasy TE in large leagues.
"Jurb26" - Here is another victim of the “what have you done for me lately” world of fantasy football. Boo was high on just about everyone’s TE list this time last year, just after his 41/436/5 “breakout” season. Well, he really struggled last year and in turn burnt a lot of owner for sure. Apparently he burnt folks bad enough to fall to an ADP of 16.11 and TE26. This seems to be a sever overreaction if you ask me. Heck even with the atrocious outing last year, Boo finished as TE24. This guy still has the skill we all fell in love with a year ago and I think a bounce back year is on the horizon. NO says they want a more run focused attack. This could and often does lead to PA to the TE and more involvement all around for the TE.
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