Fantasy Outlook

There were stretches last season where Finley was perhaps the best tight end in fantasy football. Despite missing three games with injuries, he posted eight games of 50 or more yards and six games with five or more catches. Finley closed with four touchdowns in the final five games, then added an exclamation point in the playoffs with six catches for 159 yards against the Cardinals. It’s hard to believe defenses have found a solution for the match-up problems the athletic 6-5, 247-pound Finley presents, and it’s obvious Aaron Rodgers feels comfortable throwing to him; Finley was targeted 71 times in 13 games, roughly the same rate as Visanthe Shiancoe and John Carlson. With per-game numbers that compared favorably to the likes of Brent Celek and Kellen Winslow, a healthy and focused Finley could challenge the elite at his position this season.

08-27-10 Update — One more bump up for the tight end that shredded the Colts secondary. Finley is dominating over the middle and is becoming a major player in this offense.

Posted: 8/27/2010 11:35am et

Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley caught six passes for 85 yards with a touchdown during the team's preseason game Thursday, Aug. 26, reports The Associated Press.

Huddle Up: Finley entered the preseason as a well-hyped fantasy option at tight end and has done absolutely nothing to hurt his stock. Don't be surprised if he's the fourth tight end off the board in many fantasy drafts—and if Vernon Davis' knee injury lingers, Finley might even jump ahead of him in line.

Posted: 8/22/2010 12:08pm et

Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley had four catches for 48 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown reception, reports The Associated Press. 'He's tough to guard. He's a great player. He's going to be a big part of our offense. Anytime I get the ball, I'll look for him,' QB Aaron Rodgers said following the game.

Huddle Up: Whats not to like where Finley is concernced as Green Bay has always utilized the tight end in its offense more than most teams. With Aaron Rodgers guiding one of the best offenses in the NFL, it would be hard to imagine Finley not being one of the most productive tight ends in the league this season. He is clearly worthy of a No. 1 tight end selection on fantasy rosters that utilize this position.

Posted: 8/20/2010 1:21pm et

The Green Bay Packers could use a rotation of WRs Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and James Jones as well as TE Jermichael Finley as the slot receiver this season, according to Tom Silverstein, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 'The ability to put guys in some different spots without making it a whole, new offense might give you an advantage,' offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. '[The defense] might have a check where if '80' is in the slot we're going to play this, if it's '88' we're going to play that. The hope is that you can catch them in the right situation based on how you line up.'

Huddle Up: By this time in August the beat writers are running out of things to write about. At this point just about every RB "could be split out wide" or every WR "will be moved around to create mismatches." Though one interesting point here is that Jermichael Finley, a tight end, could be in the slot more often. We like tight ends when they're not blocking.

Posted: 8/8/2010 9:43am et

Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley caught four passes, as well as a touchdown, during the team's scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 7, reports The Green Bay Press-Gazette. He may become the team's go-to target on third downs this season.

Huddle Up: Already a rising star, this has the ring of him being used very much like Dallas Clark or Jason Witten, which can only help his fantasy value. This is going to be a primarily passing team, and there will be plenty of scores to go around.

Posted: 1/11/2010 12:12pm et

The Associated Press reports Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley had six receptions for 159 yards during the team's Wild Card game Sunday, Jan. 10.

Huddle Up: Finley proved to be virtually uncoverable for the Cardinals, and his performance should catapult him into the top five tight ends on most fantasy draft boards heading into the 2010 season.

Posted: 12/18/2009 10:22am et

Tom Pelissero, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, reports Packers TE Jermichael Finley still doesn't trust his left knee, and he doubts it will feel right until he has an offseason to heal. However, Finley has performed well since returning from a sprained medial collateral ligament Nov. 22. Over that span, Finley has been targeted more (31 times) and caught more passes (22) than any other Packer. Finley said, "The opponents don't know that I kind of have a bum knee. Hopefully, it can stay where it's at right now--around 80, 85 percent--and it'll be good for the rest of the season." He has not been listed on the team's injury report for Week 15, and there is no immediate danger of him missing more time.

Huddle Up: Everybody is banged up at this point in the season, and playing through pain is part of the game. Finley has been a stud since coming back from his knee injury, and it appears as if he's willing to keep playing through the injury and let it heal in the offseason.

Posted: 12/14/2009 11:55am et

Bob McGinn, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley's role within the team's offense has been growing in recent weeks. Finley has been running more wide-receiver routes to the outside. Since returning from a knee injury Nov. 22 against the San Francisco 49ers, Finley has been the team's most targeted receiver. In Week 14, Finley led the team in targeted passes with seven. He also led the team against the 49ers with 10 and has 31 in total during the last four games, just ahead of WR Greg Jennings (28) and WR Donald Driver (26). In those four games, Finley leads in receptions with 22, four more than Jennings, and is second in yards with 228, behind Jennings (312).

Huddle Up: Finley is the prototypical modern tight end, too fast for linebackers and too big for cornerbacks, and Aaron Rodgers is finding ways to get the ball in his hands. Unless Finley suffers a setback with his sore knee, there's no reason not to expect this to continue.

Posted: 10/30/2009 3:56pm et

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley (knee) did not practice Friday, Oct. 30, and is doubtful for Week 8.

Huddle Up: The last time Green Bay played Minnesota, Finley had 128 yards receiving and a TD. That's a pretty good indication Aaron Rodgers will rely on his tight ends again this week when the Packers host the Vikings. With Finley likely out, Donald Lee could be quite busy.

Posted: 10/26/2009 12:27pm et

Rob Demovsky, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, reports Packers TE Jermichael Finley's status for Week 8 is uncertain because of knee injury.

Huddle Up: Finley left the Packers' win over Cleveland with the injury and did not return. He absolutely killed the Vikings in the last meeting with six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. If he can't go, Donald Lee would make a sneaky plug-in play against the league's most fantasy-friendly TE defense.

Posted: 10/25/2009 11:25pm et

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley (knee) suffered a knee sprain during the team's Week 7 game. Pending the results of an MRI exam, Finley could be out for a couple of weeks.

Huddle Up: Finley has played well so far this season and has been a key factor in the passing game with Aaron Rodgers. If Finley misses any time due to injury then expect the Packers to utilize TE Donald Lee more in the passing game.