1. Jimmy Graham: With one less weapon in NO (Meachem) gone and an angry Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham might lead the league in targets. That includes WRs.
2. Rob Gronkowski: How is “Gronk” not my number one TE? First of all, I have seen WAY too many pictures of Gronk without a shirt on this offseason (that can never be a good thing). Second of all, the Pats finally added a decent WR to play alongside Wes Welker (Lloyd) and they added another really good TE in Visanthe Shiancoe. Finally, he’s one bonehead thing away from being in Belichick’s doghouse, which is nearly impossible to get out of.
3. Antonio Gates: Gates was injured all last year and contributed next to nothing until Week 7. He still had a really good second half of the year (again still injured) and ended up being a top 7 TE. He’s finally healthy and is back to being dangerous.
4. Jermichael Finley: Finley was a top 5 TE last year but only had 4 double digit point fantasy games. I think he’ll improve that this year.
5. Brandon Pettigrew: My top sleeper this year, I think Pettigrew improves from a solid 2011 season. He didn’t score very many TDs last year, only 5 after hauling in 83 catches. He’ll improve there and surprise some people.
6. Aaron Hernandez: Hernandez is a top-3 TE stuck behind Gronk in NWE. He’s still very productive and if something bad were to happen to his team’s top TE, Hernandez would vault to number one on this list.
7. Vernon Davis: I’m down on the 49ers but after the postseason VD had last year he’s entering unguardable territory, even with Alex Smith at QB.
8. Jason Witten: Pretty average productivity down the stretch last year. He won’t give you huge yardage games due to his slow speed but he’s still very valuable in PPR leagues.
9. Jared Cook: Cook averaged 113 yards a game his last three games last year. Not much production other than that so he is a bit risky.
10. Tony Gonzalez: The exact opposite of Cook, Gonzo averaged 21 yards a game his last three games last year. He was very productive other than that but is another year older. He has to slow down eventually and this could be that year.
11. Fred Davis: He’s a good 10 fantasy points a game (in non-PPR leagues) when he’s healthy. Young QBs love TEs so he could be a sleeper.
12. Brent Celek: Another guy who finished really strong and was injured for a good length of time last year. He’s a good backup TE that could help you out in a jam.
13. Kyle Rudolph: Arguably the best hands in football, he catches everything he gets his hands on. For some reason not known to me he gets very few targets from young QBs when he should be a young QB’s dream. Often injured free agent signee John Carlson is already hurt and rookie wideout Greg Childs was out for the year before getting waived so the Vikings are going to have to get the ball to Rudolph.
14. Martellus Bennett: What a fitting first name for this guy. He’s the league’s biggest trash talking TE despite the fact he has produced little to nothing. He has all the tools to be a huge threat; he just needs to take advantage of the opportunity.
15. Jermaine Gresham: With Jerome Simpson gone the Bengals have no proven receiving threat besides A.J. Green. Gresham showed flashes last year so he is more than capable of being a really good TE.
16. Greg Olsen: Jeremy Shockey is gone and Newton will only get better. He still finished as the 17th best fantasy option last year so I probably have him a little low.
17. Coby Fleener: He’s got his college teammate throwing him the ball with only Reggie Wayne there to take away targets. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up with 800 yards and 6 TDs this year.
18. Owen Daniels: Foster is a beast at RB, Andre Johnson is back but with Dreessen gone somebody’s gotta catch 60+ passes at TE for HOU. If Daniels can stay healthy he could be a top 15 guy but I’m skeptical.
19. Ed Dickson: Joe “Check Down” Flacco has to check down to someone other than Ray Rice a couple times a game. He’s a redzone threat and he’s got some ability so he could make some noise this year.
20. Kellen Winslow: I don’t know what is going on in Seattle at the QB position and with T.O. added to the mix they’re going to have their hands full with him and Winslow. I’d be skeptical of drafting anyone from Seattle.
Have any questions or comments? Feel free to email me at vikingagefantasy@yahoo.com or reach me on twitter at https://twitter.com/PHowell02