Top 10 Tight Ends + Draft Strategy & TE Sleepers

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary

Title: Top 10 Tight Ends + Draft Strategy & TE Sleepers
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright
Release Date: August 17, 2018

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Episode Overview

In this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright delve deep into the tight end (TE) landscape for the upcoming fantasy football season. The discussion encompasses their top 10 TE rankings, draft strategies, sleeper picks, and essential news updates that could impact fantasy teams. The trio provides insightful analysis, backed by statistics and personal opinions, ensuring listeners receive comprehensive guidance to optimize their TE selections.

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News and Updates

Before diving into the TE rankings, the hosts cover significant NFL news impacting fantasy football:

• Delaney Walker Injury ([13:48]): Delaney Walker, a key TE for the Denver Broncos, sustained a toe injury during practice. The severity remains unclear, but any serious injury might prompt Jason to "lower Marcus Mariota in my rankings" due to its potential impact on the Broncos' offense.

• Jamal Williams' Ankle Injury ([14:01]): Packers' running back Jamal Williams injured his ankle in a preseason game but is expected to play through, as acknowledged by Packers' coach Nick Foles.

• Aaron Jones Suspension ([14:59]): Green Bay Packers' running back Aaron Jones faces a two-game suspension, affecting their rushing game and potentially elevating Ty Montgomery as the primary RB.

• Jerick McKinnon's Status ([15:54]): Patriots' running back Jerick McKinnon is out until Week 1 with a knee injury, influencing the team's backfield depth.

• Philadelphia Eagles' TE Nick Foles Injury ([17:14]): Nick Foles, the Eagles' TE, is out due to a strained throwing shoulder. If Carson Wentz isn't back by Week 1, Nate Sudfeld might take over, potentially downgrading the Eagles' offensive outlook.

• Des Bryant Contract Talks ([18:26]): Cleveland Browns are negotiating a contract with TE Des Bryant, who seeks a "short-term prove-it deal." Jason predicts a one-year, $9 million contract, though Andy views it as "too much money."

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Top 10 Tight Ends

The heart of the episode revolves around the hosts' Top 10 Tight Ends rankings for the fantasy season. Each TE is evaluated based on past performance, team dynamics, and potential for breakout performances.

1. Rob Gronkowski ([23:45] - [25:20])

   • Overview: Consistently dominating the TE position, Gronkowski offers unmatched production.
   • Quote: Jason asserts, "He is a valuable second-round pick this year."
   • Strategy: Due to his elite status, Gronk is often drafted in the second round, providing a significant positional advantage over opponents.

2. Zach Ertz ([27:35] - [29:35])

   • Overview: A reliable and consistent performer, Ertz remains a top pick with high target volumes.
   • Quote: Andy notes, "There's really nothing to complain about with Zach Ertz."
   • Strategy: Ranked highly due to his consistent target share and touchdown potential, especially with possible WR injuries boosting his role.

3. Travis Kelce ([30:26] - [32:00])

   • Overview: Kelce offers steady production but comes with some uncertainty due to team changes.
   • Quote: Jason mentions, "He is a very consistent player, but there are concerns with the new offensive coordinator."
   • Strategy: Kelce is valued in the third round, balancing his reliability with potential offensive scheme changes.

4. Jimmy Graham ([41:32] - [44:58])

   • Overview: Potential to break into Gronk's tier if he can maintain health and maximize his role.
   • Quote: Andy states, "Jimmy Graham is the only tight end that I believe can enter the Gronk tier."
   • Strategy: While high-performing, Graham's draft cost in the fifth round is a consideration, making him a riskier but potentially rewarding pick.

5. Evan Ingram ([35:58] - [37:33])

   • Overview: Showed promise in his rookie season but may face reduced targets.
   • Quote: Jason says, "I have him just under 100 projected this season."
   • Strategy: Positioned as a late-round flyer, Ingram offers upside without requiring a high draft investment.

6. Jordan Reed ([51:35] - [53:32])

   • Overview: Reed has the potential to be a top-tier TE if he stays healthy post-injury.
   • Quote: Mike highlights, "If he hits, he is a top three tight end."
   • Strategy: Viewed as a high-risk, high-reward pick, Reed is suitable for the eighth round, contingent on his health and performance.

7. Delaney Walker ([46:40] - [48:24])

   • Overview: A consistent performer with a reliable target share, though his draft position is affected by a toe injury.
   • Quote: Andy comments, "He's a favorite target for Marcus Mariota."
   • Strategy: Despite uncertainty due to injuries, Walker remains a solid seventh-round pick for his consistency.

8. Kyle Rudolph ([49:00] - [51:35])

   • Overview: Rudolph is consistent and holds an important role in his team's offense.
   • Quote: Mike states, "He's the last pick of the sixth round and offers stability."
   • Strategy: Best suited for mid to late-round selections, Rudolph provides a reliable option without significant risk.

9. Tyler Higbee ([54:03] - [54:27])

   • Overview: Undrafted or late-round pick with potential to outperform expectations.
   • Quote: Andy suggests, "Spending the last pick on Tyler Higbee can pay off."
   • Strategy: Ideal as a last-minute add-on, Higbee offers upside with minimal draft investment.

10. Luke Wilson ([56:45] - [58:07])

    • Overview: Replacement TE for Detroit Lions with upside in a pass-catching role.
    • Quote: Mike explains, "There are plenty of tight ends who emerge from later rounds."
    • Strategy: Suitable for late-round picks, Wilson has the opportunity to develop into a solid fantasy contributor.

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Draft Strategy

The hosts emphasize the importance of a tier-based drafting approach, particularly at the tight end position. They discuss the value of securing top-tier TEs early to gain a positional advantage. Rob Gronkowski, due to his elite status, is a preferred early pick, while players like Zach Ertz offer strong performance without the same draft cost.

• Tier-Based Drafting: Organizing players into tiers allows managers to identify drop-offs in production and make strategic selections.
• Positional Advantage: Securing a top-tier TE like Gronk can compensate for scarcity at other positions, providing a consistent weekly edge.
• Risk Management: Balancing high-reward picks (e.g., Jimmy Graham) with reliable options (e.g., Evan Ingram) helps mitigate potential injuries and performance variability.

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TE Sleepers

Identifying undervalued or breakout TEs is crucial for maximizing draft efficiency. The hosts highlight several sleepers who could outperform their draft positions:

• Ricky Seals-Jones: Projected as a potential primary TE due to injuries on the Lions' roster. His involvement could surge in the absence of the starter, offering significant upside.
• Luke Wilson: As a new acquisition for the Detroit Lions, Wilson has the opportunity to carve out a substantial role, especially with the departure of other TEs.
• Tyler Higbee: Often overlooked, Higbee presents an opportunity in late-round drafts to secure a TE with high upside at minimal cost.

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Best Ball Insights

The hosts briefly discuss strategies for Best Ball leagues, emphasizing the value of late-round RBs with high upside and TE depth. They suggest targeting ambiguous running back situations and picking flyers in the TE position to capitalize on potential breakout performances without requiring in-season management.

• Ambiguous RB Situations: Investing in RBs who could emerge due to injuries or depth chart changes provides flexibility and upside.
• TE Depth: Focusing on TE sleepers allows managers to maximize points without heavy investment, aligning with Best Ball's auto-lineup nature.

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Conclusion

The Fantasy Footballers Podcast episode offers a comprehensive guide to navigating the tight end position in fantasy drafts. By providing detailed rankings, strategic insights, and identifying potential sleepers, the hosts equip listeners with the knowledge to make informed decisions. Emphasizing tier-based drafting and balancing risk with opportunity, the episode serves as an essential resource for fantasy football enthusiasts aiming to optimize their TE selections and overall draft strategy.

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Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore on Gronkowski's Value ([23:55]): "Gronk is going to be on a lot of my teams. So I'll say this though, at the beginning of the second, I'm not going to take."

• Andy Holloway on Zach Ertz's Reliability ([27:35]): "There's really nothing to complain about with Zach Ertz."

• Mike Wright on Jimmy Graham's Draft Cost ([44:55]): "It's not that maybe I'm wrong on Jimmy Graham being 25% or so of the man that he used to be."

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Note: For detailed player projections and additional rankings, visit Fantasy Footballers' Ultimate Draft Kit.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

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[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers podcast coming to you from Draft.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, James Washington, I love you so much. Welcome in Friday, August 17th, another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Your year round. Go to source 4 league domination. This show also comes in a gunmetal finish. Did you. It's now available at your local Lowe's. You can pick it up off the shelf.

[Mike Wright]

Looks good on us.

[Andy Holloway]

It looks great. Verified Gunmetal.

[Mike Wright]

One of these days we should do that where we just. We look like the robot man on the side of the street. Look like Mr. Statue.

[Andy Holloway]

Hmm. No.

[Jason Moore]

Why?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Why? What do you mean why? Why not?

[Jason Moore]

It's hot in Arizona, bro. Standing outside.

[Andy Holloway]

We have a great show for you today. Getting into the top tight ends.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't mean outside of it. Like do the show.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, sure.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not going. No, no one's going outside. We're not psychotic.

[Jason Moore]

What's up, Andy?

[Andy Holloway]

Debatable. Great show today. Tight ends. Talk a little bit about last night's preseason games, talk about some of the injuries, the news and notes from around the NFL that affect your fantasy football team. Our quick questions about the players that we're changing our opinions on. We always say, or Mike always says, stay water, my friends.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

You got to be pliable right now. You can spend your whole offseason building up an opinion and a thought about a player and then changes in the depth chart, changes in injury concerns, changes in offensive play calling. All these things can affect your prognosis. No, that's not what it is. Your diagnosis of the situation, maybe. And it's one of them.

[Mike Wright]

There's an issus in there.

[Andy Holloway]

You have to be. You have to be able to let new information make new opinions so that you can go into your draft, be pliable, draft the right guys. So I want to remind you, Footclang giveaway.com we're giving away an autograph DeAndre Hopkins jersey, a couple copies of Madden 19 and the UDK for life. You can enter for [e-mail] it's free to enter. So yeah, do that. Also yesterday, goodness gracious, hundreds of you entered the Megala Bowl Megalobol or as Jason, what is it called? The Foot Clan Championship Megalobol, Is that what you titled it?

[Jason Moore]

Foot Clan League's championship megala bowl footclanleagues.com.

[Andy Holloway]

All of our Foot Clan supporters are eligible to enter. The winner of that massive Tournament earns a 2019 Listener League spot. You get to compete against us. Jason may or may not be going for a fourth straight title at that point. We'll see how you do this year.

[Jason Moore]

Man, that would sound so good.

[Mike Wright]

I.

[Jason Moore]

If that happens, Foot Clan, I promise. I. Because I'm doing this for you.

[Andy Holloway]

Right, right.

[Jason Moore]

So that I can open up another list because if you win the listener league, you're in the next year and I just, I just don't let you know that happen.

[Andy Holloway]

But try to keep it open.

[Jason Moore]

I will put on my fantasy champs rings and I'll have three of them on every show next season if you take all year.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

If I take it in a 14 man league back to back to back, which, I mean, let's be honest, it's probably going to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's jump into the quick question. By the way, you can send us ideas for the quick question. Check out everything going on with the show on twitter @the ffballers. Who have you been changing your opinion on the most lately? I'll go ahead and kick it off real quick. I put three names in there. John Brown, wide receiver for Baltimore. I'm not the biggest Michael Crabtree fan, therefore I'm looking for someone to emerge in Baltimore. John Brown, preseason or camp, I should say. He's been a standout. John Brown, wide receiver for the Ravens. Also say Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Lynch I think will have a stranglehold on that backfield. They have a very nice schedule. I believe the Raiders play only three teams that had winning records last season.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't even realize that. So you have Marshawn in there. Jason's got a fella. There could be some foreshadowing for future shows.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. And then I'll throw. Yes, I'll throw. James White. James White, running back for the New England Patriots out there as well. Last night you didn't see Rex Burkhead. Sonny Michelle's been down and James White had a game. He had a nice game. Six receptions, I believe. 61 yards, touchdown. He just does what he does. And if you can guarantee more snaps for James White, you're going to have guaranteed production.

[Mike Wright]

That's the issue with James White. It's how much will he get on the field. We will talk more about Rex Burkhead's injury in the news and notes, but I'm with you, Andy. That James White is really good. Just will he be. Will he get that, get to be the product of necessity for fantasy football?

[Jason Moore]

He's a full point PPR type of guy. I mean, if you're in a full ppr, he's going to have enough receptions to matter to be meaningful.

[Andy Holloway]

James White or Duke Johnson?

[Jason Moore]

I think I still lean Duke Johnson.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I lean Duke Johnson, but things are just trending a certain way for the New England backfield.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. All right. So Jason, who are you changing on.

[Jason Moore]

I like your John Brown pick. My two guys that I'm changing. I know I hate this more than anything. First, let's talk about Chris Hogan, because Chris Hogan, I've been rising on more and more as the off season has continued. You know, going back and remembering, looking deeper than just, you know, how did Chris Hogan do last season? But actually looking per game and watching some of the games where he, he was the one and he is, you know, I don't think Julian Edelman is going to come in and just completely take over. Chris Hogan is the primary wide receiver. He could very well end up a fringe low end wide receiver, one at the end of this year if he could stay healthy. That's always a worry. But look, Chris Hogan looked great.

[Andy Holloway]

He had a great game last night. Targeted early and often. Yeah, I just have a. I have my own concerns about him that's just based around when Edelman comes back. Is Hogan the fourth target? Is it the, Is it, is it Gronk? Edelman, a backfield guy and then Hogan, I don't think he's made to be a one, but I get nervous about drafting him just for four weeks of maybe value. You're 100% right that it could been that way. He has to stay healthy. That's been a problem too. He looked great last night. He looked like the primary target, bar none, which is what we've heard out of camp. So I understand that completely.

[Jason Moore]

And then the other guy that I've been rising on and changing a little bit is James Washington. So, Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

James Washington, you say?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, James Washington.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, who does James Washington play for?

[Jason Moore]

James Washington, the rookie wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you are new to the show, welcome. Glad to have you. James Washington was a very highly loved, highly touted rookie coming into the NFL draft by every analyst in existence except me. I really, I mean, I, and I acknowledge it. I stood alone some of the people I respect the most. Matt Harmon, right, the wide receiver guru. You could get all his information of reception perception in the ultimate draft. Kit loves James Washington. His contestant catch rate is unbelievable. I mean, but when I watched, I just, I thought that his trick, his one trick of the deep ball at his size was not going to work in the NFL. I didn't think it would translate. And I'm starting to see.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's going to translate.

[Mike Wright]

But will it actually translate to fantasy value for this season?

[Jason Moore]

Well, he's going to be the third at best. He's the third target, so sure, yeah. I mean, Le'Veon Bell, I'm counting Le'Veon Bell in there.

[Andy Holloway]

The thing about the Steelers that they've proven time and time again is that they know how to both draft and develop wide receivers. We saw with juju Smith Schuster last year, James Washington, collegiate wide receiver of.

[Jason Moore]

The year, Manuel Sanders.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not. I only tee he because I believe in the talent of James Washington. I agree with you, Mike. He's going to have a game or two, right? I mean, he's going to have. He's going to burn. He's the Martavis Bryant of this offense. He's going to run down the field and he makes contested catches like the one last night. So I think he does threaten juju's ascension to, you know, dominance. Right, because you throw to the guy who's open. You throw to the guys that, you know, juju came out and did it last year. I think James Washington is more of a threat to juju than he is a threat to actual fantasy value himself.

[Mike Wright]

Fair. The character. I want to bring up running back for the New York Jets, Mr. Bilal Powell, or as we call him on this show, Blau Plow. And this is, this is just a matter of I am back because coming into the offseason, Blau Powell was a guy I liked. I know they added Isaiah Crowell and that's fine because the jets have shown they're never going to fully commit to Blau Powell, but he's going to be involved. And then the poison, the poison started to seep in of oh, is Bilal Powell on the roster bubble? Are they going to move on from Bilal Powell?

[Jason Moore]

Elijah McGuire.

[Mike Wright]

Elijah McGuire is going to take over. And then Elijah McGuire broke his foot and then Isaiah Crowell got a concussion and on. But on top of that, before Crowell got his concussion, Bilal Powell was the first running back in that game. He was, he looked his Blau plow self last night. And this was Scott Barrett, good friend of the show. Did some some tracking of the game. He said he played Blaupal that has played 24 of the team's 27 first quarter snaps. Five of his 13 routes were him splitting out wide as a receiver.

[Jason Moore]

Love that.

[Mike Wright]

I mean Blal Powell is good. He will, he will never be a running back one. Even if Isaiah Crowell goes down and misses time, they won't fully commit to Bilal Powell. But for a guy who is going in the double digit rounds at the running back position that you can use.

[Jason Moore]

As a flex, as a solid flex.

[Mike Wright]

On a weighted base, I mean that's outrageous. So I just, I'm throwing, throwing my hat back in the ring for if.

[Andy Holloway]

You want to go back to 2016, which you can do in the ultimate draft kit. If you look under the consistency charts in 2016 he finished the year with three of four weeks inside the top 1010 as a running back. Last year he had two weeks inside the top five as a running back. It's all about opportunity with Powell. If he's put in a position to catch passes, he can pop off for a top 10 fantasy week. I certainly agree with you. The trend with McGuire going down and then Crowell getting concussed and the confidence and it seems like they're giving him the veteran deference right with that start. I mean they paid Isaiah Cruelty. So I don't go overboard with Powell. But I agree with you. I mean he's trending the right direction. No doubt about it. All right. Next week. By the way, I have to tease this. Next week's shows, just prepare. Take the week off. I recommend use up that vacation time. You know, you've banked too much already. Take the week off. Pop some popcorn and get ready. Monday My Guys, the My Guys show on Monday. Tuesday breakouts Wednesday the Fantasy MVP show. Thursday Bust Friday live mock draft on the show. And if you, if you're a Foot Clan member, you get another Thursday show when we get into the Foot Clan mailbag, a bonus show. So next week you're entering the fire.

[Mike Wright]

And then monster shows. And yes, as Brooks is probably about to say, then Friday night we close it out with a live show in Phoenix at the Crescent Ballroom. Grab your [e-mail] Once again, a reminder, if you already have tickets, which a.

[Andy Holloway]

Lot of you do.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you. It's going to be a sensational show. The start time has moved up an hour, so you can check the website doors at 6. It has the accurate time. The show will start at 7.

[Andy Holloway]

It's going to be great. Yes, that's going to be great. And if you can't be there, that show will be the. Is it the Monday show, Brooks?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, sir.

[Andy Holloway]

It'll be the Monday show.

[Mike Wright]

Also, bling bring clothing that is not.

[Andy Holloway]

Easily set on fire because of the hot takes.

[Mike Wright]

Because of the takes.

[Jason Moore]

Scorching.

[Mike Wright]

Be hot.

[Andy Holloway]

Also, bling bling your clothing as well.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, look, if you want to bedazzle a shirt or two, you do you? Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's get into the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Delaney Walker injury his toe during practice on Thursday. Do we know anything else?

[Jason Moore]

We don't know much. No. We got to wait for more reports to come out.

[Mike Wright]

It was going in my head and I actually held it back. So the fact that you went there.

[Jason Moore]

Is making us proud.

[Mike Wright]

It's lovely.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I will say falsetto practice.

[Jason Moore]

If it turns out that Delaney Walker has any sort of serious injury, I will lower Marcus Mariota in my rankings. He's a big key to this offensive to Mariota. I do believe in Jonah Smith, the tight end backup, but he's. You can't just plug in and be Delaney Walker.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you lowering Mariota if you find out Rashard Matthews is going to miss time in the beginning of the year.

[Jason Moore]

I have already lowered Mariota a little bit. I think he is down to like 12. So he's still higher than the consensus in my rankings. I believe in him.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's be peaceful here. Jamal Williams suffered an ankle injury during the packers second preseason game. Do we know anything else about this? He thinks it's minor. When a player says something is minor, I wait a little bit. Guys said it was minor.

[Jason Moore]

Nick Foles said it was minor.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, yeah. Yeah. So with Jamal Williams going down. Aaron Rodgers being suspended, or I'm sorry, not Aaron Rodgers, please hold on. Let me unsay that. Aaron Jones. Aaron Jones being suspended the first two games. Very nice start. Potential for time, Montgomery.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, it is, Jason. The only thing that Jason loves more than being right or essentially what we call, you know, in fantasies, taking a victory.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know what you're going to say that is that I love more than being right.

[Mike Wright]

You love being right when it's a de facto victory. And this, the war of attrition has begun for the Green Bay packers running backs. And right now, Ty Montgomery is going to win the starting job just because he's healthy.

[Jason Moore]

I'll take it. Yeah, that's. You are correct.

[Mike Wright]

That's why I said you love it.

[Andy Holloway]

We got news that Jerick McKinnon is going to be out of action until week one. So if you think he's coming back for any practice or anything like that, he is not. That makes me a little less cozy.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a split decision maker for me. Now, if I'm staring down Jerry McKinnon and somebody in the same tier, maybe I don't go with Jerick McKinnon. Why take the risk if you have another guy in the same exact tier as Jerick McKinnon?

[Mike Wright]

That's unfortunate.

[Andy Holloway]

The nature of injury right now. It's kind of how you feel about Doug Baldwin. If you have somebody in the same Doug Baldwin tier, why take Doug Baldwin who.

[Mike Wright]

Doug Baldwin was seen sprinting.

[Andy Holloway]

At least that's always good for the whole.

[Mike Wright]

Just saying we have. We have. At least we have a little tiny update.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Samaj P. Ryan went down with an ankle injury. He was also the second running back on the field. Those of you out there saying, why do you like Rob Kelly? Well, that was before the injury. The reason why is because they like Rob Kelly. Yeah, it doesn't matter who we like. We could love Samaji Piranheim, but if he doesn't get on the field, if he fumbles the football, if he rolls his ankle, he's not going to play as much.

[Jason Moore]

It was ironic because Rob Kelly had that first drive and he was looking very Rob Kelly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's not. He didn't look great last night.

[Jason Moore]

Always got two or three positive yards, which is never enough. And then Samaj P. Ryan came in.

[Mike Wright]

Had this electric run look great.

[Jason Moore]

That's where he got injured. And then Kelly back in.

[Andy Holloway]

Nick Foles, as Jason said, forced from the preseason game with a strained throwing shoulder. If it's severe enough to hold him out Week one and Carson Wentz isn't back week one, you can downgrade the entire Philadelphia Eagles offense for week one with Nate Sudfeld.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, the Sudfeld. Get him in there.

[Andy Holloway]

The Sudfeld experiment will be a scary one. Rex Burkhead dealing with a, quote, slight tear in his knee.

[Mike Wright]

I don't even know what this means.

[Andy Holloway]

Patriots beat reporter Jeff Howe says that if he. He could have played last night, it had been important. It's been deemed a minor injury. So clearly I don't want a minor.

[Mike Wright]

Tear, a pain Tolerance type of situation here for Rex Burkhead.

[Andy Holloway]

How does it make you feel, Mike? Is the Burkhead truther?

[Mike Wright]

Not good.

[Andy Holloway]

You got your Birkenstocks on?

[Mike Wright]

I wish.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you taking them off? I.

[Mike Wright]

They're not off. I will say that they are. They are not off.

[Andy Holloway]

You're holding them down a little bit.

[Mike Wright]

I might have to put on some socks first before I put on the Birkenstocks. And that's not a good look.

[Andy Holloway]

No. And you know, you know that Isaiah win first round offensive lineman from the Patriots suffered a torn Achilles last night. He's out for 2018. That's unfortunate.

[Jason Moore]

You don't.

[Andy Holloway]

You hate seeing that hurts the depth.

[Jason Moore]

For the Patriots offensive line.

[Andy Holloway]

I know we don't have a lot of time to detour here, but I can't help but believe that the limited amount of practice that they allow players to go through now contributes to injury. You go out there in the preseason, you're going 100% and you are so limited now in the NFL and what you can do in pads for how long, I wonder how much that contributes. Maybe players are just bigger, faster, stronger. There's a lot of variables, but it seems like if you're not able to go 100% in practice as much as you need to before the season, you get out there. It's just obviously a freak injury. Unfortunate. Ben Roethlisberger's cleared the concussion protocol and Des Bryant is indeed visiting. The Browns reports this morning that they are still talking about a contract. He stayed in Cleveland overnight to meet with the team, according to Rotoworld. And look, we might have a deal, we might not, Right? This is one of those situations where I think the Browns are looking at it as a. Look if we can grab Des Brian.

[Mike Wright]

On the cheap, why not?

[Andy Holloway]

Why not? But dez, I think wants. He wants the perfect scenario. He wants short term prove it deal. Plenty of money, plenty of opportunity. If I'm Des Bryant, is my prove it opportunity being the third option in Cleveland?

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

What are you going to prove?

[Jason Moore]

You're going to prove that you can still play football in 2018. Because if the Browns don't sign him, he's waiting for some injury where he needs to come in. I, you know, look, I think he will get the contract. I think he'll get. I'm going to call my shot. One year, nine million.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa.

[Jason Moore]

We'll see what happens.

[Andy Holloway]

Too much money.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, maybe Nez gets that money. I cut it five.

[Jason Moore]

We'll see.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, before we move into our top 12 tight ends in our sleepers at the position. Want to thank FanDuel for sponsoring the show. It's been a long off season without football. FanDuel has been getting it tight and getting it right.

[Andy Holloway]

Nice.

[Mike Wright]

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[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

And hey, football's back. So go to the games. And if you're going to these live events, use SeatGeek. Longtime supporter of the show and really the best way to get tickets. Seatgeek. We all use it. I've got it on my phone.

[Andy Holloway]

Use SeatGeek. Get a seat treat.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I like it. You listen to SeatGeek. That's good stuff. Look, they pool a bunch of different sites, okay? So they're doing the work for you, and they make it really, really easy. They color code the grid. You look at each section that you want. You find the big green circle, a couple of taps, and you've got tickets. And every purchase on SeatGeek is fully guaranteed. It's so easy, it's so cost effective, and it's fully guaranteed. So that's, you know, seatgeek's the way to go. It's not just sports, too. Get your loved one tickets to the concert. It's a good time. So here's the best part. Our listeners are going to get $20 off the first SeatGeek purchase. Just download the SeatGeek app. Enter promo code footballers. That's promo code footballers for $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase. SeatGeek lives an event, and they have the tickets. Tight ends.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we're going to talk about our top 12 consensus tight ends and some sleeper picks at the tight end position. Guys we think can surprise. We'll Debate, we'll discuss. We'll get you right for 2018 at the tight end position. I will. I want to throw something out there. After week two of the preseason concludes, I think we will come back on Monday and bring you some sleeper guys. Some guys that we see. You know, it's two weeks in. Are there some players to be aware of? Player like Shelton Gibson, last night, the leading receiver, five for 90 and a touchdown. He's been impressive. And if Aguilar, by the way, he's a wide receiver for the Philadelphia.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

Apologies. Great game last night. 2017 draft pick, fifth round guy. But if Aguilar and Jeffrey and some of the weapons are not, you know, he's a deep league pick to me. Or a deep league watch.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'll keep him at a watch for now.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Number one. Number one, Rob Gronkowski, tight end for the New England Patriots. Last year in 14 games, 69 receptions, 1084 yards, eight touchdowns. Eight touchdowns is just. He could do that asleep.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. That takes two games for Gronk.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I mean he was dominant, especially to end the year. You won titles with Gronk?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I have Gronk as my number one tight end.

[Mike Wright]

Ooh, yes. Should have saved that for the live show.

[Jason Moore]

I know, I know.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that because he's finished there three of the last four years?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So we talk about tier based drafting, what that means, you know, that's kind of how we use the ultimate draft kit. And tier based means that there's a break between one group of players and the next. And so if you can get your players to be grouped in kind of the group ahead of the next, you're going to have an advantage over your opponents. Gronk is his own tier and he has been his own tier for several years. Even if he doesn't finish the year as the number one tight end, maybe he misses a few games when he's out there playing. He gives you a positional advantage that is actually worth the early round pick. Usually with tight ends, I punt the position, I stream, I grab someone late. I try to, you know, do that strategy where I'm going very late and trying to find someone that I think could break out and be a weekly starter. But Gronk is a complete difference maker and he makes up the points in the gap between him and everybody else. You're going to be playing every week from that loss of whoever you're drafting in the second round. So I think Gronk is a valuable second round pick this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike his current average draft position is the 11th pick of the second round. So if that, that's what it's all about, right? Yes. We're not. This show doesn't exist to tell you how good Rob Gronkowski is. Your eyeballs in the last 10 years.

[Mike Wright]

Will tell you that Gronk watch does not mean you're watching film of Rob Gronkowski. Gronk watch is his adp. Where is he going in drafts? The back of the second round is. That's, that's easy. That's easy for me. That means that Gronk is on my team if I'm anywhere close to there. And that, that's not usual for Gronk. When he finishes as the number one tight end, he skyrockets into the first round where I want nothing to do with him.

[Jason Moore]

He.

[Mike Wright]

The opportunity cost of passing on that stud running back or the locked in stud wide receiver. No, thank you. But at the back of the second, this is, this is why being the beginning of the first round this year is. It's just not fair. It's not fair that someone's able to grab Todd Gurley or Le'Veon Bell, come back, get Gronk and then another elite wide receiver after that.

[Jason Moore]

So it's.

[Mike Wright]

Gronk is going to be on a lot of my teams. So I'll say this though, at the beginning of the second, I'm not going to take.

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to say, how early in the second round will you make the jump? Middle to back? Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Tore. It has to be the second half of the second. That's where I've, I've landed in because you can get Keenan Allen and Devonte Adams still right in the middle of the round. But after that, I'm going to grab Gronk.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, number two. Our consensus number two overall tight end this year is Zach Ertz. Now, Zach Ertz was an absolute boss for the first eight games last year. Never finished outside the top eight at the tight end position as consistent as, as they come. Really impressive first half of the year. Now in the second half it was a little shaky, but he took care of you in weeks 15 and 16 in the fantasy playoffs, even though he only had one nice finish from weeks nine through 14. Zach Ertz right now looks like the most reliable healthy target on a Philadelphia Eagles offense. That should be very good. There's really nothing to complain about with Zach ertz. I mean, 110 targets last year, eight touchdowns. That's the number that, you know, you look at and you Say, hey, is he going to be able to get in the end zone as many times again? But the injuries and the concerns around other pass catchers in Philly make me feel pretty confident in Zucker.

[Jason Moore]

So when you, when you grab Gronk, you're giving up a second round pick. When you grab Ertz, you're giving up a fourth round pick. And so a lot of times people might say, well, that's, that's a great deal. I'm getting the second best tight end. But that's where you need to establish the difference between what Gronk does on a consistent basis and what Zach Ertz did. You brought up the touchdowns. Andy, we've talked about this before. Look, two years ago, Zach Ertz had 78 receptions and only four touchdowns. Last year he had fewer receptions. 74, but he went to eight touchdowns. It's all about that touchdown number. And we've been calling for the slightest touchdown regression for Carson wins, that he could be a very obvious candidate for that to come away. So, you know, it's one of those things where, you know, if he's, if he's fallen to the fifth or sixth, which I don't see often, I would consider. But Ertz, I think that's why he was a my guy last year, because he was, you know, an eighth rounder.

[Andy Holloway]

You just made the point, though, of not why Zach Ertz is bad, but why there's a tier gap between Rob Gronkowski and Zach Ertz. That's the argument that I just heard.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Mike Wright]

And the. For me, I just want to reiterate the injury to Alison Jeffrey needs to be monitored. Wide receiver for the Eagles, talk of him starting on the PUP list, which means an automatic six games will be missed by Ashland Jeffrey if that is to happen. And you have to imagine that's a big bump for Zach Ertz in those first six games.

[Jason Moore]

That would be. Coach Peterson did come out and say he has no idea where that report came from.

[Mike Wright]

That's. I'm not reading a report. I'm reading off the board from Captain Obvious, who says your number one wide receiver goes down.

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no.

[Mike Wright]

I'm saying I'm feeding the tight end.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, 100%. I'm just saying that the fact that he could start on the puck. That's what Peterson was saying. I don't know who's saying that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep, Peterson did come out and say that. That report is kind of erroneous. And they're just taking it day by day with Jeffrey the same way they are With Wentz. Ooh.

[Mike Wright]

Well. Well then was Peterson the pup? You better not start on the pup.

[Andy Holloway]

The pup is a big deal or.

[Mike Wright]

You'Re making the Pete Carroll list.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a six game difference in opinion. If you're really on the fence with Jeffrey, there's no way he starts on the pop. So we'll see if he tells the truth or not.

[Jason Moore]

Now there's that second year.

[Andy Holloway]

Where did Jimmy Garoppolo go on our set? Brooks? Did you take him away? Yeah. Why'd you take him away?

[Mike Wright]

Jealous?

[Andy Holloway]

He's being way overdrafted right now. Oh, my God. It's a symbolic gesture.

[Jason Moore]

Get bodied.

[Andy Holloway]

I just had felt I knew there was a little less handsome in the general vicinity over here. We had to tone it down. When I looked at Mike, I'm doing my best to bring it up so.

[Mike Wright]

It'S me and Me and Jimmy handsome on the same side of a table. I admit that's not fair.

[Andy Holloway]

The table just starts bending that direction. It's just not fair.

[Jason Moore]

I'm trying to help you and Jason out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, no, I get it.

[Mike Wright]

I love you, Brooks.

[Andy Holloway]

Thanks. Brooks, turn off your microphone.

[Jason Moore]

Let's. Let's have the. The number three here.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Number three, Travis Kelsey. He's my number two. Jason and Mike's number three. If Jeffrey starts on the pup, I would probably flip flop those guys. Be with you on earth. At number two, Kelsey. Last year, 83 receptions, 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns on 123 targets. Played 15 games. He was targeted eight times a game, tied for the most in the league. He was very reliable. A top 12 tight end 73% of the time. And this has just been the resume for Travis Kelsey. Now the last four years, finished seventh, eighth, first and second at the tight end position. There aren't a lot of holes to his game. If there was one, it would be in the touchdown regression category. With Sammy Watkins coming in. He's the only tight end to finish with at least 120 targets. So. Man, Travis Kelsey sure tried and true, but you got to pay a 3rd rounder for him.

[Mike Wright]

You got to pay a 3rd rounder for Him. And it's. He's number 3 for me. So it's not a lot of risk. We're just trying to look at it from that side. The risk would be all of the variables. Entering this new season, new offensive coordinator, new red zone threat in Sammy Watkins, and new quarterback. That's. That's a pretty big change when you are a pass catching weapon like Travis Kelsey, I think he can rise above it. But there's, there's just, there's concerns there, which I suppose there you got to have some of those exact same concerns with Zach Ertz, with the quarterback situation.

[Andy Holloway]

And the offensive coordinator.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, and the offensive coordinator.

[Andy Holloway]

But you pay a higher price for Kelsey.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

Not by much, though.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I was going to bring up is that these two guys are in a very similar situation. They're in the same tier for a reason. They're the clear number two and number three in either order. A lot of people have Ertz ahead of Kelsey. I do. Because of the variables you just mentioned with Kelsey. A lot of people have Kelsey above Ertz because he is physically an imposing, dominant human being for a reason. But that's where Eileen, that's why Eileen Ertz, because you're getting the one round savings. They're both going to be great this season, but they're not, they're not a huge ginormous positional advantage. And to give up a running back or a wide receiver, I just feel like they're too pricey for me this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, let's get into some of the more debatable tight end situations. Number four, Craig Olson. I've got him at five. Jason and Mike have him at four. He may be the best mix of value in the draft. I don't know if he slips into the sixth round. Are you drafting Greg Olson? Are you just passing and taking a guy you like a little bit later that has different upside.

[Mike Wright]

We're at the first tight end who makes me nervous. Yeah, yeah, I know. I have him at 4. Greg Olson's been a stud. He's been at least the top seven tight end since 2012. Throwing out last year where he missed a massive portion of the year. But the way the change of things for the Carolina Panthers, adding DJ Moore, Christian McCaffrey, it makes me a little nervous to pay that price, that low end, fifth round, a high end six round pick for Greg Olson, who, while he is steady, I mean, he gives you a nice floor generally speaking, when he, when he has these good finishes. He never goes boom though, because the touchdowns are always low, the touchdowns aren't there.

[Jason Moore]

And so, you know, he, he basically played in six games last year and if you look at the numbers and you go, okay, well, you know, he's, he's still great. He had one game that you remember the game he came back from, from the injury. 12 targets, nine receptions, 116 yards and a touchdown. Oh, Greg Olson's back yeah, but what about what happened in the other five? Because in the other five games he didn't have one game in five that he had 30 yards. Here's his yard totals to start the year 18, 10, 10. After that 116 yard game, he had 27 then 10. If he's not scoring touchdowns makes me nervous and he's not. And he's dealing with a Jones fracture that has, you know, a 20% chance of re injury in NFL after that first one. I feel like there's a lot of risk here.

[Andy Holloway]

Norv Turner, though, has been known as always having a very, very powerful tight end. A lot of the times that's been due to Norv Turner's propensity to use and have incredible running backs that force eight in the box and let the guy get out and extend the field. Emmett Smith in Dallas, Ladania Tomilson, Stephen Davis. I don't think any of us are putting Christian McCaffrey in that category right now. He's not Frank Gore. When you know North Turner was offensive coordinator in San Francisco. That could pull him in the box and make Vernon Davis just even more of a weapon. That being said, Olson was rewarded with a contract. I think he's, I think he's interesting. He's still the go to guy for Cam Newton in my opinion. Until DJ Moore proves to me that he can be that player, you might get one more year of great value out of Olson. But you're right, there are some variables and some fears. It'll be an interesting season in general to see what North Turner offers and whether we buy into the North Turner Hype around McCaffrey, around Olson. You know, North Turner has been doing it a long time, but the league has changed. So whether Christian McCaffrey can be a bell cow, I think is going to factor into Olson's success. Yes, number five, Evan Ingram. There's only been one tight end that has had a season.

[Mike Wright]

Rookie season.

[Andy Holloway]

A rookie season in the last five years where he finished inside that top echelon of tight ends. It was Evan Ingram. He was a tight in six last year. 722 yards, six touchdowns, 115 targets. What do we, what do we think? Evan Ingram in New York this season. Eli Manning gets some weapons back. Saquon Barkley enters the ring. I've been hands off with Evan Ingram myself.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I have two for the most part. It was encouraging to hear a lot of people that were at camp, their open practices talking about how involved he was. That's great. I just can't fathom that his target total stays where it was last year. You lost Brandon Marshall, you lost Odell Beckham Jr. You even lost Sterling Shepard at times last season. You didn't have the pass catching running back like a Saquon to take some of those targets away. And so yeah, he ended up with 115 targets last year. I have him just under 100 projected this season. When I look at, you know, Odell Beckham is going to be near 150 and Sterling Shepard and all those guys, you know, they're not wanting Eli Manning to go out there and throw the ball 600 times. And so I think Evan Ingram can be far more efficient than he was last year. He was, you know, he wasn't that great. His catch rate was very below average. So if that goes up and the targets go down, I think he could, I think he can repeat what he did last year. But he's not a guy that I look at as taking that, oh, he's going to take that second year leap. He was so good as a rookie. I think he takes a smidge step backwards.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I don't mind that take. I do believe in Evan Ingram the player. I believe that he is an, he is a mismatch. He is a nightmare when used properly. But you're right, the targets that were available to him last year will not be there. I will say in those first four games, weeks two and week four, those were games where Odo Beckham was playing and Odo Beckham had decent numbers. And in weeks two and four, Evan England was, was a top 12 tight end finishing six and 11. So it's not that he can't do it with Odell Beckham there, but would.

[Andy Holloway]

You take Shepard or Ingram as a flex? As a flex, yes.

[Jason Moore]

And great question.

[Mike Wright]

I would rather. I mean, you're throwing draft price out of the equation.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just saying pick one of those.

[Jason Moore]

Guys up waivers to put in your flex.

[Mike Wright]

It would be Evan Ingram.

[Jason Moore]

I would go Shepard. Where would you go There.

[Andy Holloway]

I think I'd go Ingram. Yeah, I did this.

[Jason Moore]

Touchdown or touchdown. Upside.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I get that.

[Jason Moore]

Number six.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Trey Burton.

[Mike Wright]

Trey Boo Boo.

[Andy Holloway]

Off season fantasy Darling signed a four year, $32 million deal with Chicago to come in and be Matt Nagy head coaches Travis Kelsey in this offense right now, what we like about Trey BURTON, because he's 77 for Jason and Mike, he's number eight in my rankings. Apparently he's number two for Jay Grizz. Is this what I understand?

[Mike Wright]

Hold on, hold on now.

[Andy Holloway]

Why Is Jay Grizz. Why does Grizz like Gronk a little more Brooks, do you know he's reasonable? Reasonable, wow.

[Mike Wright]

I've never heard of a bear being reasonable.

[Andy Holloway]

I've never heard of a bear as a part of a fantasy football show, to be honest with you.

[Mike Wright]

Well, there's first for everything.

[Andy Holloway]

Trey Burton, 11th pick of the eighth round, is his average draft position right now. I think that's the attractive part. There's a lot of hype around the Bears offense basically materializing out of a bad season last year. Do we worry about Adam Shaheen being a threat around the goal line, taking targets from Trey Burton? What do we like about him? What don't we.

[Mike Wright]

You like that he got paid a tremendous amount of money to be the guy to be the move tight end where Adam Shaheen will be will get some targets. He's a good tight end. But Trey Burton is a pass catching specialist in the the two opportunities he had with the Eagles this past season to play in in replacement of Zach Ertz. 2 for 41 with a score on four targets, 5 for 71 with two touchdowns on six targets. He's a good player. It's just taken him some him some time to really emerge and prove to the NFL his value. He did that last year. Chicago rewarded that with the huge contract. His. His upside is immense. The risk, though is you've never really seen it from Trey Burton and you've never really seen it from the Chicago Bears and Mitch Trubisky.

[Andy Holloway]

That kind of money tells me the importance of that position in the offense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, the position is, you know, oftentimes talked about as that Travis Kelsey position coming from Matt Nagy, the previous offensive coordinator for the Chiefs. And yeah, you brought up those two games. You can even look two years because he had two games the year before that were good over the last. He's had four games without Zach Ertz where he was given the opportunity to to be the primary guy. And he was great. He's averaged 14 PPR points a game in those four starts. That would be a top five tight end any week. So, you know, Trey Burton is a little bit of risk, but I'm willing to take the risk when I'm giving up a wide receiver or a running back, that's an eighth round pick as opposed to the third or fourth.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. The cost is not high on Burton right now.

[Jason Moore]

Number seven.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, guys. I am the fantasy reaper. This report from rotterworld captured a little bit of my heart last night. Jimmy Graham, who is Our number seven consensus tight end lined up against first rounder Terrell Edmonds in the end zone. And Graham quote made him look like.

[Mike Wright]

A bitty baby boy.

[Andy Holloway]

Rotterworld credit to Roto World. They put it this way. Graham reeved his soul before skying for a jump ball score. I love, love, love Jimmy Graham. He is my number four tight end on this season. He's a fifth middle of the fifth draft price. He is the only tight end and I'm going to say it, he's the only tight end that I believe can enter the gronk tier. I believe Jimmy Graham was.

[Mike Wright]

You should have saved that for the live show. Are you the gronk tier?

[Andy Holloway]

Correct.

[Mike Wright]

Get out of here.

[Andy Holloway]

Last season he lined up for only 68% of the offensive center. If you listen to Aaron Rodgers last night Rodgers talked about Graham. He pointed out Rogers is a smart guy. He said Jimmy Graham was used improperly in Seattle. Not in the middle of the field anymore. I know he's not the same speedster he has Aaron Rodgers. And I believe that this is a season in which Jimmy Graham will score a pile of touchdowns. He'll put up better yardage numbers. He led all tight ends in both touchdowns and red zone targets. I am. And he was given a $30 million contract by a team with Aaron Rodgers. He still finished the number. I feel like I'm bold making him four. He's finished the fourth tight end the last two seasons. I know what's coming. I know the argument is going to be that you're going to be happy sometimes and disappointed sometimes. Didn't really look that way last year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean last year he was a tight. A top 12 tight end 68% of the time despite playing less snaps than 25 other tight ends in football. That's not going to happen again this year. Jimmy Graham is going to be on the field.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I get everything you're saying and I agree with a lot of it. I don't think it's crazy to say that Jimmy Graham is the only guy that could get in that gronk tier. Because if Jimmy Graham hasn't lost a step, right, like we talk about his game speed being slow, but maybe that's because they were running short routes, not using them between the twenties. And maybe he hasn't actually lost that step. If that's the case, then he will dominate for Green Bay for sure. I mean, you bring up the fact that he was the number four tight end the last two years and I know Jimmy Graham now is Very different than Jimmy Graham eight years ago, you know, but since 2011, other than the season he got injured and missed, he's never been lower than the tight end. Four, I mean 211-344 is pretty darn good. So I get the arguments. I will say this on film. It did look like he had lost a step. It wasn't just metrics and stats and the yardage. It didn't look like he was between the twenties. Great. But they paid him a lot of money. And Aaron Rodgers, I love Russell Wilson, but Russell Wilson is no Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers, if Jimmy Graham has a skill and a talent that can beat people, and he does, Aaron Rodgers will exploit the heck out of that. So I'm fine with Jimmy Graham. I love him in Best Ball because I think he's getting, you know, a double digit touchdown type of guy in redraft. I worry about him for two reasons. One, I don't know that the yardage will be there, but two, his draft cost. He's got a big name, he is expensive. So you're taking, you're taking a shot that says, I am super confident.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

That he's going to be that guy.

[Andy Holloway]

You're 100% right about that. The draft cost. You have to spend 3, 4 rounds more on Jimmy Graham than you do a Trey Burton.

[Jason Moore]

Right. So I'm not willing to take that plunge.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

But if you, if that plunge pays out now, I, it'll be worth it.

[Andy Holloway]

On fire and ice though, Mike, you, you iced Jimmy Graham. You have him at 11 right now. Is anything in your thought process changed or are you standing firm on Jimmy Slowdown?

[Mike Wright]

I did give him another touchdown in my projections, which I have him at 8. So it's not a bad touchdown season for Jimmy Graham. The topic I wanted to bring up more was it was simply the draft price. We talk about a quarterback, how they're pretty easily replaceable. A top tight end is not easily replaceable. But that's what Jimmy Graham has to become in the fifth round because while he was the tight end for his overall scoring, let's compare him to. I want a wide receiver in that range. Well, Jimmy Graham's point finish was outside of the top 24 wide receivers. And I think I'm getting a top 24 wide receiver in the fifth round. And then a couple rounds later I can grab Trey Burton, who I think will not be that far behind the point total of Jimmy Graham or other tight ends who I think can be close to Jimmy Graham. So that's my biggest problem. Is the draft price. It's not that. Maybe I'm wrong on Jimmy Graham being 25% or so of the man that he used to be. And I agree that if anyone can take advantage, it's Aaron Rodgers. But I'm not paying a fifth round for a guy who, in my opinion, could still have 10 touchdowns and still disappoint you for fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he's a player I hate in the fourth and love in the sixth, and he's sitting there right in the middle of the fifth. So I'm kind of like, maybe I'd take him, maybe I wouldn't. I do think he has a good season.

[Jason Moore]

Number eight.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Delaney Walker. We talked about the toe injury. We need to monitor that. But right now he's sitting at seven in my rankings. Eight in Jason's, or. I'm sorry, eight in Mike's, nine in Jason's. He's the favorite target for Marcus Mariota. He's a trusted target. He's a guy that's been very reliable, and he's a guy that was just rewarded with a new contract. Since 2013, he's finished 11th, 8th, 4th, 5th, 6th. He's a seventh round pick, though. I don't think I'm gonna own Delaney Walker. See, that's.

[Mike Wright]

That's exactly what I wanted to just follow up with where Jimmy Graham.

[Jason Moore]

You're.

[Mike Wright]

You're missing out on a potential wide receiver too. Paying a fifth round for Delaney Walker, who in the last three years has his worst finish is tight end six.

[Andy Holloway]

But he doesn't do it with boom games. He doesn't do it with two or three. Touchdown. He didn't have one game last year when. What was he, what did he finish last year? He was the sixth best tight end. He never had a single game inside the top three.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but he had seven games inside the top 12. Yeah, he's consistent.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I hope so if you finish six.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I'll say this. When looking at our consistency charts, he had the same percentage of top six finishes as Jimmy Graham did.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. So it's a good point.

[Mike Wright]

Delaney Walker, it's such a crazy season for me at the tight end position because usually I'm out on Gronk. Usually I'm very out on Delaney Walker because he's sitting in that fifth round. Yeah, but at the seventh round, an actual consistent tight end. Maybe you don't want to play the game of late round. You're going to try and stream the position. Delaney Walker is interesting to me. That's why this big Toe injury sucks so much.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and if you're drafting today, tomorrow, this weekend, which a lot of people are, and we don't have more news about Delaney Walker, what do you do? His ADP is going to be further than seven, seventh round because of this injury.

[Jason Moore]

If you're drafting right now, you don't, you don't draft them unless he's dropping to the, you know, if he's, if he's in the 10th round, the 9th round, I would consider getting him there. But you can't grab him not knowing if he's injured right now. That's one of those we. I've had this question on Twitter. My draft drafts early. We draft before week. Week three, preseason. What tips do you have?

[Mike Wright]

Mitigate?

[Jason Moore]

There's really not a lot of tips. It's the same exact strategy, left, right and center with one exception. And that's if you don't know about a guy who is kind of injured right now, I would not. Yeah, I wouldn't mitigate that risk because, you know, now.

[Andy Holloway]

When do you make the plunge though? Because if you do that, like if everybody's philosophy is to do that in your league, these guys are going to drop down three rounds later. Is that what you were just showing?

[Jason Moore]

That's what I was showing, yeah. Three rounds is, you know, if he's going in the seventh, if Delaney's in the 10th, I get a three round discount. I'm going to take him then. You can take advantage. But I'm not taking anyone at their adp. I'm not taking Baldwin. Right. At his peak price if he's currently injured.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we'll hit 9 and 10. We'll each drop a sleeper tight end name. And then I believe we have best ball bonanza today. Brooks, is that correct?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't see the drop in here.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, get body.

[Andy Holloway]

He just closed his eyes. He just closed his eyes with sadness over there.

[Jason Moore]

He's trying to stop the tears.

[Mike Wright]

No, he's thinking about Jimmy Hansen with those eyes closed.

[Andy Holloway]

Number nine and ten, Kyle Rudolph. Kyle Rudolph. So handsome.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

I hadn't moved on.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason at 5, Mike and I have him at 10. And then Jordan Reed. Mike has him at 6, I'm at 9, Jason has him at 13. So let's go about Kyle Rudolph and Jordan Reed.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, look, Kyle Rudolph has been very consistent over the last few years. He's a valuable weapon. He is third, you know, in importance, maybe fourth. If you put Dalvin Cook ahead of him in the passing game, he's obviously not Going to command the targets he did before Thielen broke out. Diggs is there. So I get the hesitation of putting him really as he's not an elite tight end. But he is very consistent, very used and useful in near the red zone. And so for a guy that you know is the seventh tight end off the board almost going in the seventh round, he's the last pick right now of the sixth round. The last two years he was the second tight end and the seventh tight end. I feel just confident that I'm not getting. I'm not going to just be drafting a crappy pick when I get Kyle Rudolph. I'm not drafting the best thing in the world either. It really depends if you want Kyle Rudolph. It depends on what you believe about some of the later guys. Are you fine taking that risk on Jordan Reed? Are you fine taking that risk? Sleeper late. Super late pick on a asj. Ricky Seals, Jones, Vance McDonald. If you like those guys, then you don't. Then you don't need Kyle Rudolph. But if you're like me, where you go, I just don't. I don't want to go into the season with those guys. I believe they could break out. I'll look for them on waivers, but I don't want to start the season that way. Then Trey Burton, slash Kyle Rudolph, that's kind of your. That's the end of those guys that you can be confident will have an important role in their offense.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, talk to everybody about Jordan Reed. You've got him at six and I understand, but I believe you've enacted Rule 86 once again in 2018.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, Rule 86, which states of. Jordan Reed is healthy. You play him in fantasy football. We're waiting for legislation. We don't know if it is officially passed. My rankings would infer that it has, but we got to check on the floppy nature of his boneless toes. Whoa. We got a lot of things.

[Andy Holloway]

We got how confusing that sentence was for our listeners.

[Mike Wright]

Look, flaccid toes is a situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa.

[Jason Moore]

It's a.

[Mike Wright]

And we'll see what he can do. We'll see what he can do.

[Andy Holloway]

Not if you're a manatee.

[Mike Wright]

You want it. You want to talk about a guy who can go into the gronk tier. What do you know about manatees that I don't know about?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm under the impression that floppy toes would be just fine.

[Jason Moore]

Now you're a manatee.

[Mike Wright]

But Jordan Reed in 2015 and 14 games was the number two tight end. He is the guy who can make the leap into the gronk tier. If he can stay healthy. Yeah, I get it. It's a big if he can stay healthy, the haters are going to forget. Jordan Reed was the tight end nine two years ago. It was this past season where he really hosed people because he missed a gigantic portion of the year. His upside is tremendous. Alex Smith has proven time and time again Vernon Davis, Travis Kelce, he makes superstars out of the tight end position. And you're going to get him in the eighth round, which still has a little bit of risk put into that ADP because there's guys in the eighth round that you may think are safer and will be able to be solid players on your bench. But Jordan Reed, if he hits, is a top three tight end and you let's like who's next? Jared Cook, even Kyle Rudolph. I'm not putting anywhere close to that range of top three.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we're just going to give you a sleeper tight end. By the way, you can see all of our rankings at the fantasy footballers.com I'm going to throw Tyler I've fort's name into the ring because he's mostly undrafted. Maybe you spend the last pick of your draft on him. And that's what I like with Tyler Iford. I like being able to spend the last pick of my draft on Tyler Iford, a tight end who in 2015 finished number six overall. A tight end that has absolute gronky and red zone numbers when he's healthy and a tight end when you draft him there that you just. I'm just going to put him in my lineup and as soon as he gets hurt, I'm going to go sign somebody.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

So if I want to punt the tight end position completely, I think you can go. A lot of you can go. You can do worse than Tyler. I forgot.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'm going to go very deep. He's definitely not drafted in most normal leagues, but if you want to take a shot, I think Ricky Seals Jones, tight end for the Arizona Cardinals. He was unsigned rookie last year who had a couple breakout games looked great. What the GMs and the head coach and offensive coordinator have said about Ricky Seals Jones in this offense this last year have been really telling that they believe they finally have a pass catching tight end. And there's all this debate, right? Like it's Larry and who it's Larry and is it Bryce Butler, is it J.J. nelson, is it Christian Kirk? We don't have any idea who the second receiving option is to step up for this team. And it could be Ricky Seals Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

Who is that again?

[Jason Moore]

Ricky Seals Jones.

[Mike Wright]

Why?

[Jason Moore]

Thank you. Because his name has a seal in it.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not very hard. It's not very hard to figure out. Mike.

[Mike Wright]

No, I'm saying why did you give him the platform to go back and correct it?

[Jason Moore]

And so yeah, I think, look, because.

[Andy Holloway]

The people demand it. Jermaine, you would remember that if you weren't verified.

[Jason Moore]

Jermaine Gresham, the supposed starter ahead of him is injured. He had an Achilles injury in week 17. He is not going to be ready for the start of the year. He probably starts the season on the puppet. That's six games to get Ricky Seals Jones in and six games where in theory at least the first six are the best odds that you have. Sam Bradford before he gets injured. Sam Bradford has, you know.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. He throws to the tight end position.

[Jason Moore]

The Kyle Rudolph number two tight end two years ago. That was Sammy Biscuits.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, your sleeper tight end pick.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to throw out Luke Wilson for tight end sign acquisition for the Detroit Lions. Who's brought in to be the move tight end, the pass catching tight end. Eric Ebron, Darren Fels, they were tight ends on the Detroit Lions. They are no longer there. Those two guys accounted for 20% of the Detroit Lions targets. Eric Eron had 86 targets himself. I don't think Luke Wilson's going to come in and be a superstar. But plenty of tight ends emerge from this later round and freak everyone out because they turn into weekly starters. They just get value out of out of what seemed like nowhere. This is not seeming like nowhere to me. The amount of targets at the tight end position that Detroit has to account for. So Luke Wilson. Luke Wilson going either late or undrafted.

[Andy Holloway]

If you aren't aware, we do projections for every single player on every single team. Those are available in the ultimate draft kit@ultimate draft kit.com so you can dig into all the numbers behind the picks and the projections and the rankings. Ultimate DraftKit.com let's talk some best ball.

[Jason Moore]

Best ball bonanza brought to you by draft.

[Andy Holloway]

Couple weeks to get some best ball stuff in And I've got a tip for our listeners today. Last year I had a very successful best ball season when I invested into a number of ambiguous running back situations, namely with rookie running backs. We've talked a lot these first four running backs right now injured now Guice. I wouldn't recommend him. He's out for the season. But Sony Michelle, Rashad, Penny, players that are injured in the Beginning of the.

[Mike Wright]

Season and dropping an adp.

[Andy Holloway]

And dropping an adp. I want our listeners to look at running backs and ambiguous timeshare situations. If you had Alvin Camara last year, which you could draft very late in drafts, he won you a best ball league. If you had Chris Thompson, ambiguous situation, he won you a best ball league. And the nice thing about this is we have an article on our website identifying late round flyers at the running back position. So I think, look, we debate a lot about Tampa Bay's backfield. We talk a lot about Green Bay's backfield. What's going to happen. Bilal Powell. Ambiguous running back situations are a great best ball target. You can look in the late rounds, round out that running back core. And here's some categories before we close this out. The committee member, right. The forgotten veteran. The annoying handcuff. There are players, maybe you take a shot on a couple handcuffs. Even the two. I look at James Conner and then.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, he looked good.

[Andy Holloway]

He looked real good.

[Mike Wright]

He looks svelte.

[Andy Holloway]

So if Lev Bell goes down, James Conner becomes that potential top 10 back. And I'm going to say John Kelly.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Because what I saw on page, what I saw on film was a very good looking player back behind Todd Gurley in Los Angeles.

[Jason Moore]

Look at what has happened today. I have come around on James Washington, a guy that you loved, Andy and I hated pre draft. And you have come around on John Kelly, a guy that we loved and you did not like.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'll throw a couple other names out.

[Jason Moore]

Stay water, my friends.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Nick Chubb. Nick Chubb is a name late round. Maybe he ends up with some value. Look at some of them PPR guys. James White, we talked about him earlier today. Ronald Jones, Theo Riddick. Some other names that can round out your wide. Your running back core. That is today's best ball tip. You can play best [e-mail] ballers for the next couple weeks. You can enter best ball drafts and those are fun to monitor for the rest of the season.

[Jason Moore]

They're great because we talk about how many leagues are too many leagues. You can't have too many best ball leagues because you can have too few. You sure can. You draft and you forget it. Your best lineup starts every single week. There's no transactions, no trades, no waivers. It's the draft season. We know and love. You play that and then you monitor it and you see how you're doing all season long. You still have a ton of fun in the season watching these leagues. You just don't have to work too hard.

[Mike Wright]

Quick reminder. If you're looking to play some daily fantasy sports this season, check out FanDuel. They're ready. They've been working on things. They've been tinkering, they've been hitting the lab, building things like Beat the Score contest that pay out everyone who hits a certain score. All sorts of new ways to play against your friends. We love taking our friends money. It's just something that makes you feel good. And they got preseason fantasy contests running up through week one of the NFL. Sign [e-mail] Footballers get a $10 bonus when you make your first deposit. Fanduel.com Footballers age and state restrictions apply.

[Andy Holloway]

So that is it for today's episode of the Fantasy Footballers podc. Subscribe Google Podcasts, Apple Podcast and don't forget my guys episode is coming on Monday. You can't miss it.

[Mike Wright]

We'll see you next week. Book Clan.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.