Top 10 Tight Ends + Draft Strategy & TE Sleepers

He did that last year. Chicago rewarded that with the huge contract. His upside is immense. The risk, though, is you've never really seen it from Trey Burton, and you've never really seen it from the Chicago Bears and Mitch Trabisky. That kind of money tells me the importance of that position in the offense.

Yeah, the position is, you know, oftentimes talked about as that Travis Kelsey position coming from Matt Nagy, the previous offensive coordinator for the Chiefs. And, yeah, you brought up those two games. You can even look two years because he had two games a year before that were good. Over the last, he's had four games without Zach Ertz, where he was given the opportunity to be the primary guy, and he was great. He's averaged 14 PPR points a game in those four starts. That would be a top five tight end.

any week. So, you know, Trey Burton is a little bit of risk, but I'm willing to take the risk when I'm giving up a wide receiver or a running back that's an eighth round pick as opposed to the third or fourth. Yeah, yeah, the cost is not high on burden right now. Number seven. All right, guys. I am the Fantasy Reaper. This report from Roderworld captured a little bit of my heart.

Last night, Jimmy Graham, who is our number seven consensus tied in, lined up against first rounder, Terrell Edmonds in the end zone. And Graham, quote, made him look like a bitty baby boy. Rota World, credit to Rota World, they put it this way. Graham reaved his soul before skying for a jump ball score. I love, love, love Jimmy Graham. He is my number four.

Tide end on this season. He's a fifth, middle of the fifth draft price. He is the only tied in, and I'm going to say it. He's the only tight in that I believe can enter the gronk tier. I believe Jimmy Graham was... You should have saved that for the live show. Are you the gronk tier? Correct. Get out of here. Last season he lined up for only 68% of the offensive snaps in Seattle. If you listen to Aaron Rogers last night, Rogers talked about Graham. He pointed out...

Rogers is a smart guy. He said Jimmy Graham was used improperly in Seattle, not in the middle of the field anymore. I know he's not the same speedster. He has Aaron Rogers. And I believe that this is a season in which Jimmy Graham will score a pile of touchdowns. He'll put up better yardage numbers. He led all tight-ins in both touchdowns and red zone targets. And he was given a $30 million contract.

by a team with Aaron Rogers. He still finished the number. I feel like I'm bold making him four. He's finished the fourth tight-in the last two seasons. I know what's coming. I know the argument's going to be that you're going to be happy sometimes and disappointed sometimes. Didn't really look that way last year. Yeah, I mean... I mean, last year he was a top 12 tight-in 68% of the time despite playing less snaps than 25 other tight-ins in football. That's not going to happen again this year. Jimmy Graham is going to be on the field.

Yeah, I get everything you're saying, and I agree with a lot of it. I don't think it's crazy to say that Jimmy Graham is the only guy that could get in that grong tier. Because if Jimmy Graham hasn't lost a step, right? Like we talk about his game speed being slow. But maybe that's because they were running short routes, not using them between the 20s. And maybe he hasn't actually lost that step. If that's the case, then he will dominate for Green Bay, for sure. I mean, you bring up the fact that he was the number four tied in the last two years.

Jimmy Graham now is very different than Jimmy Graham eight years ago, you know, but since 2011, other than the season he got injured and missed, he's never been lower than the Titan 4. I mean, 2-1-1-3-44 is pretty darn good. So I get the arguments. I will say this. On film, it did look like he had lost a step. It wasn't just metrics and stats and the yardage. It didn't look like he was between the 20s great. But they paid him a lot of money.

And Aaron Rogers, I love Russell Wilson, but Russell Wilson is no Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers, if Jimmy Graham has a skill and a talent that can beat people, and he does, Aaron Rogers will exploit the heck out of that. So I'm fine with Jimmy Graham. I love him in baseball because I think he's a double-digit touchdown type of guy. In redraft, I worry about him for two reasons. One, I don't know that the yardage will be there, but two.

His draft cost. He's got a big name. He is expensive. So you're taking a shot that says, I'm super confident that he's going to be that guy. You're 100% right about that. The draft cost, you have to spend three, four rounds more on Jimmy Graham than you do at Trey Burton. Right. So I'm not willing to take that plunge. Sure. But if you, if that plunge pays out, it'll be worth it. On fire and ice though, Mike, you, you.

Iced up. Jimmy Graham, you have them at 11 right now. Is anything in your thought process changed or are you standing firm on Jimmy slowdown? I did give him another touchdown in my projections, which I have them at eight. So it's not a bad touchdown season for Jimmy Graham. The topic I wanted to bring up more was it was simply the draft price. We talk about a quarterback how they're pretty easily replaceable. A top tight end is not easily replaceable.

But that's what Jimmy Graham has to become in the fifth round. Because while he was the tight end for his overall scoring, let's compare him to, I want a wide receiver in that range. Well, Jimmy Graham's point finish was outside of the top 24 wide receivers. And I think I'm getting a top 24 wide receiver in the fifth round. And then a couple rounds later, I can grab Trey Burton, who I think will not be that far behind the point total.

of Jimmy Graham or other tight ends who I think can be close to Jimmy Graham. So that's my biggest problem is the draft price. It's not that maybe I'm wrong on Jimmy Graham being 25% or so of the man that he used to be. And I agree that if anyone can take advantage, it's Aaron Rogers, but I'm not paying a fifth round for a guy who.

in my opinion, could still have 10 touchdowns and still disappoint you for fantasy. I think he's a player I hate in the fourth and loving the sixth. And he's sitting there right in the middle of the fifth. So I'm kind of like, maybe I'd take him. Maybe I wouldn't. I do think he has a good season. Number eight. All right, Delaney Walker, we talked about the toe injury. We need to monitor that. But right now he's sitting at seven in my rankings, eight in Jason's. I'm sorry, eight in Mike's, nine in Jason's. He's the favorite target for Marcus Marioti. He's a trusted target.

He's a guy that's been very reliable, and he's a guy that was just rewarded with a new contract. Since 2013, he's finished 11th, 8th, 4th, 5th, 6th. He's a 7th round pick, though. I don't think I'm going to own Delaney Walker. See, that's exactly what I wanted to just follow up with, where Jimmy Graham, you're missing out on a potential wide receiver, too, paying a fifth round for Delaney Walker, who in the last three years has his worst finish is tight-end six. But he doesn't do it with.

Boom games. He doesn't do it with two or three touchdown. He didn't have one game last year when what was he? What did he finish last year? He was the six best tight end. He never had a single game inside the top three. Yeah, but he had seven games inside the top 12. Yeah. He's consistent. Well, I hope so if you finish six. Well, I'll say this when looking at our consistency charts, he had the same percentage of top six finishes as Jimmy Graham did. Sure.

So it's a good point. Delaney Walker, it's such a crazy season for me at the tight end position because usually I'm out on Gronk. Usually I'm very out on Delany Walker because he's sitting in that fifth round. But at the seventh round, an actual consistent tight end, maybe you don't want to play the game of late round you're going to try and stream the position. Delaney Walker is interesting to me. That's why this big toe injury sucks so much. Well, and if you're drafting today tomorrow this weekend, which a lot of people are.

And we don't have more news about Delaney Walker. What do you do? Because his ADP is going to be further than seven, the seventh round, because of this injury. If you're drafting right now, you don't draft them unless he's dropping to the, you know, if he's there in the ninth round, the ninth round, I would consider getting him there. But you can't.

grab him not knowing if he's injured right now that's one of those we i've had this question on twitter my draft drafts early we draft before week week three preseason what tips do you have mitigate there's really not a lot of tips it's the same exact strategy left right and center with one exception and that's if you don't know about a guy who is kind of injured right now i i would not yeah i would mitigate that that risk

Because, you know. Now, when do you make the plunge, though? Because if you do that, like if everybody's philosophy is to do that in your league, these guys are going to drop down three rounds later. Three rounds. That's what I was shown. Yeah, three rounds is, you know, if he's going on the seventh. If Delaney's in the 10th, I get a three round discount, I'm going to take him. Then you can take advantage. But I'm not taking anyone at their ADP. I'm not taking Baldwin right at his peak price if he's currently injured.

All right, we'll hit 9 and 10. We'll each drop a sleeper, tight-in name. I believe we have best ball bonanza today, Brooks. Is that correct? Oh, yeah. I don't see the drop in here. Oh, get body. He just closed his eyes. He just closed his eyes with sadness over there. He's trying to stop the tears. No, he's thinking about Jimmy Hansom with those eyes closed. Number 9 and 10. Kyle Rudolph? So handsome. Kyle Rudolph so handsome? No. Yes. I hadn't moved on. Jason at 5. Mike and I have him at 10. And then Jordan Reed.

Mike has him at six, I'm at nine, Jason has him at 13. So let's talk about Kyle Rudolph and Jordan Reed. Yeah, look, Kyle Rudolph has been very consistent over the last few years. He's a valuable weapon. He is third, you know, in importance, maybe fourth if you put Dalvin Cook ahead of him in the passing game. He's obviously not going to command the targets he did before. Thielen broke out. Diggs is there. So I get the hesitation of putting him really as he's not an elite tight end, but he is very consistent.

very used and useful in near the red zone. And so for a guy that, you know, is the seventh Titan off the board, almost going in the seventh round, he's the last pick right now, the sixth round. The last two years, he was the second Titan and the seventh Titan. I feel just confident that I'm not getting, I'm not going to just be drafting a crappy pick when I get.

Kyle Rudolph, I'm not drafting the best thing in the world either. It really depends. If you want Kyle Rudolph, it depends on what you believe about some of the later guys. Are you fine taking that risk on Jordan Reed? Are you fine taking that sleeper late, super late pick on a ASJ, Ricky Seals Jones, Vance McDonald? If you like those guys, then you don't need Kyle Rudolph. But if you're like me, where you go,

I just don't want to go into the season with those guys. I believe they could break out. I'll look for them on waivers, but I don't want to start the season that way. Then Trey Burton slash Kyle Rudolph, that's kind of your, that's the end of those guys that you can be confident will have an important role in their offense. Mike, talk to everybody about Jordan Reed. You've got them at 6, and I understand, but I believe you've enacted Rule 86 once again in 20.

Yes, Rule 86, which states if Jordan Reed is healthy, you play him in fantasy football. We're waiting for legislation. We don't know if it is officially passed. My rankings would infer that it has, but we got to check on the floppy nature of his boneless toes. Whoa. We got a lot of things we got to expect. You know how confusing that sentence was for our listeners? Look, flaccid toes is a situation. Whoa.

And we'll see what he can do. We'll see what he can do. Not if you're a manatee. You want to talk about a guy who can go into the gronk tier. What do you know about manatees that I don't know about? I'm under the impression that floppy toes would be just fine. Now you're a manatee. A manate. But Jordan Reed, in 2015 and 14 games, was the number two tied in. He is the guy who can make the leap into the gronk tier.

If he can stay healthy. Yeah, I get it. It's a big if he can stay healthy. The haters are going to forget. Jordan Reed was the tight end nine two years ago. It was this past season where he really hosed people because he missed a gigantic portion of the year. His upside is tremendous. Alex Smith has proven time and time again. Vernon Davis, Travis Kelsey. He makes superstars out of the tight end position. And you're going to get him in the eighth round, which still has a little bit of risk.

put into that ADP, because there's guys in the eighth round that you may think are safer and will be able to be solid players on your bench. But Jordan Reed, if he hits, is a top three tight end. And you, let's, like, who's next? Jared Cook, even Kyle Rudolph, I'm not putting anywhere close to that range of top three. All right.