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Tight Ends used to be an afterthought in fantasy football.  Pick one up in the 13th or 14th round and they’d be just as good as most 4th or 5th rounders.  This is no longer.  I generally don’t link to articles on other sites, but Jamey Eisenberg at cbssportsline.com wrote an article on TE’s this week that really hits the mark.  The jist of his argument is that TEs have gone from thick, slow run blockers to the most athletic, strong and fast athletes on the field today.  A prototypical TE these days runs 6’5″ and 250 to 260 pounds and can run a sub 4.5 to 4.4 40-yard dash.  That was unheard of in the early days of fantasy football.  Heck that type of athleticism is unheard of in all of sports!

So, with the advent of the pass catching tight end that stretches the field and is a matchup nightmare for bigger LBs and smaller safeties, how does that impact your dynasty TE acquisition strategy?  Here are a few tips that I use to keep a steady flow of high potential TEs on my dynasty roster:

• Study College TEs carefully, go out of your way to get high potential  - This may sound obvious but it’s not.  Each year, I believe there are only 2 or 3 rookie TEs that are capable of developing into superstars in the NFL.  Let’s say that again…Out of probably 10-15 drafted TEs and countless other undrafted rookie free agents, only 1 to 3 will be capable of averaging 6-8 fantasy points a game, and most likely only 1 of those capable actually will.  You must tune into these guys and go after them aggressively.  Don’t sit back and wait to take a TE in the 3rd or 4th round of a 5 round rookie draft just because that’s typically when TEs are coming off the board.  If you truly believe a player has the body type, speed and hands to be a game changer, get them on your roster.

• Trade a WR for a top tier TE - If you’re sitting with Anthony Fasano, Ben Watson and Todd Heap as your current TE roster core, do you think it would be worth it to trade a Marques Colston or Jeremy Maclin for Tony Gonzalez or Jermichael Finley?  Hell yes it would.  It’s a lot easier to replace the WR position that often has 3 or 4 players on the field at one time than it is to find a TE that at most has two on the field at the same time.

• Pick up high potential TEs from free agency at the end of the season - Do you have an extra spot on your roster?  Just put someone on IR and have a free pickup?  Grab a TE.  Keeping an eye on high potential guys, which I define as TEs who have prototypical size noted above, have had a few good games, are young and can start within a year or two, and nab one at the end of the season.  Many times a 1st or 2nd year TE develops in the offseason and preseason into a starter and if you nab him before he’s on other’s radars you’ll be laughing all the way to the championship.

Tight ends are never the highest priority on a fantasy team, running backs, quarterbacks and receivers get that rap.  That being said, you can make or break a fantasy squad depending on how much depth and talent you have at TE.  Those 6-10 points a game may not be much next to RBs, QBs and WRs but if you get it consistently and others do not, you will have a terrific advantage.

Happy Hunting!

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