By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
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Greg OlsenOlsen gets the best tight end schedule for 2016 based on 2015 statistics. Two matchups with the Saints is a big plus for him, then San Diego, Seattle, Oakland, L.A., Atlanta and Tampa Bay were all on the lower end of the matchup statistics. Kansas City is the only team that finished in the Top-10 against tight ends that the Panthers will face. The only concern for Olsen is his number of targets. With Kelvin Benjamin returning and Devin Funchess’ late blooming, Olsen’s usage will be a real question. The good news is that Olsen has what should at worst be a neutral schedule and he is in a high-scoring offense. I still think he’s a safe tight end pick, but he may go a bit earlier than I’m willing to commit.
Travis KelceLast season, Kelce didn’t get the targets his fantasy backers would like to see and when he did get them he wasn’t as efficient as he needed to be to take those targets into full-on Gronk mode. But there is no doubt Kelce is a Top-10 tight end with Top-3 ability and an easy schedule isn’t going to hurt. He has one stretch of games that is set up for greatness, starting Week 4 when he take on Pittsburgh, then a bye, then Oakland, New Orleans, Indianapolis and then Jacksonville. It truly is a who’s who of poor tight end-stopping defenses. Kelce, even with a seemingly underwhelming 2015 was a top fantasy tight end. This season, I do expect a step forward even if the targets don’t get a big bump. Add in a nice stat-pumping stretch like this one, and I think he’s going to give that No. 2 tight end spot a run.
Austin Seferian-JenkinsThe Bucs get to face the Saints twice in the fantasy playoffs, which might be reason enough to draft Seferian-Jenkins this season. We already know he’s going to be an integral part of the offense with Vincent Jackson seeing a huge decrease in targets last season and Mike Evans picking up the majority of them while Seferian-Jenkins was injured. There just isn’t anyone else worth targeting at this point. The real question surrounding him is if he can stay healthy or not. If Seferian-Jenkins is healthy, he has the ability to be a force at the position. The only trouble is that he’s currently going off the board as the 13th tight end, which might be a little steep considering his injury history. But once you get past the Top-6 tight ends, the risk factor rises exponentially. I’d be happy grabbing him and someone like Zach Miller in the later rounds and using those two as my starter.
Coby FleenerI have never been a Coby Fleener fan, but when Dwayne Allen was out and Fleener was healthy, he was a productive fantasy player. Having Andrew Luck as his quarterback helped, but now Fleener gets to go to an offense even better suited for tight ends in New Orleans, and that Drew Brees fella ain’t so bad. Then, when you mix in some nice matchups against Detroit, San Diego, Jacksonville, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Oakland; you have yourself a pretty strong mixture for a top-shelf tight end beverage.
Ladarius GreenGreen is one of my favorite players to watch get 10 snaps in a game, and when he was picked up by the Steelers who subsequently lost Martavis Bryant, I was all-in. Now, I’m not going to let his tough schedule take me “all-out,” but I would rather see him on the other end of the spectrum. Of his 16 games, 11 of them come against teams that ranked 12th or better against tight ends according to my rankings. The good news is that Green is a rare field-stretching tight end and has the speed to also take any short pass deep into enemy territory. I don’t expect Green to be a target hog in Pittsburgh, but I do think he will be a boom-or-bust player with a high enough boom to be worth your trouble.
| Wk 1 – 16 | Wk 14 – 16 | Team | Avg Rk | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | 18.99 | 19.14 | DAL | 3.14 | |
| KC | 18.72 | 18.67 | KC | 4.71 | |
| HOU | 17.76 | 21.10 | NE | 6.43 | |
| TB | 17.62 | 20.95 | BAL | 7.29 | |
| NO | 17.49 | 16.66 | HOU | 9.29 | |
| PHI | 17.36 | 17.24 | PHI | 10.14 | |
| DET | 17.35 | 15.81 | NYJ | 10.29 | |
| SD | 17.28 | 14.71 | CLE | 10.71 | |
| GB | 17.19 | 16.91 | CAR | 10.86 | |
| TEN | 17.19 | 15.71 | BUF | 12 | |
| DAL | 17.15 | 23.43 | MIA | 12.14 | |
| CHI | 16.99 | 18.47 | SF | 12.71 | |
| LA | 16.70 | 17.90 | ARI | 13.71 | |
| MIN | 16.54 | 20.38 | GB | 15.71 | |
| DEN | 16.45 | 9.19 | CHI | 15.86 | |
| ATL | 16.24 | 15.05 | WAS | 16 | |
| IND | 16.13 | 16.05 | MIN | 16.29 | |
| ARI | 15.90 | 20.19 | TEN | 16.43 | |
| OAK | 15.74 | 14.57 | DEN | 17 | |
| SEA | 15.42 | 17.00 | CIN | 17.86 | |
| SF | 15.35 | 18.10 | TB | 18.14 | |
| BAL | 15.06 | 12.19 | SEA | 18.57 | |
| JAX | 15.04 | 14.00 | SD | 19 | |
| NYG | 14.76 | 12.33 | IND | 20 | |
| BUF | 14.52 | 14.28 | PIT | 20 | |
| MIA | 13.92 | 12.00 | LA | 21.57 | |
| WAS | 13.80 | 12.29 | ATL | 22.43 | |
| NE | 13.70 | 11.53 | OAK | 22.57 | |
| CLE | 13.62 | 16.29 | DET | 23.71 | |
| NYJ | 13.08 | 10.43 | JAX | 25.43 | |
| CIN | 12.90 | 13.33 | NYG | 28.43 | |
| PIT | 12.29 | 12.38 | NO | 29.86 |
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