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: Jake Rajala

The Miami Dolphins have arguably unveiled the sexiest off-season thus far. Nonetheless, the first-year head coach Mike McDaniel and the Phins will need to squeeze out as much talent in-between the lines in the near future. It will be paramount that they can garner production from unsung heroes in the frigid AFC East. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three breakout candidates on the Miami Dolphins.

Chase Edmonds

The former AZ Cardinal Chase Edmonds had career-best performances in numerous categories last season: rushing yds (592) and total yards (903). He also missed five games last season. Edmonds is in the driver’s seat (RB1) in McDaniel’s offensive attack. I trust that the young, creative HC that helped Elijah Mitchell unleash 963 yards in 11 games last season will have an excellent plan for the explosive, new starting RB.

Emmanuel Ogbah

The 26-year-old Emmanuel Ogbah, also known as the Nigerian nightmare, has been the most underrated pass rusher over the past two seasons (9 sacks in 2020 and 9 sacks in 2021). I believe that 2022 can be the season that Ogbah captures a Pro Bowl spot. I believe a guaranteed, improved passing offense will force opposing teams to try and keep pace with MIA. Hence, the Dolphins pass rush will have more opportunities to tee off on opposing signal-callers.

Mike Gesicki

The Dolphins may have dynamite at WR1 (Tyreek Hill) and WR2 (Jaylen Waddle), but they will surely get TE Mike Gesicki involved in their Devante Parker-less offense. The Dolphins HC knows a thing or two about creating excellent match-ups for athletic freaks at TE (cough, cough, George Kittle). I trust that Gesicki, who is coming off his best season in 2021, will be a nice, productive security blanket for his young QB.

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By: Jeremy Trottier

The Miami Dolphins have become one of the more impressive teams over the course of this offseason by signing back their core free agents while bringing in new pieces to supplement the roster.  With this, they have pushed themselves into definite contention for the playoffs, and into a potential shot at the AFC East title this season.  In this article, I will cover 3 reasons why the Dolphins could win the division, as well as how they each impact their chances.

Tyreek Hill

The most blatant and recent reason as to why the Dolphins could take the division is the cheetah himself, Tyreek Hill.  There is simply no receivers in the game that are like him, and there are even fewer secondaries that can stop him.  His speed is what he is most known for as we all know, but his route running capabilities and his shiftiness allow him to get open in instances where his speed cannot. 

Did the Dolphins have to spend a lot of picks to get him?  Yes.  However, over the course of the next 5 years, this move pushes the Dolphins up to a deep playoff-caliber team simply put. 

Playmakers, both returning and incoming

Ok so we have talked about Tyreek, but lets talk about the rest of this star studded offense.  The Dolphins have rookie standout receiver Jaylen Waddle alongside Hill, as well as receiving tight end Mike Gesicki, both of whom return for 2022.  On top of that, their running game is getting better as well, with the addition of Chase Edmonds, as well as Myles Gaskin still on the team.

On top of all this, the Dolphins added a premier left tackle in Terron Armstead, who if he can avoid injury will be an amazing addition to protect Tua Tagovailoa.  While many have criticized Tua in recent months, with this amount of weapons, and some true protection on the OL, odds are he will be able to produce.

Division is in question

The final reason the Dolphins could take the AFC east, is well, the division itself.  Obviously the Bills have not lost a lot of talent, and rather added it with Von Miller.  However, the New England Patriots really have not exponentially improved this offseason, and still lack true playmakers on the offense to help out Mac Jones.  Then the Jets, who while they seem to be on the upturn, still have a lot of work to do to get up to the playoffs.

That leaves Miami and Buffalo, which is somewhat up in the air depending on how the remainder of their offseasons go.  Each team has a few holes, Buffalo being CB2 and the defensive interior (due to free agents), and Miami being IOL as well as linebacker.  Both teams have exceptional firepower, so Miami should definitely be in the top of the AFC East this coming season. 

The post 3 reasons why the Miami Dolphins could really win the AFC east appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Marcel Boudreau (@Marcel_BFF)

There has been growing importance among the fantasy football community about having one of the top 3 fantasy tight ends, and how it gives you an extreme positional advantage. Many dynasty leagues are now tight end (TE) premiums (where tight end receive more points for production), which if you are in one of these leagues, prepare for the shift. In redraft, we’re seeing Travis Kelce picked in the first round when not too long ago, picking a tight end in the first three rounds would have been frowned upon. But now, we really need to be aware of how the tight end landscape is about to get set on fire, and how it could affect dynasty rosters. 

There are more relevant fantasy tight ends whose contracts expire after the 2021-2022 season than has ever been in an off-season. Who are they, their TE finish last season in PPR scoring, and how it affects the landscape:

Mark Andrews (TE #6): Finishing as a top 6 TE in back-to-back season, Mark Andrews is entering his fourth and final season with Baltimore. It appears we will see a better passing attack from the Ravens in 2021, which could bode really well for this touchdown machine. If the Raven’s fail to extend him, and Andrews tests the free-agent market, he could find a team willing to out-pay the Ravens, which leaves a big hole in Raven’s offense for someone to fill, but also would likely dethrone the tight end in Andrew’s new destination.

Dallas Goedert (TE #20 in 11 games; paced to be TE #9): in a year with the horrific quarterback play, they’re did shine a glimmer of hope to what Goedert could become as the lead TE in the Philadelphia offense. Goedert quickly became Jalen Hurts’ favorite target, but that could be irrelevant if Zach Ertz remains in Philly. If the Eagles fail to trade Ertz, it may leave a sour taste in Goedert’s mouth, as it would show the team really does have full confidence in him. Not only would Ertz ruin Goedert’s dynasty managers’ expectations for the upcoming season, but it would lead to Goedert and Ertz being out of Philly after 2021, especially if Goedert wants to go to an even paying team, who will use him more. 

Mike Gesicki (TE #7): The Dolphins just spent a third-round draft pick on promising TE-talent Hunter Long and extended TE Adam Shaheen in the middle of last season, which both appear like preparation moves to be without Gesicki in 2022. Gesicki would be another extremely talented TE on the market, who has shown nothing but constant improvement and has set himself up nicely to earn a big cheque. 

Evan Engram (TE #15): What was a disappointing result on 109 targets (4^th among TEs in 2020), the Giants did show they want to continue to use the TE or was it only a product of no other quality receiving options. They paid a lot of money for Golladay, have endless faith in RB star Saquon Barkley, and just picked wide receiver Kadarius Toney in the first round. But that’s not all, they also signed veteran TE Kyle Rudolph to significant money ($6,000,000/year,) and with the investment in receivers, it’s increasingly seeming that Evan Engram will be faded from this offense. It would be very surprising to see Engram be of any consistent relevance this season, but he is worth holding onto regardless of his 2021 production. Engram is a former first round pick, a freak athlete, and has Daniel Jones to blame for his recent lack in production. It would be shocking to not see another team willing to take a chance on him and give him a fresh start.

Gerald Everett (TE 24): If you’re invested in the fantasy community, you’re aware of the recent surge for Gerald Everett as a sleeper/breakout TE in 2021. Russell Wilson has been well known for producing relevant TEs, but in recent years, the Seahawks have failed to find one that can stay healthy for 16 games. Gerald Everett put up 7 catches for 135 yards against the Seahawks a few years ago, and Pete Carrol was quick to mention how amazed he was by Everett’s play that game. Everett was snagged by the Seahawks on a one-year deal (likely Everett playing the money side of things with the low cap space) and now has the offense and the quarterback to put up massive numbers, in a scheme that has been friendly to the tight end in the past. It would be fun to see Everett be either extended by the Seahawks or re-challenge the free-agent market if he does end up producing top-10 tight end numbers.

Robert Tonyan Jr. (TE #4) and Logan Thomas (TE #3) are both coming off breakout seasons. Neither of these names was on draft radars a season ago and became league-winning waiver wire adds. Both TEs are coming off seasons where they were a top-3 receiving option for their teams. Green Bay and Washington both added receiving options and have other receivers coming back from injury. These TEs have lost some steam over the off-season, and it would not be all that surprising to see them leave their current teams in 2022. 

David Njoku (TE #47) and O.J Howard (TE #58 paced to be TE #14: 4 game splayed): Both drafted in the first round showing lots of promise with their athletic profiles, and both producing top-15 TE value in their second years in the league have also both fizzled out recently and have experienced significant injuries. In 2021, these two guys will face solid competition for snaps and targets at TE in their respective offenses. It be interesting to see how many teams are willing to give them a second chance based on their athleticism and flashes of promise.

Anthony Firkser, Maxx Williams, Rob Gronkowski, C.J Uzomah, all appear to be in “filler” roles at TE. This is not taking anything away from Gronk’s 2019 performance, as he outproduced most expectations, but these four TEs are all part of explosive or efficient offenses and it would not be surprising to see their respective teams replace them with younger, promising talents to add even more weapons to their offenses, especially with some of the talented free agents hitting the market. 

Mo Alie-Cox, Eric Ebron, Jared Cook, Jordan Akins are other TE names to think about, as in all their cases, their respective teams have spent draft capital on rookie TEs, all with the potential to succeed and take over the TE role for these teams. Ian Thomas, Zach Ertz, Jimmy Graham, Chris Herndon, Dalton Shultz, are also on the list of 2022 free agent TE and deserved a mention.

To summarize this cluster of information on how to apply it to the dynasty managing world, latch on to a high-end prospect ready to hit the open market and bank that their talent will earn them a hot landing spot. Another angle to take is to acquire one of the already established TEs, whose roles, volume, and production are not in question for the next couple of years (Kelce, Kittle, Waller, Hockenson”¦?). After acquiring one of these studs, you can sit back, relax, and watch your league go crazy about the TEs in free agency next off-season. 

The post How the dynasty tight end landscape is about to change appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Sukhwant Singh

Intro

Every year we as fantasy owners cringe when comes to drafting tight ends. Be it PPR or standard leagues there are just not enough premium TEs available. Once the heavy hitters, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews are off the board the rest of the crop is pretty average to below average.

In this article, we’ll focus on that next tier which can make or break your fantasy squad. I’ll be doing this article based on PPR league rankings/points. With that said let’s get started!

Top three Tight Ends to buy:

T.J. Hockenson

I’m on the hype train for T.J. Hockenson this season. I know the QB position has taken a bit of a hit with Jared Goff now at the helm instead of Matthew Stafford but this shouldn’t affect Hockenson’s value much. The team lost its top WRs in Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu.

This now opens opportunities for plenty for Hockenson especially working those underneath routes. Hockenson finished last season as a TE5 with 175.3 total points in PPR formats. I fully expect him to exceed those numbers easily this season! Look for Hockenson/Goff to hit it off early and often this season. Acquiring Hockenson, given the right price is a trade worth assessing and committing to.

Noah Fant

It’s almost unfair the amount of QB uncertainty and bad QB play that Noah Fant has been dealing with. Even with that said Fant finished with 149.3 fantasy points which were good for TE9. Fant’s current ADP has him going in round 7 and later. That to me is an absolute steal!

Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgwater will bring the best in each other (at least we all hope they do) and that should have a direct result in better QB play overall. In addition, top receiving weapon Cortland Sutton will be back and fully healthy, so most of the defensive focus will shift towards him. This leaves Fant to win one on one coverage with slower linebackers and/or smaller safeties. Fant can be had for a tremendous value.

Tyler Higbee

I cant wait to see the chemistry/connection that Stafford develops with Tyler Higbee during this summer and into the season. Higbee finished as the TE8 in 2019 with 160.4 fantasy points. Although last year was a bit of a down year for him I expect him to bounce back in a big way.

Firstly, Stafford is now his QB. A big upgrade over Goff! Secondly, his target stealer (Gerald Everett) is now in Seattle. This leaves Higbee as the best TE option on the team. In 2020 Higbee out-snapped Everett by over 200 snaps! Higbee is set for a big role this season and fully expect him to break out and have a huge fantasy year.

Top three Tight Ends to sell:

Mike Gesicki

I’m just not a believer in the Dolphins QB situation. Mike Gesicki finished as a TE7 with 159.3 fantasy points in 2020. Now with the addition of Will Fuller and rookie Jaylen Waddle to an already crowded receiving core room. There are plenty of weapons on the Dolphins offense and I’m not sure that Tua Tagovailoa will be able to spread the ball around as needed.

This is where Gesicki’s fantasy outlook takes a hit. He might be the odd man out in terms of weekly sustained fantasy production on that team and this is where you as fantasy owners can get solid value for Gesicki. There will be plenty of TE-hungry fantasy managers will take the name and past fantasy production without looking at the complete picture/context. Take advantage of it and sell Gesicki high!

Evan Engram

In a similar boat as Gesicki, Evan Engram is the odd man out. The Giants added Kenny Golladay, drafted Kadarius Toney and will have Saquan Barkley back from injury. Just like with the Dolphins and Tua, I’m not sure if Jones will be able to keep all these mouths happy and fed often enough.

Engram finished as TE15 last season with 141 fantasy points. This is without the above names being on the team last season. Daniel Jones is in a make-or-break season and thus far I haven’t seen enough to convince me that he can be in that top 15 QB tier. Sell Engram as he another big name out there but little fantasy value.

Kyle Pitts

Now before everybody goes crazy as to why I’m mentioning Kyle Pitts, let me explain. This sell on Pitts is for redraft leagues ONLY! Second, I’m only saying sell because of his current ADP value of 4.04. This is insane for a player who has yet to take an NFL snap.

Pitts would have to have one of the greatest rookie TE seasons in NFL history for him to be worth that high of pick. We all have seen how rookies tend to struggle to get adjusted to the NFL level. Pitts will be no different. I’m not saying he will be a bust. What I am saying is that to draft Pitts with your third or fourth pick and say he goes 65/600/5 as his stat line, that would be good for about TE10!

Last season Hunter Henry posted a 60/613/4 line in 14 games with the Chargers good for TE12! You see it’s all about value. You can find other TEs that can give similar production that can be had in a later round. Now if Pitts falls down the ladder to you in rounds eight or later then by all means scoop him up. However, to make him one of your first top five picks isn’t worth it. Sell high and get back a huge haul!

The post Top Fantasy TEs to Buy/Sell appeared first on Pro Football Mania.