This is our last offensive position to rank. We have come to the Tight End group. If you missed the other groups, don’t worry, you can can find them below;

• QB Rankings here,
• RB rankings here,
• WR Rankings here  – all of them include deep dives into each position for leagues with deep rosters & also include 2019 Rookies.

These rankings are based off team position, age, production and future prediction on production. Trades & injuries are unpredictable but will still affect the rank of the player. These are Dynasty rankings and are to be viewed that way. There are some older/impact players that are towards the end of the rankings that could be a solid players on a redraft roster or a team that is in “Win Now” mode. If you are in “Win Now Mode and don’t have the Top 5 in the list below, you can get NOS Jared Cook, CAR Greg Olsen, TEN Delanie Walker or even DAL Jason Witten and have a solid/serviceable TE (make sure you also have a solid/serviceable backup, as these older TE are injury prone). Adjust your view of these rankings on how you realistically project your team’s outcome to be this year. These rankings were just updated to reflect some of the drops and signings of the off-season.

My2Cents: Trade Acquisition Targets

MIA TE Mike Gesicki. He is 23 years old. This is his second year in the NFL and has Ryan Fitzpatrick & potentially Josh Rosen to throw to him. Fitzpatrick had a 66.7% completion rating last year with Tampa Bay. That is higher than any season in Ryan Tannehill’s career. We can also expect TE usage to increase a bit compared to Dolphins team’s in recent memory. Once the Dolphins understand how to use Gesicki, we could see a similar athlete to what we see currently in Zach Ertz. Both have the intermediate & vertical route range, both are perimeter blockers and both can be used as match-up nightmares of the opposing teams. Gesicki is of course another trendy pick as he has a background in playing college basketball. Mike Gesicki’s combine numbers suggest that fantasy relevancy is coming and depending on the MIA supporting cast, it could be coming in a big way!

Mike’s combine #s are: 40 yard dash: 4.55, Broad Jump: 10’9″, Vertical Jump: 41 1/2″, Bench Press: 22 reps and at 6’6″ weighing 245lbs his combine results put him in the position to get drafts 42nd overall in the 2018 draft. I believe that he will increase his numbers from last year [16 games, 32 targets, 22 rec, 202 yards, 9.2 YPC, 0 TD], but will still be in the middle pack for overall production for the year. My projections would be 400-500 yards w/ 3-4 TDs. Putting his potential breakout in year 3 (not a myth about it taking 3-4 years for TEs to develop).

One downfall, is that Miami has a new head coach (Brian Flores) and he was the Defensive play caller for the New England Patriots last year (been with NE for 15 years). Now that sounds like great news, steal from the rich (in your division) and provide for yourself, but that’s the defensive side of the ball. How will that translate to the offensive side? It remains to be seen. If you are looking for the bright side the case could be made that defensive minded coaches like possession football and the TE is a great possession position.

One more fun fact: Gesicki ran a faster 40 than Antonio Brown and Cooper Kupp.

I am buying him from owners that are in “Win Now” mode that could use older more productive TEs/WRs. I tend not to draft rookie TEs because of this period of time that it takes to develop them. Their value only goes down (once you drive it off the lot), then you can trade for them a year/two later for potentially half the cost. Unless it is a stud player like Noah Fant & TJ Hockenson this year and are ranked in the top 10 for dynasty leagues. First round talent always has a clearer path/output, but it is a TE, so that rookie should still be your backup at first if you draft them high in Rookie Only drafts.

Other Tight Ends I am buying into this year for next year potential (long term planning):

• Ian Thomas (Greg Olsen is at least back for 1/2 season until he is injured {again}) prices are reasonable now, but towards the middle/end of 2019 season it will cost you to try and own Thomas!
• Dallas Goedert – Ertz is signed through 2021, get your Dallas ducks in a row before then. Price will skyrocket!

My hidden “Man-Crush” and no one is talking about him – until now!

The potential of Mo Alie-Cox. Dude is an absolute BEAST coming in at 6’6″, 260 lbs. Mo is just 25 and is hidden on a crowded depth chart on a team that likes throwing to the TE position in the Colts. If you go searching on YouTube for this guy, you will come away impressed with his potential. You may remember this play from last year. Now, Travis Kelce is a big TE. He weighs in at 255LBS and is 6’5″. You do the math! Played basketball as a Forward at Virginia Commonwealth. Last year in part-time play he piled 7 rec for 133 yards and 2 TDs in 9 games. Now with his size and weight he can have a nice career as a blocking TE, which I believe was the main focus when Jack Doyle went out last year for a lengthy injury.  But, if Mo can clean his route running and the rest of his game, the IND Colts can not ignore his potential. The Colts could use more 3 TE sets to provide more opportunity for him with match-up issues.

It is worth mentioning that Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron are both Free Agents after this season.

I’m Just Sayin’

Please follow me (@tjgaines79) on Twitter for Dynasty Football content & The Dynasty Guru group at@dynastyguru to get all the up to date info on Dynasty Baseball/Basketball/Football.

Hit me up… Let me know if I missed someone you would like to be on the list & let me know what you think!