Fantasy Football Break Out Tight Ends

Parkers Pick: Kyle Rudolph Minnesota Vikings

Kyle Rudolph has had a rough couple of seasons, and it has slid him down your draft board, but I am here to help bring him back. Rudolph was able to put in nine touchdowns in 2012 and was a sleeper star at tight end in year two. Since then he was only able to amount five touchdowns in the sixteen games he was able to start, but I tend to think it was these injures that split two seasons into one years worth of games that cause him to be such a down fall. Beside the fact that he is healthy (for now) I love his upside due to being the top receiving threat in a Norv Turner offense. In Turners past 10 years he coached Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates, and Jordan Cameron. It is safe to say he knows a good tight end when he sees one. In Norv Turners first year, the Vikings gave Rudolph a five-year extension, which many said he would have to earn and potentially got over paid. Due to injury concerns he certainly could have but I think that when healthy Turner has his guy who now enters his prime to be a red zone target and safety blanket for his budding rookie quarterback. I would put him my top ten for tight ends and would say he will be around names like Jordan Cameron and Julius Thomas in terms of fantasy production this season.

Logans Pick: Zach Ertz Philadelphia Eagles

Ertz will benefit from the fast-paced offense of Chip Kelly. It’s basic math that more snaps and more possessions equals more opportunities for Ertz to get his owners fantasy points. In Ertz’s first two seasons, his targets went up from 56 in 2013 to 86 in 2014. Now that he’s got a year of learning the Kelly system under his belt, expect big things from Ertz in the Eagle’s offense.

Ertz has proven to be a consistent red-zone target for the Eagles as well. With DeMarco Murray likely being the main weapon in the team’s offense this season, look for a lot of play-action plays in the red-zone and look for Ertz to have success especially with block and release plays. Teams will be stacking the box and focusing on Murray, which will allow Bradford (or whoever the quarterback is) to lure in linebackers with a fake handoff and hit Ertz over the middle after pretending to run block. Ertz was only targeted 15% of the time in the red-zone last season, but caught all of his touchdown receptions while the Eagles were inside of the 20 yard line. I expect that 15% to be a much higher number this season now that the Eagles have a stronger power running game.

Fantasy owners need to be aware of Ertz’s injury issues, as he is once again sidelined this pre-season. He underwent core muscle surgery this off-season, but is expected to be back for the team’s regular season opener against the Falcons. If Ertz does happen to be go down with another injury, or he takes longer to rehab from surgery than initially thought, owners should look to veteran back-up Brent Celek. I like Ertz’s skills, but the Eagles’ system is what I like the most about the tight end’s chances this season. Celek would be almost just as good as Ertz with the Eagles’ offense this year.

One more x-factor that makes Ertz a good pick this season is the fact that he will face three weak defenses twice. One may argue that the NFC East defenses aren’t that bad, but Ertz seems to thrive against them. Last season, he recorded 103 yards and a touchdown against the New York Giants and 129 yards against the Washington Redskins. In week 16 alone, he had 15 receptions for 115 yards against the Redskins. I’d say that was a good sign of things to come this season for Zach Ertz.

Daves Pick: LaDarius Green, San Diego Chargers

LaDarius Green I've been on this kid for a while now, but he's been stuck behind HOF TE Antonio Gates. Well, Gates is suspended so Green has a chance to emerge as the #1 TE for da Chargas. Green is a 6' 6" 260 beast of an athlete. He has shown flashes in the minimal attempts he has gotten, but is still a little raw. Let Rivers and Green build chemistry and once they do, I think he could become one of the top targets for the team. Green is the bigger younger version of Gates and Rivers knows that, so I look for these two to do some explosive work down the middle of the field and in the red zone this year. Draft Rounds: 7-9