Welcome back RotoBallers! In case you haven't been following this series, I've covered some of my favorite undervalued PPR wide receivers and PPR running backs so far.

This time we are going to look at tight ends. Below are a few undervalued tight ends that I believe will perform better than their draft day cost, and would target in PPR fantasy drafts. There's plenty of value at the position if you know where to look.

Note: All ADP data is taken from Fantasy Calculator PPR drafts for 12 team leagues.

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PPR Draft Values - Tight Ends

Kyle Rudolph (TE, MIN), ADP: 7.11

Entering the 2016 season Rudolph was barely on the fantasy radar at the tight end position. Then he got Sam Bradford as his quarterback and exploded for a 83 catch, 840 yard season. He added seven touchdowns and finished as the number two scoring tight end. If you're worried that last year was a fluke don't be. Since entering the league 30% of Bradford's touchdowns have gone to tight ends. As long as Bradford is under center Rudolph will have big time upside.

Zach Ertz (TE, PHI), ADP: 8.08

Ertz has now posted back to back seasons with at least 75 catches and 816 yards. From week 8 on last year Ertz saw 86 targets. With the departure of slot receiver Jordan Matthews, Ertz should be just as involved if not more in 2017. In the Eagles third preseason game, Wentz targeted Ertz three times on just 10 attempts. He should easily eclipse 100 targets and could be headed for a breakout year in an offense that had the sixth most passing attempts in 2016.

Eric Ebron (TE, DET), ADP: 11.04

Since entering the league in 2014, Ebron has improved in every statistical category. His targets (47-70-85), catches (25-47-61), yards (248-537-711), yards per reception (9.9-11.4-11.7) and catch rate (53.2-67.1-71.8) have all steadily improved. The only statistic that hasn't improved is touchdowns. After scoring five in 2015 he only found the end zone once in 2016. Considering he saw more red zone targets in 2016 than 2015, I'm willing to chalk this up to bad luck. When you factor in the departure of Anquan Boldin, who led the Lions in red zone targets with 24, it's not hard to envision Ebron posting another five touchdown season. If his other numbers improve as well Ebron could easily push into the top 10 tight ends.

Jason Witten (TE, DAL), ADP: 13.10

Witten has finished as a top 12 PPR tight end every year since before I was born. Not really, but it has been 14 years since he finished outside the top 12. That is just amazing. While he doesn't bring huge upside to your roster, he gives you weekly consistency that not many tight ends can. When you can grab a low end TE1 in the 13th round you are getting amazing value.

Cameron Brate (TE, TB), ADP: 14.02

Did drafting O.J. Howard make people forget that Brate was TE7 last year. Or that he had as many red zone targets as Mike Evans? Don't get me wrong, Howard is a fine player and has a bright future, but Brate is still going to be the leading tight end for Tampa Bay in 2017 and could have another year were he finishes top 12. Going as a low end TE2 makes him an absolute steal for players who like to wait on tight ends.

 

Deeper Dives

Unfortunately Fantasy Calculator doesn't show ADP past round 14. There are still tight ends I like beyond that range, especially for those of you who play in two tight end leagues. So, here they are:

Antonio Gates (TE, LAC)

With the exception of 2012, Gates has finished as a top 12 PPR tight end every year over the last 13 years. In that 2012 season he finished 13th. Gates needs just one more touchdown to pass Tony Gonzalez for the all time lead for tight ends and I doubt he will want to stop there. While he may slip out of the top 12 this year, he is a safe TE2 who should score his share of touchdowns.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE, NYJ)

I never thought I would be calling Seferian-Jenkins a value.  An extremely talented player who has disappointed and battled alcohol abuse, Seferian-Jenkins appears to be clean and refocused. With the Jets having moved on from Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, and with the loss of Quincy Enunwa for the season, Seferian-Jenkins could see a lot of targets coming his way. His upside is likely limited by playing on an offense that will be hard pressed to find the end zone, but he makes a great TE2 target.

Charles Clay (TE, BUF)

Similar to Sefarian-Jenkins, Clay is in a situation that could see him inherit a larger target share. The Bills traded number one receiver Sammy Watkins, signed Anquan Boldin as a free agent only to see him retire, and traded for Jordan Matthews who is battling a chest injury. Even if Matthews is healthy the Bills pass catchers are Matthews, rookie Zay Jones, Walter Powell and Rod Streater. Tyord Taylor will likely be leaning on Clay often as a safety valve which should give him value in PPR and deeper leagues.

Vernon Davis (TE, WAS)

While Davis is little more than a bench stash to start the season, he is a good guy to stash in two tight end leagues. For as good as Jordan Reed is the guy just can't stay on the field. Reed has never played all 16 games and has played 14 just once. When Reed is out, Davis becomes a top 12 TE option. In the four games Reed missed in 2016, Davis had three top 15 finishes and two top 10 finishes. Reed owners in deep leagues should definitely own Davis as well.

 

That concludes the undervalued series for 2017. Good luck in your drafts this year!

 

More Tight Ends Draft Analysis

 

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