Final Points – Tight Ends

Here is my final installment – the best fantasy players at their positions, and I’m going to be breaking down the tight ends.

1: By probably the biggest margin between two players in this whole series, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is at one. The Chiefs lost their best receiver in the offseason, Tyreek Hill but even if they still had Hill, Kelce would still be the best. He’s the most reliable tight end and the most versatile. He can go get a high ball, he could catch and run with the ball and he could stay home as a blocker. Kelce is going to get a high volume of touches on the Chiefs’ offense. He’s going in the first or very early second round, so if he’s available, pick him up.

2: Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens is at two. Andrews is also a very versatile tight end and similarly to Kelce, the most dangerous weapon on their offenses minus the QB. Andrews plays a very similar role to Kelce, meaning that he could go up and get the ball and run after the catch. He doesn’t block that much, but for fantasy, it doesn’t matter. The only reason Kelce is at one by such a huge margin is that the Ravens like the run game WAY more than the Chiefs do, so that may take away from Andrews’ touches.

3: Kyle Pitts of the Atlanta Falcons is at three. Unfortunately, he will be such a hit or miss this season. We saw this last season as he got a decent amount of catches and yards but only one touchdown the whole season. Pitts is on a very young Falcons offense so I believe that he’ll be one of the focal points of this offense. Pitts is one of the fastest tight ends in the league, and if the Falcons show that they can be an explosive force, then Pitts is a great option, but proceed with caution.

4: By a pretty big margin once again, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is at four. Kittle is not a fantasy tight end. Probably the third-best tight end based on actual in-game value, but for fantasy, he’s very average. He’s injury prone, he has a lot of blocking assignments and he’s not very fast, so you’ll just be relying on catches and touchdowns. But, Kittle is one of the best tight ends for his value in the early fourth round, so he’s not terrible.

5: Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders is at six. Waller used to be the second-best fantasy tight end, as early as two years ago, but injury concerns and more offensive weapons in Vegas sent him to lower down the rankings. Waller now has to contend with Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams, both elite wide receivers. Sure, Waller can use his speed to get open but his injuries frighten me. But, when Waller’s on, he’s ON. He will be getting catches, yards, and touchdowns like no tomorrow. Similarly to Kittle, great value pick.

6: Dalton Schultz of the Dallas Cowboys is at six. This is where the tight end well starts to run dry. Schultz is a very decent pick. But, if you’re in the position to draft him, I expect that you have a pretty well-rounded team in every other department. Schultz is going to be a very intriguing player this year because the Cowboys have weapons in the receiving core and at running back, but Prescott might decide to target Schultz quite a bit. He won’t be a blocking tight end, so that’s just more potential targets for him.

7: TJ Hockenson of the Detroit Lions is at seven. Hockenson has the potential to be one of the best tight ends for fantasy this year at the end of the year. There are a lot of really young weapons on this team, like D’Andre Swift and Amon Ra St. Brown, so Hockenson might be fighting for touches this year but I’m not worried. The Lions don’t have that big imposing receiver on their roster, so I think Hockenson will be getting red zone targets this year. He’s also a tight end that can run with the ball after the catch. The Lions improved their offensive line over the offseason so that will give their subpar QB, Jared Goff more time to find his tight end.

8: Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles is at eight. Goedert is not appealing to me in any way fantasy-wise. He’s playing on a really clogged Eagles offense where he never found success and was playing second fiddle to Zach Ertz all the time. The only thing going for Goedert here is that he has a young QB that will want to find his most reliable receivers. One of them being Goedert. He might get an occasional touchdown or two but I doubt he’ll find any success outside the red zone.

9: Zach Ertz of the Arizona Cardinals is at nine. Physically, nothing is really working for Ertz. He’s not fast, he’s not tall and he’s not big for a tight end. Unfortunately, he’s a player that’s going to catch the ball and then get past one guy by bulldozing him and then get brought down. Weirdly so, he’s not a tight end that’s going to get the ball primarily in the red zone, but I see Ertz getting the ball earlier in the drive, and just as a means to move the ball. Ertz is playing on a clogged offense, though, so I’m scared he’s not going to get a lot of targets.

10: Hunter Henry of the New England Patriots is at ten. Henry is a very good tight end for his value. Full disclosure, though: In my main 12-team league, Henry is my backup tight end. Henry has a young QB in Mac Jones, who will want to target the reliable receivers for guaranteed yardage. I don’t think you knew that Hunter Henry had nine touchdowns last year, tied for the league lead among tight ends. Henry is a big guy that also has some speed, a deadly combo as we saw earlier in the list. I don’t see another nine or so touchdown season from him, but he can still have a great one while flying under everyone’s radar.

11: Pat Freiermuth of the Pittsburgh Steelers is at eleven. Freiermuth was a rookie last season and he had moments where he shocked everyone and provided some quality offense for the Steelers. He might take that step forward this year or he might stay put or take a step back. Obviously, he’s a second-year player, so he can’t regress in his performance, but I meant he could take a step back in the Steelers offense. This guy’s a pretty big gamble, but it could pay off. Like I’ve been saying, if you’re taking Patrick John Freiermuth as your starting tight end, you should probably have an elite rest of your team, or else you’re doing something wrong.

12: Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears is at 12. We are REALLY scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Kmet is a third-year player that had some good moments last year but Justin Fields was pretty bad last year. I believe that if Fields takes a step in his development this year, so will Kmet. This also goes for the rest of the Chicago Bears receivers. Kmet has the potential to be a really solid tight end at some point in his career, but definitely not this year (this also depends on if the Bears will develop him properly). I think Kmet will be used all over the field this year, and after the Bears lost Allen Robinson to the Rams this offseason, Kmet will be a pretty big red zone threat.

Here is my fantasy football team. I’m in a 12-team league with full PPR.

QB: Lamar Jackson

RB1: Austin Ekeler

RB2: Breece Hall

WR1: Deebo Samuel

WR2: Gabe Davis

TE: Mark Andrews

FLEX: Elijah Mitchell

FLEX: Dameon Pierce

Kicker: Matt Gay

Defense: Dallas Cowboys

 

Bench

Ryan Tannehill, QB

Raheem Mostert, RB

James Cook, RB

Garrett Wilson, WR

Joshua Palmer, WR

Hunter Henry, TE

Deshaun Watson, QB

 

Definitely not the best team in the league, although the upside for this team is huge. I’ll be attempting to make trades over the course of the season to fill the obvious holes in the team such as both FLEX positions or WR2.

More Fantasy Football Rankings for 2022-23 Season—Wide Receivers

I’m back with my fantasy football rankings for the 2022-23 season and I’m continuing with the best wide receivers.

1: I was looking at two wide receivers for a period of time before selecting who would be the best on my list. Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams looked better in my mind and he should be the first receiver off the board in your fantasy drafts. Kupp combines size with speed, which is exactly what you need to be a superstar in the NFL. Kupp posted one of the best seasons as a receiver in recent memory last year after a great QB in Matt Stafford arrived in Los Angeles. This just shows what happens when an elite receiver teams up with a great QB. I don’t see him posting the same season this year as he did last year but he’ll still be the best receiver.

2: The second-best receiver for fantasy by the slimmest of margins is Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Maybe he doesn’t have the size that Kupp has but he has more speed and just more playmaking as a receiver. He might be one of the most valuable deep threats to have in the NFL, which is great for your fantasy team. Although he doesn’t even have an above-average QB in Kirk Cousins, Jefferson showed his superstar potential last season as a rookie. Give him a good QB and he is easily the best receiver in the NFL. But for this season, expect an even better year than last even with other offensive weapons on the Vikings.

3: Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals is next. Like Jefferson, Chase showed his superstar potential last year. Unfortunately, Jefferson is the better player even though Chase has the far superior QB. Chase showed what he can do late in the season and in the playoffs last year. Here’s an interesting stat: Chase was 20^th in receptions last year but fourth in receiving yards. This just shows how explosive Chase is after he catches the ball. The Bengals have a stacked WR core but that doesn’t scare me as I expect Chase to have another dominant season.

4: Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders is at 4. Adams was easily a top 3 receiver in fantasy and the best receiver in football when he was on the Packers with back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers as his QB. I’m taking a risk by putting Adams at 4 here because the Raiders have more of a clogged offense and Adams has a worse QB in Derek Carr this year. Even though they have a fairly clogged offense, Adams is still the best one there. I still believe Adams will work his magic, wherever he is, Carr just has to find him.

5: Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills is at five. Diggs is the slightly worse version of Adams. A fairly big body with elite route running skills and speed. Even though Diggs has the best QB in the NFL in Josh Allen, Adams is still better. Diggs will post a reliable 10-15 points per week with the potential to drop 30+ at least twice per year. He’s the best option on the Bills, so he’ll be getting the majority of the offensive touches. Diggs is a great option for you to get on your fantasy team, and he’s going way later than he should in drafts this year.

6: Ceedee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys is at six. Lamb has the potential to finish as a top-three receiver for fantasy this year, but I’m putting him at six just because he may also not even finish in the top 10. Nobody can figure out the Cowboys’ offense and who their main receiver will be. On paper, it’s Lamb, but what will their game plan be from week to week? Nobody knows. Lamb is a very fun player to watch, but he may not produce at the level people want. The Cowboys have an elite offense so they may decide to spread the ball around. If Lamb falls to you, take him, but don’t reach for him.

7: Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers. Something about Deebo makes me weary of him. He doubles as a running back for the ‘Niners so that’s an instant positive for Samuel but I just don’t think he’s going to deliver as much as he did last year. He surprised everyone last year with the number of touchdowns he scored, both receiving and rushing. The ‘Niners' offense just seems very clogged this season and I don’t like it. The defenses may hone in on Samuel and hamper his performance. By the way, in my main league, Samuel is my WR1, so I don’t hate him.

8: Show Tyreek Hill being the 8^th best fantasy wide receiver to someone in 2019 and they’ll call you crazy. But they’re totally right. Tyreek Hill was traded from the high-powered Chiefs to the “meh” Dolphins. The Dolphins have a better WR core than the Chiefs did and they also have a much worse QB. But it’s still blazing fast and explosive Tyreek Hill. He’ll be a very solid option for you to have and who knows, maybe Tua Tagovailoa has developed over the offseason and will be prepared to hit Hill for a massive completion.

9: Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is at nine. Evans is the best receiver in Tampa and probably Tom Brady’s favorite target this year. Chris Godwin is coming off an ACL injury so the only reliable receiver the Bucs have is Evans. Luckily for the Bucs and you, Evans is a big body that can go up in the red zone and come down with a lot of touchdowns. He will also get a pretty good amount of receptions and receiving yards. The Bucs didn’t supply Brady with a good running back, so Evans will be getting a lot of touches.

10: Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers is at ten. Allen is a big-bodied receiver on the elite Chargers’ offense. Although he’s on a clogged offense, and the main competitor is the WR2, Mike Williams, who’s even bigger, I still think Allen is going to be targeted a lot. The young QB, Justin Herbert will want to get the ball to the reliable guy in Williams and not Keenan Allen in the red zone but that’s why Allen is at nine and not top five; he’s not going to get a ton of touchdowns, but rather a lot of receptions and yards.

11: DJ Moore of the Carolina Panthers is at 11. While everyone was sleeping on DJ Moore last season, I wasn’t. DJ Moore was always an elite wide receiver buried under a below-average QB. He’s a real talent whose development was being hampered by not having one solid (at least average) QB. Moore is on the taller side and he can go up and get the ball, and he has pretty good speed, but he’s an elite route runner and a great playmaker. He had a lot of receptions and yards last season but not too many touchdowns. Moore would be a top 7 receiver if he had that great QB, but with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as his two options, I don’t see him having a top 7 season.

12: Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts is at 12. I’ve seen mixed reviews on Pittman this offseason, but I only see one way his season will play out. He is going to play out of his mind this season. Pittman is the only playable receiver on the Colts this season. Every other receiver would be on the reserves of any average team. Someone has to catch the ball in Indianapolis, and that someone is going to be Pittman. Sure, they have the best running back in football in Jonathan Taylor, but they can’t run the ball every play. I’m pretty sure the defense is going to figure them out. Matt Ryan, the veteran quarterback the Colts added this season has played with a Pittman-type receiver before in Julio Jones. And as Ryan’s career is waning, he’s going to want to throw to the big, reliable receiver in the endzone and just to move the ball down the field. Pittman is a great addition to your team and I think he’s going to have a great season. 

Back with Running Backs in Fantasy Football

I’m back with my fantasy football running back rankings. Here are the top 12 running backs you need for fantasy football this season.

1: The undisputed best running back in the league this season is Jonathan Taylor. He combines explosiveness with brute force which easily makes him the number one overall draft pick in most fantasy leagues. The crazy part about Taylor is that he has no injury concerns and in the last weeks of the football season last year, he was playing quite literally out of his mind. He won the league for the lucky managers that started him in those final weeks. Taylor looks like the focal part of his offense and this easily makes him the best running back.

2: Christian McCaffrey is the second-best running back for fantasy. Although he has the most upside in the league, because of his versatility as a pass catcher and a running back, I don’t think he’s better than JT. McCaffrey also looks like the leading player in his offense and should be getting a crazy volume of touches. Let me tell you, though, that I am not drafting McCaffrey no matter what. His injuries over the past few years have told me that it’s bound to happen again this year. I’m putting him at 2 because of his upside.

3: I really like Austin Ekeler as a fantasy option. Although he’s playing in a pretty clogged offense with a young star quarterback, I think he’s a player very similar to McCaffrey in his versatility. I love Ekeler’s upside, just like McCaffrey’s, but Ekeler’s injury concerns aren’t as prominent. Ekeler’s is just plain good and should be getting a lot of touches even in the packed Chargers’ offense. Furthermore, Ekeler is very eager to “carry your fantasy team,” as he’s tweeted in the past.

4: The King sits at number four. The only way to describe Derrick Henry is that he’s a beast. He mows through grown men like they’re little children. The speed at his size is also unbelievable, he’s the perfect combination. I would put him at three but he injured his foot last season in week 10 and I don’t see him regaining that dominant form again. I still see him being an imposing threat, just not 125+ yards per week dominant.

5: Najee Harris is at number five. It’s crazy to think that a second-year player is the fifth-best running back in fantasy football and some people doubt him this year just because there have been rumors he’s not getting as many touches as last year. Najee Harris will easily be the best player on a Steelers' offense that has not found their QB1 or a solid WR1 yet. Although the offensive line isn’t the best in Pittsburgh, look what he did last season with a mediocre offensive line. I see much of the same.

6: Dalvin Cook is at number six. It’s hard to put him any earlier just because of how clogged the Vikings’ offense is. Cook is also not going to be the goal-line running back most likely, that will go to Alexander Mattison. Although the Vikings don’t have a great QB, I still think their offense is going to be pass-oriented with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, so use caution when drafting Cook, but I still think he’s a solid option.

7: Saquon Barkley is at number 7. Everyone is putting him so low in their rankings and I am so confused as to why. Barkley is literally the best player on the Giants and even more so on the Giants' offense. I believe Barkley’s injury concerns are past him and he’ll be back better than ever. He’s an explosive running back and the only way he can go is up in his development. Barkley is going in the mid-late second round which is blasphemy, he’s such a steal.

8: Alvin Kamara would be such a steal if the hand of justice wasn’t looming above his head. His battery charge case was moved to September 29^th so he’s ready to go until that date but proceed with caution because he might be hit with a pretty hefty sentence and/or a suspension from the NFL. This is so unfortunate because Kamara is one of the most elusive running backs in the NFL and his fantasy value is through the roof. Keep this in mind when drafting Kamara.

9: Joe Mixon is a good running back, although I usually stay away from him. First, last year was the only year that he’s done significant damage, he may get injured and the Bengals seem like a very pass-heavy offense with a stacked wide receiver room. There are just so many other options, before and after him, but I think Mixon will be a pretty reliable running back this season. He may not get a large volume of touches, but he’ll get his touchdowns.

10: Aaron Jones is at number 10. I’m so happy he’s finally getting the biggest role he’ll have on the Packers probably in his whole career. Aaron Rodgers is not getting any younger so he’ll rely a little more on his running back. Davante Adams, the best receiver in football was traded to the Raiders over the offseason and now Rodgers is stuck with good ol’ Allen Lazard as his WR1. Jones doesn’t have the explosiveness or the brute force we see from other running backs, so even if he did get a lot of touches, he can’t do much with them. Furthermore, AJ Dillon, the backup running back, is massive, so he’ll be getting most of the goal line touches for the Packers (more touches on the goal line = more touchdowns = more points).

11: D’Andre Swift is at number 11. I’m not going to try to sugarcoat it. The Lions' offense will be comically bad this season. Jared Goff is terrible, the wide receivers are really bad. TJ Hockenson really needs to perk up and show what he’s made of for me to give him any credit. The only weapon in this offense will be Swift, the elusive running back. The offensive line improved over the offseason, but I just don’t like D’Andre Swift for some reason. He was a promising player in his rookie season, but I don’t think it’ll translate into better performance this season.

12: Javonte Williams is such an underrated player. Everyone keeps putting him way too low. Look at last season, even with the starting job being fought for, Williams still performed. He’s a massive guy that will easily get a lot of touchdowns this season. He’s not a pass-catching back, which will hamper his points scored but I just see a massive role for him in the Broncos' offense this season. The only thing stopping me from putting him earlier is two young, talented receivers on the team as well and a new QB in Russell Wilson. It’s also the reason I was considering not even putting him on this list.