Lets talk TE's (1 Viewer)

[clinton_c]

Many of us are going to be in the same situation come draft time. I draft in the 8th position in a 12 team draft. I will have 1 RB and 1 WR coming up to this pick.(something like W.Parker and S.Smith)

Now at 3.08 here is a scenerio involving TE's:

3.08- A.Gates

4.05- best WR (Evans, Driver, Colston)

5.08- best RB (Barber, Peterson, Jones)

or

3.08- best WR (A.Johnson/R.Williams/J.Walker)

4.05- best RB (D.Wlliams, M.Lynch, A.Green)

5.08- then TE (Shockey, Gonzo, Heap)

From this position while drafting a TE....Its either Gates in the third or whats left at 5.08. (we will assume that not all three are on the board enabling you to wait until 6.05)

so the question is:

Is the drop-off from Gates to the other TE's worth taking him in the 3rd? Or should you take the best RB/WR combo at 3.08 and 4.05 and look to the 5th for the best TE.

I think my dream scenerio would be:

1.08 W.Parker

2.05 S.Smith

3.08 Gates

4.05 Evans

5.05 Peterson

thoughts?

 

[salmonstud]

I'm targeting V.Davis & B.Watson much later in redraft leagues this year. Round 7-9 depending on the flow of the draft in 12 team leagues.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I'm targeting Cooley later in drafts. But Gates is an easy choice at 3.08 in the example.

 

[Routilla]

I'm waiting on McMichael and Owen Daniels. Gates costs too much in terms of RBs and WRs, IMO.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

It all depends.

If you think Gates is going to have a year like he did in 2004-05 when he was better than most wide receivers then he has to get very strong consideration in the third round.

If you think he has a year like last season where he's still the #1 tight end but overall not as dominant as in years past then it's probably best to look for other options at tight ends in later rounds.

 

[Jayrod]

I've actually looked this over extensively and done projections for tight ends. I also have done several mocks where you must start a TE and I pay close attention to the TE spot.

The fact is that for VBD, Gates' value is in the same neighborhood as Manning. His value is very good for a late 3rd round pick once the first two tiers of RB's and the first tier of WR's is gone.

After that, I've found that it is best to wait and try to grab the 8th or 9th TE, whenever that is...usually somewhere between the 7th and 10th round.

My projections have Gates solidly in first and then a large group of 8 TE's within a very close range for tier two:

Gonzo

Heap

Shockey

Davis

Winslow

Crumpler

Cooley

Witten

If you don't get Gates, try to take one of the last of these 8 as they are all very similar in expectations and potential this year. I would not be surprised to see any one of them as the #2 TE.

After these guys, I think LJ Smith is the clear #10 TE but has very limited upside. After LJ, there is just a group of maybes that could be decent or worthless (Watson, Clark, McMichael, Miller, etc.). I really wouldn't want to have to choose from these guys. In a 12 team league, that means you have to watch the TE count very closely. In a ten teamer, it isn't as crucial.

 

[SSOG]

This thread has absolutely everything you might ever want to know about when to take a Tight End, and then some.