Antonio Gates (TE, SD) - Fantasy Football Sleepers

BALLER MOVE: Target ~ 120 (Current ADP: 141, TE: 13)

ANALYSIS: We all know what Antonio "Old Man" Gates can do in the Charger's offense, but Ladarius Green is stealing all of the thunder in preseason fantasy talk. There's a good reason behind Green getting the majority of the attention as far as fantasy goes. When drafting in the later rounds, fantasy managers are typically looking for upside, and the 6'6", 240 pound tight-end with 4.4-speed is just emanating upside.

That being said, Gates is still the clear-cut #1 tight end on the Chargers depth chart, and more than ten years of experience with a quarterback has to account for more than just a pat on the back. The connection between Philip Rivers and Gates is something really special.  With over a decade of shared experience between them, Gates said he gets an inkling when Rivers is about to toss the ball his way, and mentioned Sunday’s touchdown against the Niners felt no different. If things don't work out the way you planned in your draft and/or everyone went on a TE run before you were expecting, look for Gates in the later rounds as a value pick for a back-up TE, or even a TE1 in extreme cases.