September 5, 2016

Craig analyzes three sophomore tight ends who will not rebound off of poor rookie seasons in 2016 fantasy football

Just like 2015 was not a year to applaud rookie receivers, rookie tight ends did not deserve any standing ovations, either. No tight ends were taken in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, and the first-year brood showed why.  This was far from a bumper crop of fantasy darlings.  The best of the unexceptional bunch was New York’s Will Tye, who had 464 receiving yards and three touchdowns and was virtually invisible until the final four games.

Fantasy owners should not go thinking that many tight ends from this deluge of disappointments are going to help them in 2016.  Here are three sophomore tight ends set to bust, again:

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Three Sophomore Tight Ends to Avoid

Maxx Williams, Baltimore Ravens

Williams is a hulking monster who should be difficult for defenders to deal with.  At 6-4 and 257 pounds, he should be a nightmare to cover in the red zone.  Yet the second-rounder only scored one lone touchdown during his rookie year and averaged just 8.4 yards per catch.  Too many shoulds, not enough receptions and touchdowns.

There is more traffic at tight end for the Ravens than there is on a Los Angeles freeway during rush hour.  Joining Williams and Crockett Gillmore is former starter Dennis Pitta, who is attempting to return after two season-ending hip injuries.  The tight end corps could have been even more crowded if free-agent signee Benjamin Watson didn’t suffer a torn Achilles in Baltimore’s last preseason contest.

Williams will need every single star in the sky to align perfectly to emerge as Baltimore’s best tight end and a productive member of the fantasy football society.  Gillmore was better than Williams was last season, and Pitta is a better pass catcher than both of them if he gets healthy.  Williams would have zero fantasy value if not for the Watson injury.  Now there is an outside chance he could catch 40 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns.  Those numbers still do not make him draftable, though.

Jeff Heuerman, Denver Broncos

Heuerman picked the wrong time to become a bigger part of Denver’s offense.  It would have been great if Heuerman was able to contribute when Peyton Manning was calling the audibles and throwing the ball, but the three-headed monster of Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Mark Sanchez does not inspire any confidence from fantasy owners that Heuerman will be seeing perfect spirals and pinpoint passes headed his way.

Denver’s passing attack should still revolve around Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, arguably the top wide receiver tandem in the NFL.  But you would think that without Manning under center and with the offense continuing to be a run-first attack like it was towards the end of last season that the Broncos would employ more two-tight end sets.  That should mean Heuerman and Virgil Green, not exactly a dynamic duo, should see the field at the same time.  But will Heuerman be asked to block more than he will be asked to run routes?

Heuerman’s rookie campaign was ruined before it began thanks to a torn ACL, and now he has missed some preseason time due to a hamstring injury.  So while Denver’s tight end talent is among the lowest in the league and Heuerman has the opportunity to become a starter, you might be better off with a second kicker on your fantasy roster than this sophomore.

Tyler Kroft, Cincinnati Bengals

Kroft was not expected by fantasy owners to win any Rookie of the Year awards last season after he was drafted by Cincinnati in the third round, and he proved those fantasy owners right by producing 11 receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown over the entire season.  Meanwhile, Tyler Eifert FINALLY reached his potential and caught 13 touchdown passes, making him one of most valuable tight ends in fantasy while making Kroft a fantasy non-factor.  By the way, Cincinnati has way too many Tylers on its roster on offense.

But Eifert opened the door for Kroft to do something constructive in 2016 by having offseason ankle surgery that will likely lay Eifert up for the first month of the season.  Between there being no Eifert along with no Marvin Jones or Mohamed Sanu at receiver anymore for the Bengals, this was Kroft’s opportunity to catch three-to-six passes per week.  So what did Kroft do?  He sprained his knee and his status for Week 1 is as questionable as Kanye West’s rants.

By the time Kroft gets healthy and gets his act together, Eifert may be back on the field.  The only way Kroft will have any fantasy worth is if he returns from his injury without incident and Eifert suffers a setback with his own injury.  There is no reason to waste a fantasy draft pick on Tyler Kroft.