Emergence/Importance of the TE (1 Viewer)

[mr roboto]

It seems like the TE position is being utilized much more in the passing game than in years past. I can't remember this many threads/discussions about breakout-potential for TE's (Cook, Moore, Kendricks, Graham, Hernandez...)

Does it just 'feel' different or is it actually a change in offensive philosophy in the NFL?

Does it coincide with/is it related to the reduction of the every-down back?

Is it more about the increase in the passing game in general?

Also, I have, for the last couple years, targeted TE in the 3rd round of my rookie dynasty drafts. I pick up Finley off waivers a couple years ago. Last year, I drafted Hernandez and Gresham in the 3rd, and this year it was Kendricks. It seems my league-mates are not really interested in the TE position, allowing me to create depth and have multiple breakout-caliber TE's on my roster now. Maybe I'm just wasting picks, but in the 3rd especially, the talent at RB and WR is poor anyway.

In the flex leagues (mine is 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 TE/WR flex) it is customary to bring an extra WR or RB into the flex. But with the emergence of the TE position, I see a real opportunity to stock up on TE and use them instead of a 3rd RB or 4th WR (unless of course, you have depth and studs at those positions - this can be hard to get though).

My RB's are Foster, DWill, Turner, Addai, B. Scott and WR's are Roddy, Nicks, then a bunch of developmental players (unfortunately). I am using my strength at TE to compensate for having to wait on my WR's to break out (Cobb, Denarius Moore, even Jacoby Jones, although it is probably too late for him).

I guess the point of this post is to ask some questions (above) and posit a theory - that you shouldn't sleep on an emerging trend, and now is the time to grab some of these young potential studs at a position that others may be overlooking.

TL;DR I'm sure. Hopefully, if you did, it was helpful. Or at least thought provoking.

 

[hotdogcollars]

the general rule of thumb that i go by is...whatever Bill Belichick is doing now will be the trend in the NFL 2 years later. So, yes. Byt the start of the 2012 season the TE position and in particular multiple TE offenses will be en vogue

 

[mr roboto]

the general rule of thumb that i go by is...whatever Bill Belichick is doing now will be the trend in the NFL 2 years later. So, yes. Byt the start of the 2012 season the TE position and in particular multiple TE offenses will be en vogue

Does this mean that all the teams in the league will be as frustrating as the Patriots reicking the right TE to target?Cause that would suck.

 

[UnknownCoach]

I think its just the passing game in general becoming more and more dominant. Stats are way up accross the board from QBs to WRs to RB receptions to TEs.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

The TE position is especially important in PPR for TEs (1.0, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0 PPR). However, with the ever increasing number of athletic pass catching TEs I feel you can wait until later in the draft and still get a very good one. Just look at the number of good TEs there are right now. Plus, the increasing number of 2nd and 3rd year prospects to go along with the likes of rookies Kendricks, Thomas, and Rudolph, all having considerable upside. I also think Luke Stocker's value could skyrocket with the ever fragile Winslow ahead of him.

 

[tenaka]

It will continue till defenses find a way to routinely stop it, at which point someone else will create a new offensive trend. Right now there are a lot of TEs out there too big for a corner and too athletic and fast for a LB. I keep thinking defenses should be using a nickel-safety type of situation instead of trying a corner or LB on these guys as a means to stop them but I haven't really seen it attempted. Maybe because there aren't enough good cover safeties around for every team to have 1, let alone 2.

 

[No. 16]

It will continue till defenses find a way to routinely stop it, at which point someone else will create a new offensive trend. Right now there are a lot of TEs out there too big for a corner and too athletic and fast for a LB. I keep thinking defenses should be using a nickel-safety type of situation instead of trying a corner or LB on these guys as a means to stop them but I haven't really seen it attempted. Maybe because there aren't enough good cover safeties around for every team to have 1, let alone 2.

The Raiders did this last year with 2nd round pick S Mike Mitchell and he actually did really well. Too bad he's been injured this year.

 

[rzrback77]

The TE position is especially important in PPR for TEs (1.0, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0 PPR). However, with the ever increasing number of athletic pass catching TEs, I feel you can wait until later in the draft and still get a very good one. Just look at the number of good TEs there are right now. Plus, the increasing number of 2nd and 3rd year prospects to go along with the likes of rookies Kendricks, Thomas, and Rudolph, all having considerable upside. I also think Luke Stocker's value could skyrocket with the ever fragile Winslow ahead of him.

Very the league is utilizing the TE position more and more. The significant number of spread offenses in college also entice those athletic bigs to choose football over basketball.In smaller leagues without PPR or with equal PPR for TEs as for other positions, it is more beneficial to wait till later to draft a TE because of the number of available TEs that are capable AND will be used in their offenses.

 

[DoubleG]

It will continue till defenses find a way to routinely stop it, at which point someone else will create a new offensive trend. Right now there are a lot of TEs out there too big for a corner and too athletic and fast for a LB. I keep thinking defenses should be using a nickel-safety type of situation instead of trying a corner or LB on these guys as a means to stop them but I haven't really seen it attempted. Maybe because there aren't enough good cover safeties around for every team to have 1, let alone 2.

I would also add, with the league becoming more of a passing league, the transition from primarily blocking to TE to primarily receiving TEs is the natural progression. TEs have always caught passes - but now, on some teams, that is almost their sole function (they used to block 75% of the time and receive 25% - now that ratio is reversed...or more).

Gonzo became the first to "break the mold" and create the matchup problems that tenaka refers to. It's a copycat league, so teams followed the Chiefs lead - Gates, Finley, Witten, Olsen, etc. Some of them can block - but many of the "new" TEs are primarily receivers and blockers only on occasion.

 

[tenaka]

It will continue till defenses find a way to routinely stop it, at which point someone else will create a new offensive trend. Right now there are a lot of TEs out there too big for a corner and too athletic and fast for a LB. I keep thinking defenses should be using a nickel-safety type of situation instead of trying a corner or LB on these guys as a means to stop them but I haven't really seen it attempted. Maybe because there aren't enough good cover safeties around for every team to have 1, let alone 2.

I would also add, with the league becoming more of a passing league, the transition from primarily blocking to TE to primarily receiving TEs is the natural progression. TEs have always caught passes - but now, on some teams, that is almost their sole function (they used to block 75% of the time and receive 25% - now that ratio is reversed...or more).

Gonzo became the first to "break the mold" and create the matchup problems that tenaka refers to. It's a copycat league, so teams followed the Chiefs lead - Gates, Finley, Witten, Olsen, etc. Some of them can block - but many of the "new" TEs are primarily receivers and blockers only on occasion.

Fully agreed that the move to a more passing league is in play here as well. At the RB position there are more receptions as well. So in that regard even when the trend moves elsewhere there will probably be some longstanding aspect of it.

 

[mr roboto]

Bump.

I play in a 10-team dynasty. We have 2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, and a WR/TE flex. In the first week, we have 5 of the 10 owners starting 2 TE's, and we don't have any WR's on bye yet (which is usually when this % of teams with 2 TE's in the starting lineup happens).

For those of you with a TE flex, are you starting a 2nd TE instead of RB or WR? Have you built your team intentionally for TE strength?

I know in a lot of basic redraft leagues, the TE is somewhat of an afterthought. What do the sharks and hawks think?

 

[tenaka]

In week 1 I'm not running the 2TE set but throughout the season I do it quite often. I have guys like Olsen and Pettigrew as my 2nd TEs and want to see how they fit in this year's offense before throwing them out there over other reasonable options.

I do tend to, especially in a dynasty, try to stack TE if I can. In a redraft, sometimes it works out that way sometimes not, but I don't specifically look to do it as much... not sure why.

 

[mjr]

Back in 08 when my main ppr dynasty league started up, I went after the TE spot hard while everyone else in the league pretty much treated it as an after-thought. I won bidding on Gates, Witten and Gonzo. Everyone thought I was doing it to work out trades later on, but my intent was to actually start those guys week in and week out (with 3 flex spots, we could start up to 4 TEs if we really wanted to). I was weak on WRs for that first year, but it didn't stop me from winning the championship (of course, picking up Rodgers and CJ that same year helped a lot too...).

Since then, the other guys in my league have been restructuring thier teams in the same fashion and at least 4 or 5 of them now start at least 2 TEs every week. Whatever the reason is, leaning a little harder on the TE spot has worked for me and many other owners the last few years. I recommend it if your league's scoring system is good for it.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

Gonzo became the first to "break the mold" and create the matchup problems that tenaka refers to. It's a copycat league, so teams followed the Chiefs lead - Gates, Finley, Witten, Olsen, etc. Some of them can block - but many of the "new" TEs are primarily receivers and blockers only on occasion.

I've seen this posted a couple of times now on this board. Did Shannon Sharpe never play?

 

[DoubleG]

Gonzo became the first to "break the mold" and create the matchup problems that tenaka refers to. It's a copycat league, so teams followed the Chiefs lead - Gates, Finley, Witten, Olsen, etc. Some of them can block - but many of the "new" TEs are primarily receivers and blockers only on occasion.

I've seen this posted a couple of times now on this board. Did Shannon Sharpe never play?

Sharpe's stats are nice - but look at them again. They're are definately HOF-worthy - but not near Gonzo or Gates on a per-season basis. As a few examples, Sharp had had 3 seasons where he has had 75+ receptions, Gonzo 7, Gates 4 (in 5 fewer seasons). As another example, Gates has 69 TDs to Sharp's 62 - Gates has played in 119 games, Sharp 204. Going back to Gonzo - he has 8 seasons of 900+ receiving yards (with two 1200+ thrown in) Sharp has 4. Gonzo has 4 seasons of 90+ receptions (and 1 of 100+) - Sharp has none. Sharp has scored 5 or less TDs in 10 of his 14 seasons. Gonzo has scored more than 5 in 10 of his 15 seasons. Gates only scored less than 5 TDs in his very first season.While one could certainly suggest that Sharp was an excellent pass-catching TE, he simply wasn't on the same level as Gonzo and Gates. Don't get me wrong - I love Sharp and what he did for the Broncos, but while he is certainly in the HOF (and worthily so), at this point, the GOAT discussion would still be reserved for Gates and Gonzo - but he'd be close.

 

[Billy1x]

It seems like the TE position is being utilized much more in the passing game than in years past. I can't remember this many threads/discussions about breakout-potential for TE's (Cook, Moore, Kendricks, Graham, Hernandez...) Does it just 'feel' different or is it actually a change in offensive philosophy in the NFL?Does it coincide with/is it related to the reduction of the every-down back?Is it more about the increase in the passing game in general?Also, I have, for the last couple years, targeted TE in the 3rd round of my rookie dynasty drafts. I pick up Finley off waivers a couple years ago. Last year, I drafted Hernandez and Gresham in the 3rd, and this year it was Kendricks. It seems my league-mates are not really interested in the TE position, allowing me to create depth and have multiple breakout-caliber TE's on my roster now. Maybe I'm just wasting picks, but in the 3rd especially, the talent at RB and WR is poor anyway.In the flex leagues (mine is 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 TE/WR flex) it is customary to bring an extra WR or RB into the flex. But with the emergence of the TE position, I see a real opportunity to stock up on TE and use them instead of a 3rd RB or 4th WR (unless of course, you have depth and studs at those positions - this can be hard to get though).My RB's are Foster, DWill, Turner, Addai, B. Scott and WR's are Roddy, Nicks, then a bunch of developmental players (unfortunately). I am using my strength at TE to compensate for having to wait on my WR's to break out (Cobb, Denarius Moore, even Jacoby Jones, although it is probably too late for him).I guess the point of this post is to ask some questions (above) and posit a theory - that you shouldn't sleep on an emerging trend, and now is the time to grab some of these young potential studs at a position that others may be overlooking.TL;DR I'm sure. Hopefully, if you did, it was helpful. Or at least thought provoking.

Bill Parcels predicted it several years ago. With everyone going spread with 3 and 4 WRs teams started stocking up on small corner to cover them. This generated an opportunity to create matchup problems by using multiple TE sets over powering the little CBs. Bill B is a friend of Bill P. It wasn't created by BB. Note the the Packers have Five, count em, Five TEs on the roster! Welcome to the TE era. Defenses will compensate in the next couple years but this is the year of the TE. Expect not top 3 but more like top 8 TEs putting up the points this year