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We continue our preseason fantasy football sleeper series with a look at Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt.
While the first few rounds of every draft are essentially a wash-rinse-repeat of the consensus top-36, we can always count on those middle and late rounds to cement our confidence in this year's sleepers. The definition of the fantasy football sleeper has changed over the years, with the emergence of the industry itself on social media. The common sleeper today isn't a player that is being 'slept on' by the community. They're more like a player in a great spot to outperform his average draft position based on a plethora of factors.
Let's look at some reasons why Butt could be set to surprise some people in 2018.
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2018 Sleeper - Jake Butt
Last year, I did something that I could live to regret -- I dropped Broncos tight end Jake Butt in a dynasty league to pick up Cardinals tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. I was heavily buying into a Cardinals hype train that never materialized (you can find a past regrettable article where I tried to convince everyone to join me on that hype train) and thought Seals-Jones could help me in both the short and long term, so I jettisoned Butt.
Enter 2018 and the Seals-Jones move wasn't terrible, but I really wish I'd have found a different path to creating that roster spot and kept Butt around. With Case Keenum at quarterback, Butt is finally healthy after the torn ACL that cost him his rookie season, and reports out of Denver camp that Butt is coming along well, we could be seeing a fantasy sleeper emerge at a position of major scarcity.
The Pass-Catching Tight End Denver Needs?
Jake Butt could be a feel-good story this season after the former Michigan tight end missed all of his rookie season after suffering a torn ACL in his final college game. With the caveat here that almost everything you read about training camp is meaningless, here are some things that Broncos reporters have said so far about Butt:
I even saw someone who was at Broncos camp suggest that much of the offense's success this year could hinge on how Butt plays, which is major praise for someone who hasn't seen any game action in the NFL yet.
What makes Butt such an intriguing player? Let's take a look at his numbers from Michigan:
In 2015, Butt caught 51 passes for 654 yards and three touchdowns. In 2016 as a senior, he caught 46 passes for 546 yards and four scores and won the John Mackey Award for being the nation's best tight end. He showed good quickness and route running at Michigan and, per Pro Football Focus, was extremely effective when running post and corner routes -- his quarterbacks had a 135.4 rating when targeting him those situations.
What doesn't show up in the film from his college career is an ability to effectively run block, which could hamper his playing time. Butt will need to focus on that aspect of his game if he wants to stay on the field for Denver in non-passing situations, but the former Wolverine still presents intriguing upside.
Quarterback Case Keenum showed last season that he likes to target his tight ends, with Kyle Rudolph finishing as a top 10 fantasy tight end despite being limited by injuries. That finish came largely off of his usage in the red zone, which would be a good sign for a healthy Jake Butt this season. He's got the size and the hands to be a threat in that part of the field and knowing that Keenum can take advantage of that is a good sign. Rudolph did finish tied for the second-most touchdowns among tight ends last season. Can Butt replicate that? It'll depend on whether or not Case Keenum looks like the same quarterback that he was in 2017, but if so...yeah, I think Butt could finish near the top of his position in touchdowns. I'm more hesitant in predicting him to finish with a ton of yards, because Denver has some good receiving options around the rest of the field, but Butt's touchdown upside makes him a fantasy sleeper at a position that is always hard to find good value at.
