Target Seahawks TE Gerald Everett

By: Ravi Krishnan

So here we are, two days away from the much-awaited 2021 season of our favorite pastime, the National Football League. For many of us that follow the NFL, a big driver to our enthusiasm is our craziness towards Fantasy Football in general and looking for gold nuggets in the NFL marshlands, to be more specific. While everyone thinks, talks, and reads about the Top 100 players to be drafted, some of us are keener to unearth viable fantasy players for your roster from among the bottom-feeders in the NFL players’ universes.

Today’s article examines the Tight End (TE) position and looks at three potentially unseen heroes at the spot — or, super-deep sleepers, to be referential to fantasy football. So, without any further ado, here are 3 super-duper-sleeper TE picks for the 2021 fantasy football season.

1. Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks’ new OC, Shane Waldron was the passing game coordinator with the Rams last season. He brings with him a quick-passing style of offense that should work wonders in a Russ Wilson-helmed offensive unit. And one of the biggest factors in this offense could potentially be its newest TE ”“ Gerald Everett. He played under Waldron in LA, and is familiar with his system. He was already in line to pick up the 77 targets left vacant by Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister last year, but should garner many many more in Waldron’s TE-friendly system. Most significantly, Seattle has no clear No. 3 target in its passing offense behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett — Everett could very easily be the missing piece.

2021 Average Draft Position (ADP): #17 in Half-PPR

Projected Upside Ranking for Season: Top 8 among TEs

2. Blake Jarwin, Dallas Cowboys

Two years back, Jarwin showed flashes of big-play potential in a limited role behind Jason Witten. His promise was attractive enough for the Cowboys to give him a four-year, $22 million extension in the offseason ”“ but to his misfortune, he tore his ACL in Week 1 of 2020.  In his absence, Dalton Schulz was well on his way to a TE1 finish until Dak Prescott’s untimely injury. Now Jarwin is back, he’s healthy, and has been getting his due reps as a starter during pre-season practices and games. Yes, there is a slight chance of his getting Wally Pipped by Schultz, but fact is that Jarwin is the more athletic, more naturally skilled player at the position; also, he’s the one the team has invested in, and that ultimately matters. Even from an on-field data perspective, Jarwin’s upside is easy to see ”“ Schultz was targeted 89 times last year and had luminaries such as Cooper Rush and Garrett Gilbert throwing to him; a healthy Jarwin getting passes thrown to him by a healthy Dak could very viably get past 100 targets and a potential Top 10 TE finish to the season.

2021 Average Draft Position (ADP): #21 in Half-PPR

Projected Upside Ranking for Season: Top 10 among TEs

3. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints

The NFL has changed over the years in player skills, athletic levels, talent pre-requisites and overall make-up of what it takes to be a star contributor. In this context, the TE position has probably seen the most radical transformation — from stodgy-blocking-experts-with-safe-hands to tall-basketball players-with WR hands. Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Darren Waller and others have made the TE spot a unique differentiator. Many of these stars are as good, if not better, than top-level WRs, and some actually started as one. And this is the context behind my last sleeper of the day ”“ Juwan Johnson. He was a WR until this past summer and is now a converted TE. On a team that uses TEs a lot and is now missing its top two players at the position (Adam Trautman and Nick Vannett) due to injuries, Johnson could be the sneakiest of sneaky picks for you in the late rounds. Oh, and the best part about Johnson is his position eligibility. Some sites have him as a WR, some as TE, and there are a few sites. that have granted him eligibility at both. 

2021 Average Draft Position (ADP): #48 in Half-PPR

Projected Upside Ranking for Season: Top 12 among TEs