FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT KIT

Beckum moves up to be a starter with the retirement of Ben Patrick but with little fantasy relevance.

Bennett may remain on the potential trade radar throughout the preseason. He has talent and potential but Jason Witten has been a healthy pass sponge and left Bennett with minimal yardage and no scores for the last two seasons. Add in that TE John Phillips was gaining on Bennett last year before injury and there is even less reason to consider Bennett.

Boss enters training camp unsigned but is expected to remain with the Giants where his role as a blocker has been more critical. Boss has back-to-back seasons of around 500 yards and five scores which is his probable ceiling in this offense.

08-07-20 Update: Boss was traded to the Raiders but his fantasy stock still does not make him a starter.

Okay, so maybe the Browns got him confused with Cal DE Cameron Jordan on draft day. Doesn't matter; now they have an athletic tight end project to develop in their new West Coast offense. Cameron will study under Ben Watson and battle similarly skilled Evan Moore for looks, so his best-case fantasy scenario has him as a dynasty stash and a redraft pass.

After a breakout 2009 season, Celek saw his production drop in half with the addition of Michael Vick and he also battled various injuries all season. But Celek had only one game with more than 4 catches and seven of his final 11 games only turned in two or fewer receptions. He's nothing more than a decent backup tight end with Vick under center.

Clark was lost to a wrist injury only six games into 2010 and that came on the heels of a career best 2009 that had him catching 100 passes for 1106 yards and ten scores. He remains Manning's favorite outlet and a lock for a decent season - if not a monster one. Expect a bounce back from last year.

(+Upside) The new offense is being installed and that always goes slowly. What is common is that tight ends show up more in the early stages until the wideouts and quarterback get on the same page. Cook has been practicing as a receiving tight end and could surprise this season. He only had 29 catches for 361 yards in his second season and could be poised for a nice increase. He's definitely worth grabbing as a backup tight end to see what develops.

(-Risk) Cooley played with a torn meniscus for all of last year but he still turned in 77 catches for 849 yards and three scores and kept Fred Davis as an afterthought. Cooley should end up as the leading scorer among receivers yet again. Cooley has basically had the same sort of season for the past six years so he is consistent, reliable and has already found his ceiling.

08-12-11 Update: Cooley will still miss a few weeks of camp because of his left knee that had surgery last winter and yet still needs to be drained. Cooley is one to avoid.

Daniels signed a 4-year deal worth $22 million right before the lockout so you can be sure the Texans feel his knee is fine and that he can return to form. Daniels was sharp in the final four games of last year but he'll not likely be needed as much as his peak of 2008 thanks to the vastly improved rushing game.

The #2 in Washington still, Davis has slimmed down in the offseason to make himself faster and a better receiver but he'll remain in the shadow of Chris Cooley barring an injury. Davis is not worth drafting in all but the biggest of leagues but is a must have if Cooley is hurt and cannot play. Davis is as talented as most if not an under-used potential star but stuck behind the Skins all-time leader for tight ends. Watch early season games to see if the lackluster wideouts and quarterbacking forces more throws to the tight ends and makes Davis a marginal fantasy starter.

08-11-11 Update: Have to like Davis more with the news that Chris Cooley is still bothered by his knee.

The new offense being installed by HC Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman is expected to make big use of the tight end spot and that benefits Davis who is one of the best in the game. With a set of wideouts that still aspire to being just mediocre, Davis should see one of his best seasons in 2011. He remains an elite tight end.

The Ravens must have faith in Dickson, as they let long-time tight end Todd Heap leave via free agency. Dickson had just two games with more than one catch during his rookie campaign, and he'll likely share some of the duties with fellow sophomore Dennis Pitta. But Cam Cameron's offense produces some work for tight ends, so Ed is in position to be a deep fantasy sleeper.

The Fins signed Fasano to a two-year extention worth $7.75 million and he comes off a career best season of 528 yards and four scores almost entirely from Chad Henne. Fasano is not likely to develop into a true fantasy starter since his ceiling has likely been met, but he makes a great fantasy backup who is good for at least 30 yards in almost every game.

Finley was well on his way to cementing himself as an elite fantasy tight end when a torn meniscus in Week 5 prematurely ended his season. Indications are he's back to full speed and will re-assume his role as Aaron Rodgers' favorite target. Though you'd like to see him in a preseason game to feel better about his recovery, there's enough upside to make him a top-five fantasy TE sight unseen.

(-Risk) Antonio Gates was hampered by foot and leg injuries last season and he is starting training camp on the active/PUP list because he has still not completely recovered from his torn plantar fascia that forced him to miss six of the final eight games. He still racked up 782 yards and ten scores on just 50 catches - his lowest catch total since he was a rookie. Gates says that he will play this year and that "you won't know he is hurt" if his injury lingers. He may be placed on a snap count this year to lower his exposure and he has been the most prolific tight end over the last seven seasons. But he is a risk at 31 years of age and injuries that are slower to heal.

Gonzo returns for his 15th NFL season but he has been on the decline eery year since 2007 and ended last year with only 656 yards on 70 catches for six scores. That 9.4 YPC is the lowest of his career and marks a steady progression downward since 2006. Gonzo is still a part of the offense, but no longer a major part.

(+Upside) As a rookie, Graham turned in 31 catches for 356 yards and five scores and he was steadily improving as the season progressed. His improvement was the reason why Jeremy Shockey was sent packing in the offseason. The Saints have always used at last two or more tight ends in their "spread it around" scheme but for the price, Graham is a sleeper type this year who should see more use in the red zone and see a healthy increase in catches this year.

Gresham carved out 52-471-4 between TO and Ochocinco; now he'll be playing in a TE-friendly West Coast offense, flanked by an inexperienced group of wideouts. Even the prospect of a rookie quarterback shouldn't dampen expectations of Gresham stepping up his productivity in 2011.

Gronkowski earned an extra $2 million in incentives as a rookie because no one writing the contract would have thought he would end with 10 receiving touchdowns. He scored at least once in almost half of his games but his yardage varied wildly week to week and rarely topped 50 yards. If he can increase his catch total, he'd be worthy of an every week start. The sharing scenario will continue with Hernandez but Gronkowski will be no worse than a great fantasy backup and could end up a starter.

Heap goes to a Cardinals team that only had 210 yards on 25 catches total among all tight ends. And no touchdowns. The tight end has never been an effective fantasy player in Arizona and bringing in the 31-year old Heap is not going to change that much. Let someone else draft him.

Hernandez required hip surgery after the season ended but has made a full recovery. The rookie was a surprise in catching 45 passes for 563 yards and six scores and along with Gronkowski made the league's deadliest tight end combo last year. His inconsistency keeps him from being a fantasy starter, but he's only entering his second season.

(+Upside) The promising rookie suffered ankle problems last year and only played in 8 games with 13 catches for 146 yards and three scores. Hoomanawanui showed nice chemistry with Sam Bradford in the preseason and has spent his spring and summer working on strengthening his ankles. This offense will spread the ball around and incoming OC Josh McDaniels at least made use of the position when he was with the Patriots. Too early to expect much here but there is upside to be sure. The Rams also drafted Lance Kendricks who is another great receiving tight end. The two should decrease each others numbers.

Keller ended up with a career best 687 yards last year but most of that came early in the season. His role diminished in most games down the stretch and into the playoffs as the Jets went to a more heavy run-oriented offense. Keller never scored after week four last season and his yardage is rarely more than 30 or 40 yards per game. He's just a fantasy backup.

(+Upside) The Rams have high expectations for their 2.15 pick in the draft. Kendricks is a field stretching tight end with great hands who will fit nicely into the new scheme being installed by OC Josh McDaniels. In player led practices in the spring and summer, Kendricks was very impressive to his teammates and has spawned high expectations of him.

Lewis was franchised this year as a sign of how important he has become to the team. He comes off a career best 58 receptions for 700 yards and ten touchdowns and while there is a chance that the rookie Blaine Gabbert takes over from David Garrard at some point this year, the role that Lewis plays should be unaffected. Rookie QBs usually love their tight ends and Lewis is a big component of the passing game.

The Bills only completed 23 passes to tight ends all season and Martin had the lone touchdown by the position in 2010. No reason to expect anything different.

McMichael has minimal value unless Antonio Gates again missed games this year.

Miller is certain to be re-signed by the Raiders since he led the team in receptions (60), receiving yards (685) and receving touchdowns (5). And that was after he missed the first two games. Miller is an integral part of the offense thanks in no small part to the sad state of wideouts that the Raiders are determined to never address. He is the only player that Campbell can connect with regularly and in every game.

08-02-11 Update: Surprise! Al Davis whiffs big-time on this one, allowing their best receiver to leave. Seattle will not use him as much either but the move is good for Miller.

An inconsistent fantasy contributor who's been downright unhelpful two of the past three seasons, Miller is most effective in best ball formats where you don't need to guess when his touchdowns will come. Unless undrafted free agent Weslye Saunders emerges, however, Miller won't be pushed for playing time--so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

(+Upside) Olsen could end up as a nice sleeper this year since he is already a big talent who was improving in Chicago until OC Mike Martz killed him off. Olsen had 612 yards on 60 catches and eight touchdowns in 2009. And now the Panthers have brought him in to be a part of the passing game. OC Rob Chudzinski was formerly TE coach in San Diego and will make use of the position. Jeremy Shockey is also on the roster but this rebuilding team with questionable receivers and green QBs will use tight ends in a big way.

Tight ends always seem to thrive in a Scott Linehan offense, and Pettigrew did so to the nth degree last season. Deep threat Titus Young shouldn't take much off of Pettigrew's plate, so another season of solid numbers should be in store as Brandon enters his third year in the league--better than solid if he's able to box out fellow TE Tony Scheffler.

Pitta was one of two tight ends the Ravens drafted last season, but he spent the year behind fellow rook Ed Dickson on the depth chart and recorded just one catch. With Todd Heap gone he'll be asked to step up his productivity, but it's unlikely to be anywhere near a level that puts him on the fantasy radar.

No analysis available.

The Vikings spent a second-round pick on Rudolph, and new OC Bill Musgrave plans to run more two-tight end sets--two factors working in the rookie's favor. However, he'll still share looks with Visanthe Shiancoe and spend as much time blocking for Adrian Peterson as he does running routes, so his initial fantasy value is limited.

Scheffler is a capable pass-catching tight end whose path to productivity is stymied by a better pass-catching tight end, namely Brandon Pettigrew. There might still be enough scraps in the Detroit passing game for Scheff to be an occasional fantasy contributor, but that's a tough row to hoe unless you're in a best ball format.

Shiancoe lost his role as a red-zone favorite to Percy Harvin, and now he'll battle second-round pick Kyle Rudolph for looks as the Vikings use more two-TE looks. Donovan McNabb has demonstrated a fondness for throwing to tight ends, but if Rudolph sees as much playing time as expected Shiancoe's numbers are bound to fall off.

Shockey lands on a team that will want to use their tight ends but Greg Olsen is in line for the primary role and Shockey is on the wrong side of 30 with a history on never staying healthy. He could have some fantasy value as a backup but nothing more.

Even Greg Olsen couldn't make Mike Martz use his tight end, so the Bears dumped Olsen and brought in Spaeth and his 36 career catches. No reason to expect he'll suddenly be the tight end that becomes a fantasy factor in a Martz offense.

Tamme made a name for himself last year when he replaced Dallas Clark and produced 631 yards on 67 catches in little more than half a season. But Clark is back now and Tamme will return to more blocking and special teams work. If Clark goes down - Tamme is a hot property.

No analysis available.

Watson established career highs in catches and yardage in his first season in Cleveland, and the Browns' move to a tight end-friendly West Coast offense certainly won't hurt his opportunities. He may have to cede snaps to rookie Jordan Cameron, however, and athletic Evan Moore horned in on his action last year as well. Watson's career year was a fringe fantasy contributor; don't overpay expecting more.

Williams will battle Andrew Quarless for backup duties behind Jermichael Finley--duties that would provide significant fantasy opportunity if Finley's surgically-repaired knee limits him at any point this season. Tough to draft Williams based on that limited upside, but there's some dynasty league potential in case Finley can't make it all the way back from his injury--or hits free agency in 2012.

(-Risk) Winslow enters his eighth season and while he finally had no surgeries in the offseason, he remains a perpetual risk because of his knees. He's settled down to back-to-back seasons of around 70 catches and 800 yards with five scores and that's his ceiling in this offense. A low end fantasy starter but a better backup to use.

Witten comes off back-to-back years of exactly 94 catches and around 1000 yards but he increased his touchdown total to a career best nine after only logging two in 2009. Some of that comes from Jon Kitna playing and Witten had only caught 6 scores over the two previous years. Witten remains the receiver of choice in the end zone.