massraider
Footballguy
Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
And the other options available at his draft spot are? In our rookie draft I project Bell, Ball, Bernard, Austin, Lacy - in some order as the first 4 picks. One of them will be available at 5. Add in potential picks Hopkins, Patterson - what is their upside? It is pretty rare - especially in this draft to identify who the best player will be. Personally my money is on Micheal but he is going to be at least a year if not two away.Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
That has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Saying his upside is maybe the greatest red zone TE ever makes me laugh.And the other options available at his draft spot are?Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
You don't think there is any possible way he could do that?That has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Saying his upside is maybe the greatest red zone TE ever makes me laugh.And the other options available at his draft spot are?Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
Yes and No. At some point SOMEONE will be the best fantasy TE ever. If someone had said that about Gronk, you probably would have laughed too. In the end, all we can do is hear arguments as to why someone thinks so and not just "laugh" it off because the probability is against itThat has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Saying his upside is maybe the greatest red zone TE ever makes me laugh.And the other options available at his draft spot are?Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
You know, when a mid round TE (Gronk) and an undrafted TE (Gates) can become the among the greatest fantasy TEs ever, then, yes, it is possible. It is possible Eifert becomes the greatest pass-catching TE ever.You don't think there is any possible way he could do that?That has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Saying his upside is maybe the greatest red zone TE ever makes me laugh.And the other options available at his draft spot are?Geez, his upside is one of the best fantasy TEs ever? I ain't ready to go there yet.
Top 5 next year for sure when Gresham is goneI've heard nothing but positives for Eifert. Maybe Gronk is a bit of hyperbole but with rules changes, who knows? His upside is very high, let's just say that. Arguing all this other crap is kind of silly. Of course the chances of that happening are >0.
I'll revise and say Eifert has a good chance of being a top 5 fantasy TE.
That logic only applies if the players are similar in quality though.I went for the double in this situation and took Hopkins. Agree with Adam - basic league, the WR is worth more. And I only had 1 TE on my roster at the time.EBF said:I think he's a better prospect than those guys. A good WR will be worth more than a good TE in most leagues though. That's what makes the decision difficult.xpiredcoupon said:Generic 12 team PPR set upAdam Harstad said:Depends on league settings and my roster makeup, but assuming everything's pretty standard, I would not.xpiredcoupon said:Would you guys take Eifert over Hopkins or Patterson if all were available at your pick?
If you want a safe, conservative pick I would go with Eifert. If you want to swing for the fences, I would go with Patterson.
I'm not worried about Gresham. He's good but Eifert was brought in to change this offense. He won't be used in a traditional TE role. He'll be split out, in the slot, off the line, on the line...you name it. Gresham is a road grater....he put Geno Atkins on his back on Hard Knocks...Top 5 next year for sure when Gresham is goneI've heard nothing but positives for Eifert. Maybe Gronk is a bit of hyperbole but with rules changes, who knows? His upside is very high, let's just say that. Arguing all this other crap is kind of silly. Of course the chances of that happening are >0.
I'll revise and say Eifert has a good chance of being a top 5 fantasy TE..
This year, I'd be happy for "startable" because a lot of the TEs are just plain disgusting this year.
I think Andy Dalton is already better than Schaub.hes ok but i just see owen daniels and not much more which means pretty good and flashes of real good but at the end of the day just maybe an upper otwenty five percent guy and hey one thing own daniels has going for him is that he has a wisconsin tie which is awesomne take that to teh bank brohans
As evidenced by the head-to-head matchup in last year's playoff game?I think Andy Dalton is already better than Schaub.hes ok but i just see owen daniels and not much more which means pretty good and flashes of real good but at the end of the day just maybe an upper otwenty five percent guy and hey one thing own daniels has going for him is that he has a wisconsin tie which is awesomne take that to teh bank brohans
hey that is nice man i think arodgers the awesome is better than both of them but you know what i still think earfert is just like daniels so bam score one more for arodgers take that to the bank brohansI think Andy Dalton is already better than Schaub.hes ok but i just see owen daniels and not much more which means pretty good and flashes of real good but at the end of the day just maybe an upper otwenty five percent guy and hey one thing own daniels has going for him is that he has a wisconsin tie which is awesomne take that to teh bank brohans
If he ends up being a bust I think a lot of people in this thread are going to start calling him Earfarthey that is nice man i think arodgers the awesome is better than both of them but you know what i still think earfert is just like daniels so bam score one more for arodgers take that to the bank brohansI think Andy Dalton is already better than Schaub.hes ok but i just see owen daniels and not much more which means pretty good and flashes of real good but at the end of the day just maybe an upper otwenty five percent guy and hey one thing own daniels has going for him is that he has a wisconsin tie which is awesomne take that to teh bank brohans
It's not that TEs are valuable, it's that Gronk and Graham are extremely valuable. Gronkowski and Graham are both several standard deviations ahead of what any tight end has ever done in the history of the league- even Tony Gonzalez. You can't draft Eifert based in any part on what Gronk or Graham might have done.I am debating the same thing. Standard setup - no PPR. Start 1TE. I am considering taking Eifort over Hopkins and over Lacy as I will be drafting from the 5 spot in our rookie draft. Dalton - Eifort could be a great thing for many years to come. I like the situation. And this comes from a dynasty team that has lost Crabtree and Denario and now needs a #3 WR desperately.Generic 12 team PPR set updepends on the scoring system and starting requirementsxpiredcoupon said:Would you guys take Eifert over Hopkins or Patterson if all were available at your pick?
I am also a Gronk owner. The value of a stud elite TE is about the most valuable thing in fantasy football right now. Tell me you don't dread playing the Jimmy Graham owner as you throw up whoever you have at TE against him?
Agreed.That logic only applies if the players are similar in quality though.I went for the double in this situation and took Hopkins. Agree with Adam - basic league, the WR is worth more. And I only had 1 TE on my roster at the time.EBF said:I think he's a better prospect than those guys. A good WR will be worth more than a good TE in most leagues though. That's what makes the decision difficult.xpiredcoupon said:Generic 12 team PPR set upAdam Harstad said:Depends on league settings and my roster makeup, but assuming everything's pretty standard, I would not.xpiredcoupon said:Would you guys take Eifert over Hopkins or Patterson if all were available at your pick?
If you want a safe, conservative pick I would go with Eifert. If you want to swing for the fences, I would go with Patterson.
To use an extreme example, in one league last year I took Kendall Wright at #5 ahead of RGIII. :X
My reasoning was much the same. RGIII was the better prospect, but WR was the much more valuable position in that league.
This is not quite a parallel case because Hopkins and Patterson were drafted within 10 spots of Eifert whereas Wright was picked 15+ spots lower than RGIII. I don't think there's anyone who would have said that Wright was a better NFL prospect than Griffin, whereas there are probably quite a few who would take Patterson and/or Hopkins over Eifert. The point I'm trying to illustrate is that drafting based on need and positional value can have disastrous consequences if you pass up the best player at a non-premium position in order to take an inferior option at a glamor position.
I wouldn't say that Eifert is a tier above Hopkins and Patterson from a talent standpoint, but he doesn't have any question marks, whereas those guys each have some glaring things that you can point to as cause for doubt. From a combine numbers standpoint, Hopkins is well below average for a prospective WR1. His numbers point towards more of a NFL WR2 trajectory. Patterson has almost everything you want in a #1 WR from that standpoint, but he's relatively untested as a pass catcher. Only one season in NCAA. Only one 100+ yard receiving game. Lauded as much for his return skills and open field ability as his route running and receiving skills. I like him more than Hopkins for FF purposes because, if everything clicks, he can be a top 10 dynasty WR. I would say he clearly has more risk than Eifert though.
After getting burned by the RGIII/Wright move and similar mistakes in the past, I'm leaning more towards a "draft the best player available regardless of position" strategy than playing the RB/WR lotto with inferior talents. Why did Hernandez, Gronk, and Graham fall so low in rookie drafts? Because everyone was rolling the dice on junk at premium positions under the belief that TEs have no upside. This Eifert/Hopkins/Patterson dilemma isn't so clear cut, as all of these guys were picked in approximately the same range. I'm just pointing out that what ultimately matters most is how good the player is, not what position he plays. A Pro Bowler at TE will be worth more to most FF teams than a journeyman or a bust at WR.
I hesitate to say that Eifert looks like the best TE prospect in years. I wonder how much of that is just hindsight bias now that we know how the other TE prospects turned out. Jermaine Gresham, for instance, was drafted in the exact same spot three years ago, had much better college numbers, and his measurables simply blew Eifert's out of the water. Brandon Pettigrew was taken a pick earlier at 20th overall. I was a huge fan of Dustin Keller's coming into the league- I thought he was such a natural receiver, and that he was a sure-fire top-6 player at the position. I have a hard time telling if Eifert is genuinely a better prospect than the last dozen first-round TEs, or if it just seems that way because I know now how those last dozen prospects all turned out.In all honesty, in PPR after Hopkins and Patterson, Eifert would be my next pick. He looks to be one of the best TE prospects in yrs, cinny has done a 180 and looks like a good team. Yeah Dalton is ok but there are far worse QBs out there and AJG will be sucking up all the coverage.
powers you and me are on the same planet my brohan that is a good nickname i started a thread once about great nicknames you should have been in there you couldhave been great take that to the bank brohnanaIf he ends up being a bust I think a lot of people in this thread are going to start calling him Earfarthey that is nice man i think arodgers the awesome is better than both of them but you know what i still think earfert is just like daniels so bam score one more for arodgers take that to the bank brohansI think Andy Dalton is already better than Schaub.hes ok but i just see owen daniels and not much more which means pretty good and flashes of real good but at the end of the day just maybe an upper otwenty five percent guy and hey one thing own daniels has going for him is that he has a wisconsin tie which is awesomne take that to teh bank brohans
I think this is a case where you also have to distinguish between fantasy and real football. Some of those other guys are complete players and were good prospects as a result. Eifert is a WR (in terms of skill set and usage) that is eligible at TE. He could be the best TE prospect in yrs if we're just talking fantasy.Adam Harstad said:I hesitate to say that Eifert looks like the best TE prospect in years. I wonder how much of that is just hindsight bias now that we know how the other TE prospects turned out. Jermaine Gresham, for instance, was drafted in the exact same spot three years ago, had much better college numbers, and his measurables simply blew Eifert's out of the water. Brandon Pettigrew was taken a pick earlier at 20th overall. I was a huge fan of Dustin Keller's coming into the league- I thought he was such a natural receiver, and that he was a sure-fire top-6 player at the position. I have a hard time telling if Eifert is genuinely a better prospect than the last dozen first-round TEs, or if it just seems that way because I know now how those last dozen prospects all turned out.KellysHeroes said:In all honesty, in PPR after Hopkins and Patterson, Eifert would be my next pick. He looks to be one of the best TE prospects in yrs, cinny has done a 180 and looks like a good team. Yeah Dalton is ok but there are far worse QBs out there and AJG will be sucking up all the coverage.
There's some truth in this. I think more was expected of guys like Vernon Davis and Dustin Keller when they were drafted. Both of those guys were combine freaks and high picks. If you want to look at negatives, they're both on the short side for a TE and neither of them has great jump ball/contested catch skills. Eifert with his long arms and huge catch radius really excels in that department.Adam Harstad said:I hesitate to say that Eifert looks like the best TE prospect in years. I wonder how much of that is just hindsight bias now that we know how the other TE prospects turned out. Jermaine Gresham, for instance, was drafted in the exact same spot three years ago, had much better college numbers, and his measurables simply blew Eifert's out of the water. Brandon Pettigrew was taken a pick earlier at 20th overall. I was a huge fan of Dustin Keller's coming into the league- I thought he was such a natural receiver, and that he was a sure-fire top-6 player at the position. I have a hard time telling if Eifert is genuinely a better prospect than the last dozen first-round TEs, or if it just seems that way because I know now how those last dozen prospects all turned out.KellysHeroes said:In all honesty, in PPR after Hopkins and Patterson, Eifert would be my next pick. He looks to be one of the best TE prospects in yrs, cinny has done a 180 and looks like a good team. Yeah Dalton is ok but there are far worse QBs out there and AJG will be sucking up all the coverage.
This is an excellent point. The problem is the bar is so high for a TE prospect to really set themselves apart from the pack. There is really only a handful of players who have achieved that. As EBF points out Winslow and Davis were even more highly thought of as prospects, they have had good numbers at times but did not really reach the expectations that many had for them as prospects.Adam Harstad said:I hesitate to say that Eifert looks like the best TE prospect in years. I wonder how much of that is just hindsight bias now that we know how the other TE prospects turned out. Jermaine Gresham, for instance, was drafted in the exact same spot three years ago, had much better college numbers, and his measurables simply blew Eifert's out of the water. Brandon Pettigrew was taken a pick earlier at 20th overall. I was a huge fan of Dustin Keller's coming into the league- I thought he was such a natural receiver, and that he was a sure-fire top-6 player at the position. I have a hard time telling if Eifert is genuinely a better prospect than the last dozen first-round TEs, or if it just seems that way because I know now how those last dozen prospects all turned out.KellysHeroes said:In all honesty, in PPR after Hopkins and Patterson, Eifert would be my next pick. He looks to be one of the best TE prospects in yrs, cinny has done a 180 and looks like a good team. Yeah Dalton is ok but there are far worse QBs out there and AJG will be sucking up all the coverage.
That might be so, but the flipside is that the other candidates like Hopkins, Patterson, Lacy, and Ball aren't guaranteed super careers either. Those guys could very easily fall on the ugly side of the spectrum that ranges from Buster Davis ---> Michael Jenkins ---> Roy Williams ---> Larry Fitzgerald. Whose career would you rather have for your FF team? Greg Olsen or Roy Williams? Todd Heap or Koren Robinson? Remember that the "he isn't guaranteed to be great" reasoning also extends to the WR prospects.The most likely outcome is that Eifert is a good TE but does not really distance himself from the pack. If that is the case then you may as well not invest as much and see if Kelce or McDonald can break out of that pack instead.
Jared Cook hasn't amounted to too much and it took Davis a while. There is a lot of similar athleticism commentary between Cook and Eifert.Adam Harstad said:I hesitate to say that Eifert looks like the best TE prospect in years. I wonder how much of that is just hindsight bias now that we know how the other TE prospects turned out. Jermaine Gresham, for instance, was drafted in the exact same spot three years ago, had much better college numbers, and his measurables simply blew Eifert's out of the water. Brandon Pettigrew was taken a pick earlier at 20th overall. I was a huge fan of Dustin Keller's coming into the league- I thought he was such a natural receiver, and that he was a sure-fire top-6 player at the position. I have a hard time telling if Eifert is genuinely a better prospect than the last dozen first-round TEs, or if it just seems that way because I know now how those last dozen prospects all turned out.KellysHeroes said:In all honesty, in PPR after Hopkins and Patterson, Eifert would be my next pick. He looks to be one of the best TE prospects in yrs, cinny has done a 180 and looks like a good team. Yeah Dalton is ok but there are far worse QBs out there and AJG will be sucking up all the coverage.
Me too. Kelce went undrafted in our 10 team, 24 man roster league. Eifert went at 3.06. So TEs are not highly valued but still. I finally had enough of it and scooped up Kelce. So now my TEs are Gronk, Eifert, and Kelce. I think I'm going to forget about that position for the next few drafts.I like Eifert, but I'm astonished at how low Kelce is being regarded. He's got as much potential as Eifert, IMO, and is going much later.
But what are you going to do for maybe the first half of this season?Me too. Kelce went undrafted in our 10 team, 24 man roster league. Eifert went at 3.06. So TEs are not highly valued but still. I finally had enough of it and scooped up Kelce. So now my TEs are Gronk, Eifert, and Kelce. I think I'm going to forget about that position for the next few drafts.I like Eifert, but I'm astonished at how low Kelce is being regarded. He's got as much potential as Eifert, IMO, and is going much later.
I'm in a similar boat. I have Eifert and Heath Miller and a whole slew of other TE's that I can sign to a contract (Salary cap league). I could sign Winslow or add a second rookie TE like Ertz, but am thinking of just limping along with Eiffert for the first few weeks until Miller is back. The rest of my team is pretty stacked, so I don't want to waste a roster spot for a huge question mark like an aging soldiah or another rook TE.Limp through. I am not going to blow up my team for a middling player. I plan to trot Eifert out week 1. Then I will just see what he and Kelce do and adjust then. The last player on my roster is Vick Ballard so I could always release him for a Bennett or similar middling talent.
Well, the irony of the discussion about who's the best TE prospect is that neither of the two guys at the top of most dynasty TE lists right now (Graham and Gronk) was considered a slam dunk prospect. So while it's interesting to try to rank Eifert among guys like Davis, Winslow, and Gresham, that's not ultimately the point. What we're trying to determine is how good he'll be in the NFL, not how highly rated he is entering the league. I don't know that he's ever going to hit the super elite level, but with his skill set and the way TEs are being utilized these days, I think he's a near lock to be at least "good" with a real chance to be even more than that (I think a 1000 yard season is doable for him).I agree with what you are saying EBF and I think Eifert is one of the best TE prospects coming into the league in some time (there have been very good ones almost every year for the past decade or so and the changes in the league have made the TE pie a bigger part of their passing offenses in recent years as well) but still I do not think he was as valued as a TE prospect Kellen Winslow or Vernon Davis. The hype on these players was enormous, and deservedly so. Winslow may have lived up to that if he hadn't had so many injuries. Davis if he was used differently.
I agree, part of the reason why they don't seem inclined to rush Hawkins back (they may start him on recallable IR this year) is because 3-WR sets are going to be much less common than last year I bet. Looking at last night's Hard Knocks has me thinking that Gresham's numbers might end up about the same (perhaps tail off later if Eifert improves) but Gresham has the look of the trusted veteran - he was the one getting the first looks in the preseason game. It's off the main topic, but Gresham could very much be a fantasy value play in redraft this year. I was happy to see that Eifert did a lot in the way of blocking - that's the area of his game that he needs to improve and that he did so well in the preseason game in blocking tells me that he's a coachable kid that will get it. May not seem great for fantasy prospects but the ability to block will keep him on the field more and that will give him more opportunities.cheese said:To be fair the assumption would be because they didn't last year or the 10 years before that.As for where Eiferts stats come from, I think Hawkins is going way down and probably Dalton gains 400 more yards or so. Maybe a little down for Gresham.And they spent a first rounder on a guy known to be a pass catcher. Did they draft the guy to have him split time with Gresham and catch 200 yards in between blocking assignments? They had one weapon in AJ green and a plodding RB in BJGE. Now they have a second receiving weapon and a finesse runner to go with the plodder. Are we to assume they won't throw to the RB because last year they didn't?Why assume no change in philosophy? They didn't have Eifert last year. Seems like if they are good coaches they will adapt to the talent they have this year. I mean, they obviously have a need for a play maker other than Green, and your stats bear that out. Hawkins, as far as I know, is out for a while. Sanu, Jones and Tate aren't exactly great talents, and if Hawkins is out, one of these scrubs will probably play slot. But you're right, no one really know right now. I took Pettigrew ahead of Eifert recently, but as my 3rd TE I'm more excited about Eifert. I know what Pettigrew can do (drop balls) and what his ceiling is. Eifert plays like a 6' 6", 250 lb WR and I doubt the coaching staff doesn't see the mismatch potential. I also expect him to be huge in the red zone when 2 have to cover AJ for the jump ball. Eifert can be deadly down there. I guess we'll see.For all those getting massive chubbies on this guy, have you actually done some math on his redraft projections?
Last year Dalton threw for 3,670 yards. The OC, HC are exactly the same so highly doubt any change in philosophy.
Distribution was roughly as follows:
AJ Green: 1,277 (after subtracting 73-yd TD from Sanu)
Gresham: 737
Orson Charles (other TE): 101
Hawkins: 533
Sanu, Jones, Tate: 566
RBs: 256
Others: 200
So for 2013 assume Gruden really opens it up and Dalton throws for a career-high 3900 yards.
Even if you assume Eifert gets ALL of the incremental yardage (230) (3900-3,670), ALL of Charles' yardage (101), ALL of the others' (200) and steals 25% of Gresham's 2012 yardage (184), that only equals 715 total receiving yards.
Good enough for 10th overall TE yardage in 2012.
So his max upside in the dreamiest of scenarios in this offense is a redraft low-end TE1.
Plenty of other TE's available late (e.g. Pettigrew, Davis) who have much better odds of reaching those stats.
I think you are really under-selling DaltonI'm high on Eifert but don't see how, without an elite QB, Eifert can perform at an elite level with AJ Green in the fold (in addition to Bernard snaking at least some 3rd down receptions). I just don't see Dalton performing at a high enough level for Eifert to be a top 3 TE.
Is it the black rubber ring ?I think you are really under-selling DaltonI'm high on Eifert but don't see how, without an elite QB, Eifert can perform at an elite level with AJ Green in the fold (in addition to Bernard snaking at least some 3rd down receptions). I just don't see Dalton performing at a high enough level for Eifert to be a top 3 TE.
True. My focus of course on the value of a top TE being the criteria for Eifert to be considered the top rookie pick of 2013. As we know most will not put up numbers that REALLY separates them from the rest of the pack. That is a really high bar to set when you consider there have only been like 10 guys who have been able to score like this for more than 1 season.Well, the irony of the discussion about who's the best TE prospect is that neither of the two guys at the top of most dynasty TE lists right now (Graham and Gronk) was considered a slam dunk prospect. So while it's interesting to try to rank Eifert among guys like Davis, Winslow, and Gresham, that's not ultimately the point. What we're trying to determine is how good he'll be in the NFL, not how highly rated he is entering the league. I don't know that he's ever going to hit the super elite level, but with his skill set and the way TEs are being utilized these days, I think he's a near lock to be at least "good" with a real chance to be even more than that (I think a 1000 yard season is doable for him).I agree with what you are saying EBF and I think Eifert is one of the best TE prospects coming into the league in some time (there have been very good ones almost every year for the past decade or so and the changes in the league have made the TE pie a bigger part of their passing offenses in recent years as well) but still I do not think he was as valued as a TE prospect Kellen Winslow or Vernon Davis. The hype on these players was enormous, and deservedly so. Winslow may have lived up to that if he hadn't had so many injuries. Davis if he was used differently.
nowhere near the love he got this preseason though, yes very good for a rookQuietly on pace for 678 receiving yards, which would be quite solid for a rookie TE.
I don't see how anyone can be disappointed with that yardage total. It is very good for his position.nowhere near the love he got this preseason though, yes very good for a rookQuietly on pace for 678 receiving yards, which would be quite solid for a rookie TE.
Gresham is an awesome tackle-breaking first down maker. Just b/c Eifert will have to share things from a fantasy-perspective doesn't make it the wrong thing from an NFL perspective.He's going to suck till the offense changes. They have two new weapons that they are completely wasting while they keep playing Gresham and BJGE.