TE Breakdown - NFC West 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)
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Arizona Cardinals
Ricky Seals-Jones showed flashes of TE1 productivity last season, posting back-to-back top-5 fantasy outings for the position against Houston and Jacksonville, two solid defenses. In each of those games, he caught at least 3 passes, went for at least 50 yards, and was able to find the endzone. He was able to go for over 40 yards on 2 catches the following week as well. He only saw 28 targets over the course of last season, but flashed an efficient 16.8 yards per catch and a TD reception every 9.33 targets. Gresham tore his Achilles in week 17 last season and it’s looking like he’ll be starting the season on the PUP list, which would revoke his eligibility until week 7, opening up Seals-Jones’ opportunities to cement the TE1 role in Arizona. Seals-Jones is worth a late-round pick or an early season waiver target, whereas Gresham is not worth a roster spot until he returns to prove he’s healthy and fantasy relevant with his new QB, whether that’s Sam Bradford or Josh Rosen.
1. Ricky Seals-Jones (ADP: Undrafted) – Low-end TE1 upside
2. Jermaine Gresham (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot
Los Angeles Rams
Higbee and Everett combined for 71 points in standard scoring fantasy leagues last season, tallying 77 targets and 41 receptions for 539 yards and 3 TD’s. Unfortunately for them, their combined targets were a measly 16.1% of Jarod Goff’s passing attempts. While Higbee paced the two of them in snaps by a whopping 420, Everett ran only 58 fewer routes and received only 13 fewer targets. They provided very similar fantasy production, but were both still so far from fantasy relevance. Everett’s 15.3 yards per reception show more big play ability than Higbee’s 11.8, and Everett was able to find the endzone one more time than Higbee. Both of Everett’s TD’s came from inside the 5-yard line which show Goff’s trust in him when it counts. Everett is in a good position to supplant Higbee for the TE1 role, but both of these guys have a lot to prove before they’re worthy of a fantasy football roster spot.
1. Tyler Higbee (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot
2. Gerald Everett (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot
San Francisco 49ers
Kittle only caught 43 passes for 515 yards and 2 TD’s last year, but it was clear towards the end of the season that George Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo really began to build a little chemistry. Kittle hauled in 11 catches for 194 yards and 1 TD over the final 3 games which included opponents like Jacksonville and the L.A. Rams, who both sport solid defenses. His last 2 performances were good enough for 2 top-7 finishes at the TE position in fantasy. Kittle posted a nice 68.3% catch rate during his rookie campaign, an impressive number when he caught 28 of his 43 passes from the likes of Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard. Where Kittle has a chance to really shine in 2018 is the redzone. Jerick McKinnon is not a physical runner and Pierre Garcon and Marqise Goodwin both come in at 6’0” or shorter. Kittle is 6’4”, 250 pounds and provides a very big target for Jimmy G in that situation. What’s worth keeping an eye on is his shoulder. He separated his shoulder in the first preseason game this year, so if the injury lingers, it’ll obviously hurt his fantasy prospects. If he is forced to miss time, Garrett Celek could serve as a good TE streaming option. He caught 21 passes for 336 yards (16.0 YPC) and 4 TD’s last year and proved decent value, posting 3 10+ point performances in standard scoring.
1. George Kittle (ADP: 11.10, TE12) – Low-end TE1 upside, low-end TE2 floor
2. Garrett Celek (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot if Kittle is healthy
Seattle Seahawks
Huge props to Russell Wilson for being so good, because short of Doug Baldwin and 1 year of Jimmy Graham, there hasn’t been a lot of consistent and dependable fantasy value in Seattle's offense the last few years. I don’t see that changing with their TE’s this year. Ed Dickson comes over from Carolina who, outside of one 175-yard game last season, was nothing special. He only topped 30 yards twice after that game, and found the endzone only once all season. His best season came in 2011 and was the only year that he caught more than 30 passes or finished better than 34th among TE’s in fantasy points. His competition for the starting role comes from Nick Vannett, Seattle’s 2016 3rd round pick. He caught 15 passes for 156 yards and 1 TD last year while working behind both Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson. It is likely that Seattle will look to involve their 25-year-old former draft pick more so than the 31-year-old free agent signee, especially since Dickson hasn’t practiced since the offseason program due to a lingering quad injury. With Russell Wilson under center, whoever wins the starting job could provide some sleeper value among the league’s TE’s, but until that’s exhibited, neither one is worth a roster spot on your fantasy team.
1. Nick Vannett (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot
2. Ed Dickson (ADP: Undrafted) – Not worth a roster spot