Five Tight Ends To Target Late In Fantasy Drafts

A viable strategy in fantasy football is to wait on the tight end position. In fact, if you don’t draft one of the big three that is Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas and Rob Gronkowski, you should wait until the draft is in the double digit rounds to pick up a tight end. It would probably be wise to pick up two in this scenario. This tactic allows owners to focus on picking running backs and wide receivers in the early-to-middle rounds where most leagues start more than one of each at those positions. Below are some late-round lottery tickets that have serious potential at cracking most starting lineups by season’s end. 

Ladarius Green, San Diego Chargers

The first thing that sticks out about San Diego Chargers tight end Ladarius Green is his physical prowess. Green is a towering target at 6’6 tall and posted the fifth fastest 40 yard dash in NFL combine history at his position with a 4.53 time just two years ago. He also displayed his explosion with a 124 inch broad jump. He is a matchup nightmare and it is only a matter of time until he replaces Antonio Gates as the No. 1 tight end in this offense. 

When the coaches finally utilized Green late in the season, he started to put up numbers that suggested he could be a viable threat. Scoring three touchdowns while accumulating 228 receiving yards in the last six games has some promise to it, although not overly impressive. 

Green’s average draft position on ESPN.com is 139.1 as the 18th-highest drafted tight end. Late-round picks are all about taking fliers on players who offer great upside and Green fits the bill. The four tight ends going right above him are Eric Ebron, Heath Miller, Coby Fleener and Charles Clay. Despite the first round draft status, all rookie tight ends tend to struggle. Miller has finished top 10 at his position a measly three times during his nine-year career. Fleener struggled to emerge last year after Reggie Wayne missed the back half of the season and the superior Dwayne Allen (more on that later) essentially missed the whole year. Charles Clay actually turned out to be a reliable option for Miami but is battling an injury at the moment. 

Taking a gigantic leap like former basketball playing counterparts Jimmy Graham in 2011 and Julius Thomas did last year is unlikely but don’t put it past Green to at least enjoy a season similar to Jordan Cameron’s 2013 season.

Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals 

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Tyler Eifert last year as the No. 1 player at his position which means they think highly of him. You should too. Tight ends can break out and produce at a massive rate as early as their second year. Some notable examples include Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Jason Witten and Antonio Gates as they all surpassed 950 yards after their rookie season. However those are unreasonable expectations for the young Eifert from Notre Dame. 

He compares very favorably to the once-heralded Kellen Winslow Jr. Using numbers from the NFL Combine, Eifert measured in at 6’5’’ and 250 pounds, similar to Winslow’s 6’4’’ and 247 pound frame. Both ran times of 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. Winslow was able to bench press 24 reps while Eifert was right behind him with 22. The former Miami Hurricane was able to post a broad jump of 120 inches while Eifert came close with 119. These displays of physical prowess led both to become first round picks in their respective drafts. Winslow produced 875 yards and three scores in his second full season (Winslow missed all of 2005 due to injury). 

Those numbers seem a little optimistic for a player who has to share targets with A.J. Green so let’s see what we can expect. In the past 20 years, eight tight ends were drafted in the opening round and played 16 games in year two. The average statline was 52 catches, 596 yards and 3.75 touchdowns. Those numbers would be good enough for a season similar to Delanie Walker and Coby Fleener last year who were borderline starting options. It is worth noting that five of the eight tight ends that fit the above category had over 620 receiving yards which means it is more likely that Eifert eclipses Walker’s and Fleener’s statistics. 

Eifert is owned in roughly 6% of ESPN.com leagues which means he’s going undrafted most of the time. It makes a lot of sense to spend a lottery ticket on a big athlete entering his second year. 

Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams

Most people have soured on Jared Cook after his severely disappointing outings following his week 1 that saw him gain 141 yards and two touchdowns for 24 fantasy points. Cook only had one more game where he would pass half of that opening contest output and it arrived in week 12. 

Quarterback Sam Bradford’s return from injury bodes well for Cook. In addition to the rapport he will have with the passer in their second year in the system, Cook should have more opportunities to flourish. 

In seven games with the starting quarterback, Cook recorded 26 catches on 42 targets for 344 yards. When backup Kellen Clemens took over, Cook caught 25 balls on 41 targets in nine contests. With their prized passer sidelined, the Rams had to dial up more runs in the game plan. St. Louis running backs averaged 18.7 carries when Bradford started as opposed to the 26.4 attempts when Clemens took over. The team may still try to pound the rock as often as they can but having their starter under center will benefit all offensive players.  

Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts

Coby Fleener missed four games in 2012 and Dwayne Allen, in his rookie year, managed to put up 17 catches for 211 yards in that span. In nine games during 2013 where both Allen and esteemed receiver Reggie Wayne could not suit up, Fleener could only muster 30 catches for 373 yards. Simply put, Allen is efficient while Fleener is not. 

Allen is a superior blocker which will lead him to get time on the field and he may be depended upon in the passing game with 35 year old Reggie Wayne coming off an ACL tear and T.Y. Hilton stretching the field. Allen will not likely receive the targets that Fleener got last year but you can bet he’ll look like the better tight end receiving option in 2014. 

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

In the first two weeks of the preseason, Travis Kelce exploded for 6 catches for 136 yards and two scores. Travis Kelce is another second year player although he missed all 16 games in 2013. Despite that, he is pushing for the starting job and should earn it over the unimpressive Anthony Fasano. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called Kelce a “standout” earlier this month. Quarterback Alex Smith, who had the luxury of throwing to Vernon Davis for most of his career, said “he’s going to add another element to the tight end position.” Smith enjoys throwing to the tight end and that is evident in the 49 total receptions by Anthony Fasano and Sean McGrath last year. A weapon like Kelce should get those targets now and produce even more fantasy points than those two combined.

The 2013 draft class featured a deep tight end class that includes Eifert, Zach Ertz, Jordan Reed and Kelce. Kelce ended up being the first pick of the third round so he barely missed out on being a second rounder which would’ve been high pedigree. 

Follow Joshua on Twitter @JMinn13 for humor, hot takes and hamburgers.