Fantasy football is fun. Finding value is fun. Finding value in fantasy football is very fun, especially at a thin position like tight end. There is no better feeling than having a guy you love fall to you in the later rounds of a draft.
These days people are always looking to find the next edge in their lineups. Some people pay up for the stud tight ends, some people load up on workhorse running backs, and some people ignore some positions entirely. I’m guilty of this, touting the Zero RB draft strategy in an article just a few weeks ago.
While paying up for the top-tier tight ends can give you that edge, finding the breakout guys in the middle and later rounds are what really sets apart the best teams. Think about Zach Ertz or Jack Doyle last season, or Kyle Rudolph in 2016. Finding these guys later lets you load up on the elite wide receivers and running backs in the early rounds. So here are three tight ends that could finish inside the top-5 at their position.
Delanie Walker
Imagine throwing on an old, reliable pair of jeans that you haven’t worn in years and finding $20 in your pocket. That is basically what drafting Delanie Walker feels like. The tread may be worn on his tires, but he is that consistent stud that you can plug and play every season.
In fact, Walker is one of two tight ends to have at least 800 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons (Travis Kelce). Walker is actually the only tight end to finish top 5 in PPR points each of the last three seasons. Walker is going in the 7th round as the 8th tight end off the board.
Walker (and the entire Titan’s passing offense) is set to see some positive scoring regression, especially in the red zone. After only catching three of his tight end-leading 13 end zone targets for touchdowns, Walker is primed to bounce back.
Some may be concerned with his age and wondering how much juice is left in his soon-to-be 34-year-old legs. Head on over to airyards.com and look at Josh Hermsmeyer’s game speed tracking data. Walker was the fastest tight end in the NFL with a significantly faster average game speed than Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz, and Travis Kelce, just to name a few.
So we have an incredibly consistent player at a scarce position going later than he should with no signs of slowing down. Let’s stop paying a premium for the perceived “best” tight ends and grab a legitimate top-5 guy in the 7th round.
George Kittle
I was in love with Travis Kelce last season for many reasons. He is incredibly athletic for his size, he has a great offensive mind for a head coach, and his offense had a question mark for its top wide receiver. My thought process was that he would likely operate as the top receiver for his offense with all these factors, and I was right.
Kelce led his team in targets, catches, and touchdowns, finishing as the top tight end in fantasy leading my team to the playoffs. While Kelce may be a bit more proven, I am getting a seriously similar vibe from George Kittle this year.
Kittle has one of the most impressive athletic profiles you will ever see, per Player Profiler. He has Kyle Shannahan as his head coach, an offensive guru who understands the value of using his mismatches all over the field. And the top receiver in San Francisco is the 5’9” track star, Marquise Goodwin.
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Kittle has already shown the ability to translate his athleticism into on-field production with his 260 yards after the catch, good for 7th among tight ends. And once Jimmy Garoppolo took over in week 13, Kittle had the fifth most receiving yards and the most yards after the catch among tight ends for the rest of the season.
The weapons in the 49er offense all profile as niche guys and will likely not dominate targets any given week. This opens up an opportunity for Kittle to grab over 100 targets in this newly explosive offense. He should also be the primary guy in the red zone, as the only guy within three inches of Kittle’s 6’4” frame is blocking tight end Garrett Celek.
Kittle is primed to break out as a top-tier tight end. If Kittle stays healthy, sees more targets, and capitalizes on his nine red zone targets in 2017 (6th among tight ends) he could finish as a top-5 tight end. He is currently going in the 10th round of drafts as the 11th tight end. If you’re an upside chaser, he is the ideal low-cost target for you.
Jack Doyle
Speaking of low-cost targets, Jack Doyle is sitting there in the 11th round after a 7th place finish with Jacoby Brissett under center. Doyle saw a target share of nearly 25 percent and caught 80 balls with Brissett, both good for second among tight ends. The Colts did bring in first round bust Eric Ebron, who was so bad that the Lions couldn’t even let him play out his rookie contract before cutting him.
While Doyle may not see that high of a target share with Ebron sharing snaps, he will likely be getting higher value targets with Andrew Luck back at the helm. There is a big difference between a Brissett target and a Luck target, and Doyle should see enough of those in scoring situations to inflate his fantasy points on more than just volume.
Even with Ebron in town, Doyle is still only competing with T.Y. Hilton, Chester Rogers, and Ryan Grant for significant targets. Hilton is the only one that truly inspires confidence to see over 100 targets.
With Doyle positioned to see a similar number of targets with better scoring opportunities set up by Andrew Luck, he could easily outperform his ADP as the 12th tight end taken. I could see him beating his 2017 fantasy finish and cracking the top 5.
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