Mike Gesicki (Patriots-TE) | ADP-169 | TE-21

What happened to Mike Gesicki in 2022? Gesicki all but disappeared from the Miami Dolphins offense and despite playing in all 17 games was only targeted 52 times. He is now with the New England Patriots and hoping the change of scenery will benefit him. Of course, Gesicki will be behind Hunter Henry on the depth chart but that doesn’t mean he should be ignored.

When Gesicki was involved in the offensive gameplan he has shown he can produce. For instance, in week 6 vs the Minnesota Vikings he had 6 receptions for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 21.9 fantasy points propelled Gesicki to the #1 tight end for that week. I expect the Patriots to give Gesicki more opportunities in their passing game as they love to utilize 2 tight end sets. Look for him to be targeted often in the red zone and expect a bounce back year in 2023.

Michael Mayer (Raiders-TE) | ADP-171 | TE-23

The Las Vegas Raiders decided to part ways with Darren Waller this past offseason. In his place, they now have three tight ends competing for the starting role. Austin Hooper and O.J. Howard were brought in and the Raiders drafted Michael Mayer in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite the competition at the tight end spot, I expect Mayer will be the starter in week 1.

Mayer was a star for Notre Dame in his final 2 seasons. He totaled 1,649 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in that span. At 6’4″, Mayer has the length to be a big-time red zone target in the Raiders offense. Expect Mayer to benefit from Jimmy Garoppolo and his quick, accurate passes. I project Mayer to finish inside the top 20 at the tight end position.

*Cole Turner (Commanders-TE) | ADP-NA | TE-NA

If you’re looking for a deep tight end sleeper look no further than Cole Turner. It’s easy to forget about Turner as he had a quiet rookie season plagued with injuries. As a result, Turner finished with only 2 receptions for the Washington Commanders in 2022. Logan Thomas is presumably the TE1 in Washington but can he be trusted for a full season?

Turner is a massive 6’6″ tight end that can make acrobatic catches. His athleticism was on full display at the Commanders training camp last season before his hamstring injury. Turner is now back fully healthy and already making some noise at OTA’s. The tight end position has always been a key component in an Eric Bieniemy offense. With that said, I see Turner being a better fit than Thomas in this new Commanders offense. If he can stay healthy, Turner could be one of the steals of the year that no one is talking about.

Looking for more fantasy advice? Check out our fantasy football section.

*Deep sleeper

The post 3 Tight End Sleepers for 2023 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Michael Welsh

The Cleveland Browns are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and they arguably have the most complete roster in the NFL. Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and Kareem Hunt make up the elite wide receiver and running back rooms. It is important to not forget how talented the tight end room is as well, and how they can impact the offense in 2021.

In 2020, Andrew Berry signed Austin Hooper in Free Agency to 4 years $42 million deal. He joined David Njoku and rookie Harrison Bryant to make up a very talented tight end room. All the talent is great, but at the end of the day, there is only one football, so many wondered how all of these players would get involved. Kevin Stefanski loves his tight ends and needed ones that could block, which is a big reason Hooper was signed. Njoku is a freak athlete, but blocking is a weak spot of his game. Harrison Bryant figured to need a lot of development but was coming off a 1,000-yard season in college that leads him to become the winner of the Mackey Award. Let’s break down all of their performances in 2020 and how they should fare in 2021.

Austin Hooper

You can look at Hooper’s stats in 2020 and immediately say that he underperformed based on the contract he got. He finished with 46 receptions for 435 yards and 4 touchdowns. While these stats aren’t absolutely terrible, they are a big dip down from his 2019 year with the Falcons where he had 75 receptions for 787 yards and 6 touchdowns. This decrease in production is actually not as concerning as one might think. For starters, Hooper was a solid blocking tight end for the Browns in 2020. He made a lot of key blocks on running plays that helped spring, Nick Chubb. He was also very clutch and sure-handed, only having two drops all season. It was unfortunate that Hooper had a ruptured appendix because he was starting to develop chemistry with Baker Mayfield. Much like Baker, Hooper was getting comfortable in the offense coming off an unprecedented offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hooper is expected to be more involved in 2021 and since it’ll be another year in a system he is now familiar with, his chemistry with Baker should be better. With so many mouths to feed on offense, Hooper will never put up huge numbers but don’t be surprised if he gets between 55 and 65 catches. Being a security blanket for Baker and continuing to improve as a blocker should be his two biggest focuses this upcoming season.

David Njoku

Perhaps one of the most intriguing players on the entire offense, David Njoku enters his 4th season with a lot to prove. The thing about Njoku is that he has all the traits to be a number one Pro Bowl tight end in the NFL, but he’s had some unfortunate setbacks in his young career. In 2018, Njoku really flashed with 56 catches 639 yards, and 4 touchdowns. 2019 was a forgettable year as he dealt with injuries and clashes with then-head coach Freddie Kitchens. In 2020, Njoku looked great even though his stats didn’t convey that. He finished with 19 catches for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, if you watched the games you’d notice that many of his catches came in clutch moments and some were incredibly impressive. His athleticism is incredible and he can go up to make catches a lot of tight ends can’t. In addition to all that, his blocking improved dramatically and that helped get him on the field more.

In 2021, it will be very interesting to see how many touches Njoku gets. If he makes his way onto the field, especially in the red zone, he could have 30+ catches and 4-5 touchdowns. His jumping ability makes him a tough matchup one on one and with it being a contract year, there could be a fire lit under him. There are many Browns fans who argue that he is better than Hooper and should get just as much playing time, so we’ll see what happens. Either way, Njoku should have a significant role in Kevin Stefanski’s offense.

Harrison Bryant

Last but not least, we have Harrison Bryant who is coming off a good rookie season for the Browns. Bryant was drafted in the 4th round in 2020 and had a lot of buzz as a future star. He saw minimal playing time up until week 7 against the Bengals where he broke out with 4 receptions for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns. He displayed speed, good hands, and the ability to get separation in that game and he looked promising. In the coming weeks, common rookie mistakes started happening as Bryant had a few fumbles that contributed heavily to the outcome of the games. Those issues are fixable and there is no need to worry about his future, but they made the coaches take a step back with his playing time. Despite that, he finished the season with 24 receptions for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also showed potential as a good blocking tight end.

In 2021, it is hard to say how much playing time Bryant will get. That is totally fine because he needs more time to develop and tight ends usually take a few years to fully form. His ball security and awareness are the two main areas he needs to improve in, but make no mistake that substantial talent is there. He has been compared to George Kittle and if he gets anywhere close to that, the Browns will have a major steal for years to come. Look for him to have similar stats as he did in 2020 and have a role as a rotational player, seeing playing time later in games when the Browns have big leads. There is a good chance that he will grow into the number one tight end and take Hooper’s place when his contract is up in a few years.

The post Breaking down Cleveland Browns TE group appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

by Michael Obermuller

Odell Beckham Jr. has become one of the more polarizing players in the NFL, ever since being drafted by the New York Giants in 2014. After receiving a five-year, $95 million contract extension from Big Blue in 2018, OBJ forced his way out of New York with his off-the-field antics. The first franchise to step up in negotiations was the Cleveland Browns, who outbid the competition for the frustrated star wide receiver.

Pretty much since the day he touched down in Cleveland, trade talks have swirled around Odell and the Browns franchise once again. You see, Beckham didn’t choose the Browns, and he has not seemed truly happy in Cleveland since the day he arrived. Now Browns general manager Andrew Berry (who took over after the OBJ trade) has rumored that the franchise is open to dealing the playmaker for the right return.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of trading OBJ, from the perspective of the Browns.

Cases FOR Trading OBJ

• An Offer Cleveland Cannot Refuse
  • Another franchise could simply offer the Browns a similar haul that they once paid the Giants for OBJ, which would allow them to wash their hands of the situation entirely. Cleveland sent NYG Jabrill Peppers, a first (No. 17 overall), and a third in return for Beckham.
  • This seems unlikely based on Beckham’s contract and injury history, especially when you consider that the pandemic has crippled revenue and lowered the cap this season.
• Financial Obligations vs. Contribution
  • Considering how little Beckham has actually played (more on that below), he’s costing Cleveland a fortune in both dollars and cap space.
  • OBJ has a $15.75 million cap hit in 2021, and a $15 million flat cap hit in 2022 and ’23. They made the postseason without the wide-out in 2020, so the argument could easily be made that this money could help this roster more if it were allocated elsewhere.
  • Beckham had over 1,000 yards receiving and four touchdowns for the Browns in 2019, but they missed the playoffs that season. He only totaled 319 yards and four touchdowns in 2020, when the Browns made the playoffs and defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in round one. OBJ did not factor in the second half of the year, or any of the postseason games.
• Off-the-Field Noise
  • OBJ has become a locker room distraction in the past with the Giants. It’s not that he’ll break team rules or do anything illegal, but Beckham tends to run his mouth to the media and aggravate teammates.
  • The Giants ended up trading OBJ the offseason after he publicly criticized quarterback Eli Manning in an interview. Baker Mayfield is not exactly an MVP candidate either, so you never know when Beckham might get frustrated and make waves, which could negatively impact team chemistry.
• Injury History
  • Speaking of the aforementioned injuries the star has suffered, Beckham has only played 15 or more games in three out of his first seven seasons in the league. He made 12 appearances twice, seven once, and four in 2017 with only two games started.
  • In terms of wear and tear, most of OBJ’s injuries have been to his lower half. Beckham had his first issue during preseason of 2014, when he suffered a grade three tear in his hamstring. He then pulled his hammy again in OTA’s the following season, has missed minor amounts of time with hip strains, suffered a grade three high-ankle sprain in preseason of 2017, fractured the same ankle later that year, missed games with a quad hematoma bruise in 2018, groin-related sports hernia in 2019 ”” and worst of all, an ACL tear in 2020.
  • Eventually, a body can only take so much and still perform as it once did. If the Browns get the right offer, it might be hard for the new regime not to sell high on this extensive injury history.

Cases AGAINST Trading OBJ

• Trade Stock At Lowest
  • A GM never wants to trade a player at their lowest value, and OBJ could be at his lowest right now (recovering from a torn ACL in the midst of a financial crisis/pandemic).
  • They must at least recoup a first round pick for OBJ, and that’s still a good deal less than what they originally paid for him. If the return is too low, the smarter move might be to bet on Beckham’s recovery.
• Browns Should Bet On Talent
  • Whether or not they get the right offer, many still believe that OBJ’s talent and attributes are too rare and dynamic to trade away. There aren’t too many receivers in the NFL that have Beckham’s mix of size, athleticism and speed, not to mention his hands and route running ability (two acquired skills).
  • Beckham has totaled 1,000-plus receiving yards in every season but two (2017 and 2020, due to injury), and 1,300-plus yards three out of the five 1,000 yard campaigns.
  • Odell had a yards after catch (YAC) per reception of 4.4 yards in 2019. For comparison, DeAndre Hopkins had a 4.58 YAC per reception in 2020, and only the top receiving weapons in football like Davante Adams and Travis Kelce topped 5.0 YAC per reception last season.
  • OBJ has had a consistent yards per catch that has hovered around his 14.0 career average every season, with a 15.1 yards per reception career-high in 2015.
• Cleveland is Better with Beckham
  • One of the main reasons the Browns fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason was a lack of receiving weapons (and more specifically, no clear No. 1 wide-out).
  • Rashard Higgins filled the role admirably in 2020 after Beckham’s injury, but this offense is so much more potent with OBJ in the lineup. Think about it; Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant/David Njoku, Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins AND Odell Beckham Jr. That arsenal would be a challenge for any opposing defense, and OBJ’s unique skillset throws a wrench into a coordinator’s game prep and strategy.
• Wide Receiver is a Need Area for Cleveland
  • 2020 proved that the Browns are shallow at wide receiver, and they have yet to add to that WR room this offseason. At this point, there aren’t many WRs left in free agency (and none nearly as influential as OBJ).
  • Cleveland could try and replace Beckham through the draft, but it would also be hard to find a talent like him at their current draft position (unless they received a lower first rounder back in return ”” unlikely).
  • This roster is one of the more complete ones in football, but their biggest “need” might actually become wide receiver if they trade Beckham. It wouldn’t be wise to create a hole like that, without the proper solution in place to fix it.

The Verdict

Based on the current landscape of the NFL, this probably isn’t the best time to trade Odell. Unless a surprise bidder emerges, Cleveland would likely get short-changed at his current value. The smarter bet is to ride out OBJ for another year and hope that he has a bounce-back campaign. There should be much more of a market for the wide receiver in 2022, so long as Beckham stays healthy.

The post Pros and Cons For The Browns to Trade OBJ Away appeared first on Pro Football Mania.