(Updated) 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends (TEs)
With tonight concluding the 2010 NFL pre-season, this will likely be our last update for fantasy tight ends before the season begins in one week (unless we are feeling overly ambitious). In other words, this will definitely be our last fantasy TE update before the start of the season.
Throughout the season, we will provide weekly rankings based on matchups, injuries, byes, etc. In addition, we will update our position rankings, in general terms, on a monthly basis to help you evaluate trade proposals and such.
For now, here are our top 20 fantasy tight ends entering the 2010 NFL season:
1. Antonio Gates, Chargers: Despite only ranking sixth among tight ends in targets (114), Gates led tight ends -- and set a career-high -- in receiving yards (1,157) in 2009. With Vincent Jackson out for three (or more) weeks, Gates should see more targets in 2010.
2. Dallas Clark, Colts: What's not to like? With a line of 100-1106-10, Clark ranked first in receptions, second in yards and third in touchdowns among tight ends.
3. Vernon Davis, 49ers: Davis finally broke out last year. So much so that last season (78-965-13) was essentially better than his two previous seasons combined (83-867-6).
4. Brent Celek, Eagles: Two of Celek's three 100-yard games came in the only two in which quarterback Kevin Kolb started. Perhaps that overstates the Kolb-Celek chemistry, but it's not hard to picture an improvement upon his breakout campaign (76-971-8).
5. Jason Witten, Cowboys: Witten had a "down" year of 94 passes for 1,030 yards (and only two touchdowns). Many tight ends (or wide receivers) would love to have a "down" year like that. I guarantee that Witten will have more than two touchdowns in 2010. Otherwise, I refund 110% of your cost for this advice. I'm confident; make that double your cost.
6. Jermichael Finley, Packers: In his final eight games (including the Packers' post-season game), Finley finished with 44 receptions for 575 yards and four touchdowns. Despite missing three games, Finley still finished in the top ten in receiving yards among TEs in his second season.
7. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons: Arguably the greatest tight end ever. Gonzalez had more targets (135) than any other tight end and finished with 83 receptions for 867 yards and six touchdowns in 2009.
8. Owen Daniels, Texans: In an injury-shortened half-season, Daniels caught 40 passes for 519 yards and five touchdowns. His pace (80-1038-10) would have ranked him fourth in receptions, third in yards and tied for third in TDs among tight ends.
9. Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings: Shiancoe has never surpassed 596 yards in one season, but he has been a touchdown machine over the past two seasons (18 TDs).
10. Zach Miller, Raiders: Only seven TEs had more receiving yards than Miller (805) had in 2009. In his three seasons, his receptions (44 to 56 to 66) and yards (444 to 778 to 805) have increased every season.
11. Chris Cooley, Redskins: Cooley missed nine games last year due to a broken ankle, but he had 83 receptions for 849 yards in his last full season (2008).
12. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers: Last year, Winslow ranked fourth among tight ends in targets (127). With rookie Mike Williams (a nice sleeper pick) and Sammie Stroughter as the starting wide receivers, Josh Freeman should continue to look for the tight end often.
13. Dustin Keller, Jets: I expected Keller to have a breakout season in 2009, but 2010 could be his year as he had a highly productive 2009 post-season (12-181-3 in three games). Plus, Jets coach Rex Ryan expects Keller to "get more touchdowns" in 2010.
14. John Carlson, Seahawks: Carlson has been respectable but not spectacular in his first two NFL seasons(55-627-5 and 51-574-7, respectively), but he enters 2010 with an active four-game touchdown streak.
15. Heath Miller, Steelers: Miller set career highs in receptions (76) and receiving yards (789) in 2009. How much will Ben Roethlisberger's suspension affect his production in 2010?
16. Greg Olsen, Bears: Typically, tight ends don't flourish in a Mike Martz offense. Olsen posted solid season totals (60-612-8) but he had less than 10 yards in four games. Olsen has not found his way on to any of my fantasy teams this season (by choice).
17. Jermaine Gresham, Bengals: Gresham significantly upgrades the Bengals at the tight end position. Although Carson Palmer has talked up all of the receivers (including the currently-unemployed Antonio Bryant) this off-season, I heard Palmer say on ESPN Radio that Gresham has been a huge (positive) surprise.
18. Kevin Boss, Giants: In the final three weeks of his season, Boss finished with 15 receptions for 176 yards and one touchdown. That was an average of 58.7 yards per game during that span. He had 391 yards in his first 12 games for an average of 32.6 ypg.
19. Jeremy Shockey, Saints: In 26 games over two seasons as a Saint, Shockey has only 98 combined receptions for 1,052 yards and three touchdowns. In the Saints' get-the-ball-to-the-open guy offense, his average of 40.3 and 40.6 yards per game over the past two seasons are the two lowest of his eight-year career. More of the same in 2010?
20. Brandon Pettigrew, Lions: Before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in week 12, Pettigrew had 15 receptions for 165 yards and two touchowns in his previous three games. That said, the addition of Tony Scheffler somewhat dims Pettigrew's pass-catching outlook for the 2010 season.
Also, check out our other 2010 Fantasy Football rankings: Top 25 QBs | Top 40 RBs | Top 50 WRs | Top 150 Cheat Sheet
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