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2016 was a bad year for tight ends, and even worse for rookie tight ends. Thanks to a lackluster crop that had no tight ends worthy of a first-round pick, nobody at the position had 500 receiving yards on the season, and only San Diego’s Hunter Henry posted anything fantasy-wise as he hauled in eight touchdown passes. Rookie TEs like Atlanta’s Austin Hooper (19 receptions), Los Angeles’ Tyler Higbee (11 receptions), and Seattle’s Nick Vannette (three receptions!) were on the same fantasy level as many fullbacks and kick returners.
This year’s college corps at tight end is surely superior to last year’s sad sack of pass droppers. Six tight ends were selected during the first three rounds of this year’s NFL Draft, including three in the first round. While not all of the drafted tight ends landed in the best places (who is throwing to Cleveland’s David Njoku?), some could not have picked better organizations to join.
Here are the three rookie tight ends in the best fantasy situations for the 2017 NFL season.
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Rookie Tight Ends in Favorable Situations
Evan Engram, New York Giants
There must be something in the water surrounding the Meadowlands/MetLife Stadium area, and I’m not talking about Jimmy Hoffa’s body. Neither the Giants nor their roommates, the Jets, have had a superb tight end in forever. But that all may change for the Giants in 2017 now that they spent a first-round pick on Engram.
Engram had a nice career at Ole Miss that he finished with a superb senior season where he racked up 65 receptions for 926 yards and eight touchdowns. He has all the talent and tools to quickly become a fantasy force. Engram has the speed and skills of a wide receiver and will look like a greyhound compared to how slow-footed Larry Donnell and Will Tye have been for the Giants the past couple season.
Engram will have Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard keeping defensive backfields preoccupied, which should open up plenty of space in the secondary for him. Eli Manning must be chomping at the bit to have a talented tight end that can make plays downfield and in the red zone, so he will not ignore Engram, although spreading the ball around to all of these pass catchers could be harder than finding someone who still likes Nickelback.
While rookie tight ends historically have needed some time before they become fantasy stalwarts, Engram has the potential to have an impact right away. And while Beckham and Marshall are target hogs and could cut into Engram’s catches, they will also set him up with more scoring opportunities than most receiving corps in the NFL can.
O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Alabama product was the first tight end taken off the board during the draft, and for good reason. Although Howard’s college numbers were very pedestrian (seven touchdowns in four years, averaged 600 receiving yards per season in 2015-2016), he was pegged as the top tight end available because he has rare playmaking ability that went untapped at times during his days with the Crimson Tide. Besides the fact that Howard can stretch defenses with his above-average speed, he is also a decent blocker for a tight end with offensive gifts. Being an all-around player who has a high ceiling made Howard a sure first-rounder, so Tampa Bay did well getting him with the 19th pick overall.
The good news for Howard is he will be in an offense with quarterback Jameis Winston and top target Mike Evans that is one of the better passing attacks in the NFL and is on the rise because Winston and Evans are only entering their third and fourth seasons, respectively. Even better, newly-signed DeSean Jackson will constantly keep defenses worrying about him downfield, which should open up routes underneath for the 6’6”, 242-pound Howard.
The bad news for Howard is that Cameron Brate was a breakout star at the position in 2016, tying for tops among tight ends with eight touchdown receptions. He even tied star WR Mike Evans for the team lead in red zone targets. Howard will not be able to waltz right in and take all the tight end targets. Tampa Bay will probably utilize a lot of two-tight end sets so both Howard and Brate can be on the field at the same time, but Howard’s stats will still be adversely affected by Brate. That is why Engram is ranked ahead of him in this article.
Howard is still going to be a tight end to focus on for fantasy owners, especially in dynasty and keeper leagues where even if his rookie campaign is not astounding, his fantasy players can still get long-term value out of him if the Buccaneers ditch Brate and/or Howard fully realizes his lofty potential.
Jake Butt, Denver Broncos
Butt fell to the fifth round solely because he tore his ACL in Michigan’s Orange Bowl loss on New Years Day. But while he is half a million dollars richer because of his draft slide thanks to an insurance policy (smart man/smart agent), Butt could cash in even more because of the nice situation he has been drafted into.
Denver boasts two Pro Bowl-caliber wideouts in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders that can make life easier for any tight end, although the tight ends the Broncos have had the past two years have not taken advantage. Virgil Green, Jeff Heuerman, Owen Daniels were worthless for fantasy purposes.
But remember that Julius Thomas had back-to-back 12-TD seasons as Denver’s tight end in 2013 and 2014. I know that was when Peyton Manning was the quarterback, but Thomas and Sanders were also there making life easier for their tight end. Look at Thomas now! He flamed out in Jacksonville after signing a multi-million dollar deal and probably wishes he would have stayed put in the Rocky Mountains.
Butt might be back by the start of the season, although fantasy owners should temper their expectations and bank on him returning before the halfway point. Thomas and Sanders will get the bulk of the passes thrown by the winner of the Trevor Siemian/Paxton Lynch training camp cage match, but Butt should be known for his game more than his last name once he gets on the field and starts catching passes. Feel free to take a fantasy flyer on Butt in the late rounds of your draft.
More 2017 Fantasy Football Analysis
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