Top 15 Tight Ends in Fantasy Football

After hearing that the Falcons are going to have Tony Gonzalez block more and catch less, as well as news that some young players have been dazzling coaches in OTAs, I decided that it was time to make a top 15 list for fantasy tight ends.

1. Jason Witten, Cowboys – This guy has been consistent for years and he is in line to get more catches with TO gone from Dallas.
2. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons – He seems to be getting better with age. Don’t be too worried about the recent news that he’ll be asked to receive less often.
3. Antonio Gates, Chargers – Played injured last season and should improve on his numbers this year.
4. Chris Cooley, Redskins – Excellent receiver who can make plays after the catch. Needs to improve on his TD totals from last year (1). Cooley will likely be heavily involved with the Red Zone offense next year.
5. Owen Daniels, Texans – Very underrated TE. A very athletic pass catcher and a top target in an explosive offense. Could be a value pick.
6. Dallas Clark, Colts – Consistent and athletic. Should post solid numbers again this year.
7. Greg Olsen, Bears – Will quickly develop into Jay Cutler’s favorite target.  Fast and Tall pass catcher. Big sleeper.
8. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers – Plays like a WR. Will produce no matter who plays QB. Injuries could be a concern, though.
9. John Carlson, Seahawks – Carlson quietly had an excellent rookie season. He will improve on those numbers this year.
10. Zach Miller, Raiders – The only reliable pass catcher on the Raiders. Needs to catch more than one TD this season.
11. Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings – Developed into a great producer down the stretch last season. Has been working hard this offseason and it will show in his production.
12. Tony Scheffler, Broncos – Kyle Orton loves throwing to his TEs so Scheffler can expect a lot of targets this season. Should post numbers similar to last year.
13. Dustin Keller, Jets- You can be sure that Mark Sanchez will look to Keller as much as possible. Keller is a definite fantasy sleeper.
14. Jeremy Shockey, Saints – Injuries have been a concern lately, but Shockey should rebound this year with numbers that we expect from him. Catching passes from Drew Brees helps too.
15. Heath Miller, Steelers- Miller is very talented and is a solid fantasy TE. He’s a very consistent player.

Let me know what you think!

Visanthe Shiancoe

10 Fantasy Football Sleepers for 2009

Finding a fantasy sleeper is vital to being successful in fantasy football. If you draft the right players, its easy to win a fantasy championship. That said, I’m going to break down my 10 favorite fantasy sleepers, in no particular order.

1. Dustin Keller, TE Jets – Keller had a solid rookie season last year, catching 48 balls for 535 yards and 3 touchdowns. This year, with Mark Sanchez likely starting at QB, you can be sure that Dustin Keller will improve on those numbers. He’s a fast tall target and will likely be Sanchez’s security blanket this season. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 yards and 5 touchdowns should be realistic.
2. Domenik Hixon, WR Giants – Someone has to fill in for Plaxico Burress, and Hixon seems to be the best candidate. He’s tall (6’2″) and fast (4.36 speed in the 40 yard dash) and he was productive in limited time last year (Nearly 600 yards in 7 starts). Hixon should be able to post around 1000 yards and 4 touchdowns next year.
3. Kyle Orton, QB Broncos – Orton quietly threw for about 3000 yards and 18 touchdowns last year in a run first offense. Now with Denver and being taught by Josh McDaniels, Orton is throwing to Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Tony Scheffler and he is also playing behind an offensive line that gave up only 12 sacks last season. His numbers should go up a lot with those targets. He should post in the neighborhood of 3600 yards and 25 total touchdowns.
4. Anthony Gonzalez, WR Colts – Gonzalez didn’t have a great season last year, but this year he’ll be the number 2 wide receiver on the Colts offense. In addition to the fact that he catches passes from Peyton Manning, Gonzalez is loaded with talent and is entering his third year, where receivers often break out. He’s should post around 1100 total yards and 7 touchdowns.
5. Trent Edwards, QB Bills – Edwards is a better real quarterback than a fantasy quarterback, but with the addition of TO and reports that the Bills will be running the spread offense a lot more, Edwards should post some decent numbers. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3300 yards and 20 touchdowns seems realistic. He’ll probably be better suited as a number 2 QB that can be started based on the match up. His offensive line could be a problem though.
6. Felix Jones, RB Cowboys – Jones played in 0nly 6 games last season due to injury, but this year he is without a doubt going to receive much more playing time. In limited time, Jones managed a very impressive 8.9 yard per carry average. Obviously, with more carries that number is going to go down, but Jones is still in line to post some good numbers. He’s probably going to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-200 carries and you can expect around 1000 total yards with around 8 touchdowns. He also has added value as a returner.
7. Donnie Avery, WR Rams – Avery had a good rookie season, managing 53 receptions for 674 yards and 3 touchdowns. He will build on those totals as he is going to be the top target in the Rams offense. He has excellent speed and will likely post around 70 receptions for 900-1000 yards and 5 touchdowns.
8. Greg Olsen, TE Bears – Now in his third year, Olsen is poised for a major breakout season. New Bears QB Jay Cutler loves his tight ends and will look to Olsen frequently this year. Olsen is a very tall target for Cutler and he is too fast for linebackers and safeties that cover him and too big for cornerbacks that cover him. He is a good receiving tight end and should post at least 800 yards and 8 touchdowns. He could be a steal if you can get him in the later rounds.
9. Devin Thomas, WR Redskins – Though his rookie season may have been a mess, Devin Thomas will post much better numbers in his second year. He has unlimited potential and is capable of posting great numbers if he can learn the offense. He is a big and fast receiver with solid hands but learning the offense has been his biggest problem. He seems to have dedicated himself this off season and could take over the number 2 receiving job from Antwaan Randle El. If all goes well, Thomas could have around 800 total  yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s worth taking a late round flier on.
10. Devin Hester, WR Bears – As the top receiving option in the Bears offense, Devin Hester is a definite fantasy sleeper. He has world class speed and is a great route runner. If he can improve his catching, Hester could post some impressive numbers. Last year he had 665 yards in 8 starts, so he can definitely have a 1000 yard season with Jay Cutler throwing to him. He probably won’t be too consistent, though.

As always, questions and comments are appreciated.

Power Rankings for the 2009 NFL Season

I created my power rankings for the 2009 NFL season.

Check it out!

Feel free to comment on it.

Top 10 fantasy Running Backs (RBs)

These next few weeks are pretty much the slowest news days of the NFL offseason (in between the end of OTAs and the start of training camp), so I’m going to take this time to rank the top players at each position.

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Michael Turner
3. Matt Forte
4. Maurice Jones Drew
5. Steven Jackson
6. DeAngelo Williams
7. Clinton Portis
8. Frank Gore
9. Chris Johnson
10. Brian Westbrook

Now I know there are going to be dissenters, so go ahead and let me know what you think the rankings should be. My ratings are done based on a standard scoring league, and I take injury concerns into consideration (the main reason Brian Westbrook is my 10th rated RB).