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TE Breakdown: NFC East Edition


The league today is full of great TE talent. So much so that it can be hard to know who you want to roll with for your fantasy team. There are currently TE’s being drafted as early as pick 22 and as late as pick 173. It can be hard to tell who is worth their ADP, who you should avoid, and who could wind up being a late round steal. Throughout this series, we will break down the TE depth charts and fantasy potential of each team, 1 division at a time. (12 team, standard scoring)

Dallas Cowboys

Jason Witten started all but 2 games between the 2004 and 2017 seasons. For a long time, he was the epitome of toughness and consistency among the guys at his position, and his departure has left the Cowboys TE room crowded and uncertain. Among the guys listed below, there are 46 NFL receptions and 1 TD, all accumulated just by James Hanna and Geoff Swaim. I’m not sure who will emerge as Dallas’s TE1 to start the season, and frankly I don’t think they are either. Until one of them emerges during the season as the clear #1, none of these guys are worth a roster spot on your fantasy team. Expect a TE by committee in Dallas this year. Even when one emerges as the TE1, there’s no guarantee of consistent fantasy value. It’s worth noting that none of them have more than 4 receptions through their first 2 preseason games.

1. Blake Jarwin (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

1. Geoff Swaim (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

1. Rico Gathers (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

1. Dalton Schultz (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

New York Giants

The Giants passing attack in 2017 was supposed to be deadly with OBJ, Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard, and rookie TE Evan Engram. However, Engram was the only one who appeared in more than 11 games. But boy did he deliver. His 64 catches ranked 3rd most all time among rookie TE’s and the most since Jeremy Shockey in 2002. He ranked in the top-7 for TE’s in routes run, targets, receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, opportunity adjusted touchdowns, endzone targets, and fantasy points. Assuming OBJ, Shepard, and Saquon Barkley can stay healthy, expect Engram to regress slightly in 2018. He is unlikely to see such a monstrous target share again in 2018, but his involvement in what is expected to be a high-powered offense combined with his ability to create mismatches in coverage still give him high-end TE1 upside in 2018. Ellison will be used primarily as a blocker and will catch a few passes here and there (24 catches in 16 games in 2017), but he won’t play a significant enough role to hurt Engram’s fantasy potential.

1. Evan Engram (ADP: 6.09, TE6) – High upside TE1

2. Rhett Ellison (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

Philadelphia Eagles

It seems that every fantasy site in 2018 is in agreement that Ertz is a top-3 TE, right up with Gronk and Kelce, and there’s good reason for that. Ertz has finished in the top-5 at the position in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and endzone targets each of the past 2 seasons. In each of the last 3 years, he has finished with 70+ catches, 800+ yards, and 2+ TD’s. He found the endzone a career high 8 times last year, so expect slight TD regression in 2018 but not so drastically that he isn’t worth his ADP. The only concern with Ertz is that he hasn’t played all 16 games since 2014. In games that Ertz missed last year, his backup stepped up and saw good usage from Wentz, including a 5 catch-71 yard-2 TD performance from Trey Burton. I don’t recommend handcuffing Goedert with Ertz, but he’s a name to keep an eye on if Ertz has to miss any games again this year if your approach is to stream a new TE each week. Assuming Wentz stays healthy this year and can return to his MVP candidate form, Ertz has high-end TE1 potential and Goedert has weekly TE1 potential if he’s needed to start.

1. Zach Ertz – (ADP: 4.08, TE3) – High upside TE1

2. Dallas Goedert (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot

Washington Redskins

Everyone is concerned with drafting Jordan Reed, and it’s all for the same reason. He has missed 28 of 80 regular season games in his career, but he sports massive upside when he’s healthy. Let’s not forget that in 2015, Reed exploded for 87 catches, 952 yards, and 11 TD’s. He played in 4 full games last season and received 7.5 targets per game and was TE6 in fantasy through those games. Assuming he stays healthy, he’s poised for a huge season with new QB Alex Smith, who helped Travis Kelce obtain the most fantasy points by a TE each of the past 2 seasons as well as 100+ targets each of the last 3 seasons. If he can stay healthy, Reed is a steal at his current ADP of TE10. Also present in Washington is the ageless Vernon Davis, who was TE13 on a fantasy PPG basis in the 10 games Reed missed in 2017. He is now reunited with his former 49ers QB Alex Smith, the man responsible for 50% of Davis’s career TD catches. He posts TE2 upside due to Reed’s injury concerns, and is definitely an instant start if Reed has to miss any games.

1. Jordan Reed (ADP: 8.11, TE10) – High upside TE1 with a very low floor

2. Vernon Davis (ADP: Undrafted) – Worth a late round pick


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