Fantasy Football 2017 - Top 12 Tight Ends + Sleepers

Aaron Rogers hasn't produced a top tight-in very often. Now, it has happened, and I think Martel's Bennett is super talented, but he's not going to be as reliable as you'd hope from the tight-in position. You're going to have weeks where, I don't know, Martel's Benin might have a three-touchdown week this year. Yeah, certainly. But just like last year in New England, there were weeks that you could counter him, and there were weeks where he disappeared. He had weeks last year in the 40s, many of them in the 30s. So he had weeks at number three, number one against Cleveland and Baltimore.

I don't think that changes very much in Green Bay where Aaron Rogers spreads the ball around and you're not going to be locked in on Martellus Bennett at the tight end position. Yeah, on a per game basis back in the day when he had Jermichael Finley, Jermichael Finley usually was finishing around the sixth tight end, which is very good. So the question is, was it that he doesn't throw to the tight end that much, Aaron Rogers, or was it?

He didn't have talented tight ends after Michael Finley left, and we're going to find that out this year. But we do know that Martellus Bennett will catch enough touchdowns to be relevant, but I don't know if he'll have enough receptions to be banked on as a starter on a weekly basis. You know, my worry with Martell's Bennett is not so much, what does he do, but what does he do to the Devante Adams and possibly Jordy Nelson's if...

If he ends up with eight or nine or ten touchdowns on the year. Yeah. Well, look, he's a seventh round pick right now in fantasy drafts. That's the problem. That's ridiculous. I mean, it's, I'd rather just punt the position. Look back to Richard Rogers, right? A couple years ago when he was the main guy. And now Martell's Bennett is a better tight end than Mr. Rogers. Times a million. But my point is Richard Rogers was a tight end one. That's, but he just ended up there. A tight end one that you could never start. And it's Green Bay last year.

They threw under 17% of Aaron Rogers targets were to the tight end. That's 23rd in the NFL. Aaron Rogers just does not target. To be fair, Jared Cook was, you know, as he does, missing quite often. All right. Jack Doyle at number 12, tight in for the Indianapolis Colts. I got him at 11. I think he has a chance to be very involved in the offense. You have some injury right now to Eric Swoop who will be the second tight in there.

Indianapolis had the sixth highest percentage of targets to the tight-in position last year. And he was about 60 receptions for under 600 yards and 5. So nothing spectacular last season. He was outside that top 12. Just barely he was 13. I think 12 is the right spot for Jack Doyle with some week-to-week upside. He's had some good games when he was the guy without Allen last year. So I don't know if we need to say anything else about there. I want to talk to sleepers. So for Jack Doyle,

Indianapolis, 38% of their touchdowns went to the tight end position. That's third highest. I mean, this is, it's well documented that Andrew Lug feeds his tight ends. He always has two, whether it's Fleener and Dwayne Allen, and now it's going to be Doyle and swoop or swoop, however you say it. But, so that's why, that's the only thing holding Doyle back is that they split between two tight ends. Usually one will emerge.

as the predominant one, and I believe that's Jack Doyle. So I think he is a fine, low-end, tight-end one. All right, I'm going to read back through these. Be thinking of a sleeper tight-in you want to share with the Foot Clan. One, we have Rob Gonkowski, then Jordan, Travis Kelsey, Greg Olsen, Tyler Eifertz, Kyle Rudolph, Eric Ebron, Hunter Henry, Martellis Bennett, and Jack Doyle. Sleeper tight-in, pick one out that maybe you think...

You're not drafting them maybe, but you are looking at them in the first couple weeks of the season. If you're going to punt the position, maybe this guy is viable. You know, Dennis Pitta last year would have been an example of this where you could kind of pretty much just sign him off the waivers whenever you wanted and get a good week out of him. Jason, who's yours? I think if we're going that deep, a guy that you're not going to draft, but you're going to pay attention to. Vance McDonald is a tight end that I was really excited for last year. And on a per game basis, he was good. But he has been...

completely discounted in the fantasy circles because it looked like he wasn't even going to be on the team they didn't want him they didn't like him he is i believe strongly that he is their second best pass catcher on the roster and and they need someone to catch these passes i think vans macdonald will be more involved than uh we assume if you look at the latest report from

uh, roto world on Vance McDonald. It's, you know, a glowing report. The team is very pleased with him. So the news is changing on him the way it was on Carlos Hyde. We said several weeks ago when the question was, will these guys be there? They know how to motivate their players in San Francisco. You just tell them that they're, you know. You suck. Spread a rumor that we're going to be gone. Does that work? So then, hey, go get John Brown because. Oh, I thought you were going to tell Mikey sucks.

We all know that's not true. Austin Safarian Jenkins is my sleeper pick. Love it. Suspended for the first two weeks. Guy has lost 20 to 25 pounds, always been an athletic freak. He had a problem with alcohol abuse and basically has cut that out of his life. And all the reports throughout camp.

I think he's the best pass catcher on the Jets, and I think coming into week, three, four, five. So he is suspended for a few games. That's what I said. He's suspended for the first two games. I just want to emphasize this for people who want to draft him. No, none of these guys are drafting in the sleeper category here. So Austin Svarian Jenkins, I think it'll be a very interesting play into the season. The name I'm going to throw out. Jason briefly mentioned him. That's Austin Hooper, second year tied in for the Atlanta Falcons, who was worked in very slowly.

Over the season, the first half, he was over the first half, he's averaging like a 20% snap share for the team. And then the second half of the year, it jumps up into the 70s. You saw what he can do in the Super Bowl when Matt Ryan went to him back to back plays in the end zone and ended up coming up with an excellent touchdown reception. And we know that Matt Ryan has history of using a tight end. Now that was a.

maybe the best tight end in the history of football and Tony Gonzalez. But Austin Hooper has talent, has draft pedigree. There's juice there. I love it. He is a completely forgotten player right now. I love that pick. I mean, if you compare Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper right now and where they're going and what their seasons could turn out to be, it doesn't make sense. Honorable mention to Charles Clay in Buffalo. And Kobe. Kobe Finner. Like I said, Charles Clay. You have to speak.

Very quiet. You can't say that one very loud. But I would just say, you know, top 12 tight in last year and possibly really good this year. All right. Jason's favorite player is Kobe Fleener. And that is it for today's show. Great show tomorrow. Do not miss tomorrow's show. I'm telling you it will be invaluable to your season. We're going top 10 tips and tricks to win your fantasy football league. We're going to dig deep on some stuff that you need to be paying attention to that no one else is going to tell you to do if you're listening.

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