Training Camp Battles: The Chiefs Tight End

Jacob Feldman Posted On August 10, 2013

moeaki Training camp is upon us which means that football is finally back! For some of us it feels like forever since the Ravens won the Super Bowl and Ray Lewis cried with hundreds of cameras pointed at him. Since then we have had free agency, the draft, and some OTAs but we still have an awful lot of questions about what might happen when the games matter and who the true breakout stars might be. In order to help draw your attention to a few different training camp battles that could have a long lasting impact on your fantasy roster we are kicking off our Training Camp Battles series.

We will give you an in-depth look at several training camp battles and give you the strengths and weaknesses of each player involved. We will also break down what they need to do in order to win the battle and what the upside is for the winner.

Our series continues with a look at the tight end position for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs aren’t exactly known as a fantasy powerhouse over the last few years, but hopes are very high with Andy Reid coming to town. Given the lack of depth and quality at the wide receiver position outside of Dwayne Bowe, the tight end position will definitely be involved in the passing attack and could end up producing at a level high enough to be in the starting lineup of fantasy teams. Let’s take a look at the players currently in this battle and see just how big of an impact they could make if they win the job.

Anthony Fasano

Many don’t realize the veteran, entering his eighth season in the league, signed a four year, $16 million contract with the Chiefs back in March. He spent the last five seasons in Miami as a full time starter for most of those seasons. Given the contract that he signed and the guaranteed money, he is going to be around for most of his contract.

Strengths: With a 6’4”, 255 pound frame, Fasano definitely has the size teams look for out of the tight end position. Along with that ideal size, he brings many years of experience playing a position that is one of the hardest to learn in the NFL. When he is on the field, he main strength is his blocking ability, both in the passing and running games. If he is running routes, he does show decent hands for a tight end as well.

Weaknesses: Fasano isn’t the most athletic of tight ends. While he has the size teams look for, he doesn’t have the speed nor agility to truly take advantage of the mismatches over the middle against linebackers who are trying to cover him. He can act as a safety valve for a quarterback, but he isn’t going to expose defenses or make them game plan to stop him.

What he needs to do: If I had to guess, the Chiefs will start to follow the crowd and incorporate a fair number of two tight end looks given their lack of receiving talent. Fasano is probably the blocking tight end in those looks, so he needs to show that he is the best blocker on the field at his position.

Upside: He isn’t going to be the primary pass catching tight end on this team unless injuries strike his teammates. He just doesn’t have the athletic ability. He could end up seeing the most snaps out of this group though if he establishes himself at the lead blocker. Regardless, he isn’t going to catch enough passes to be on fantasy rosters unless one or both of the others go down.

Travis Kelce

A third round pick of the Chiefs in the 2013 draft, Kelce comes to the team with a lot of talent and a lot of baggage. Of the drafted players in this year’s draft, I think I would probably put Kelce as a top two if not top tight end, but he isn’t without question marks after being suspended for a full season due to drug violations.

Strengths: A big bodied tight end at 6’5” and 255 pounds, he definitely fits the mold. He is pretty strong and does a nice job of running through weak tackles when he has the ball in his hands as well as using his size to box out smaller defenders. Speaking of the ball, he does a great job of catching passes that are thrown his direction, managing to make catches a lot of receivers wouldn’t make.

Weaknesses: He isn’t an athletic freak at the position like some of the bigger names. He has average speed and explosion for his size, but he isn’t going to beat many people in a foot race. In terms of speed and agility, he compares to Jason Witten, which isn’t a bad thing. The other major concern aside from the off the field issues is his ability to block in the NFL. He was good at pushing around smaller defenders in college, but has struggled against NFL defenders in camp thus far.

What he needs to do: The pass catching part of his game should take care of itself. He needs to show the team he can both run and pass block to ensure he stays on the field at all points in time. If he is a liability as a blocker, he’ll likely only see the field on two tight end sets or in obvious passing situations. Other than that, he needs to stay on the straight and narrow off the field.

Upside: The tight end position takes a while to learn. Very few rookie tight ends actually produce even as a solid TE2, but I expect that Kelce could push close to that mark. In a year or two, he could push into the levels of a top 10-15 tight end in the league and be a low end TE1 in fantasy leagues. He’s the tight end to own out of this mix, just be patient with him like all rookies since tight ends do take time to develop.

Tony Moeaki

A third round pick out of Iowa in the 2010 NFL draft, Moeaki is entering the final year of his rookie deal. One of the biggest issues he has had to deal with (both in college and in the pros) is his health. He had numerous issues in college and missed all of the 2011 season with the Chiefs due to a knee injury. He also had a cleanup procedure on the same knee this past off-season. This is a make or break year for him as he could be auditioning for the other 31 teams.

Strengths: In a lot of ways, Moeaki is a lot like Kelce. He has decent size, but is a touch shorter. He also has nice hands and runs good routes down the field, using his body to box out smaller defenders. Unfortunately, he is just a step behind Kelce in all of these areas.

Weaknesses: Injury history is the biggest concern for Moeaki. Other than that, he has struggled a bit as a blocker and hasn’t been quite as explosive as people had hoped. He has been a very average player through his first three seasons and hasn’t done much to stand out as of yet.

What he needs to do: Aside from staying healthy, Moeaki really needs to make certain he shows what he can do. Improved blocking when he stays in and more separation when he goes out on routes could earn him some time on the field this year. In all likelihood he is playing for a contract with another team next year.

Upside: If he wins the pass catching role this season, he could be an average to low end TE2 this season and function as an okay backup in tight end mandatory leagues. I wouldn’t expect him to get much more than 50 catches, 500 yards, or five touchdowns. In the long run, if he shows improvement this year, he could earn a starting role somewhere else in 2014 and be a more solid TE2.

Prediction

I think all three of these tight ends will see a fair number of snaps this year. Fasano will be the primary blocker and might see the most snaps of the group unless Kelce can improve his blocking. Early in the season, I expect Moeaki to see a fair number of snaps with that number slowly decreasing as Kelce adjusts to the NFL. By the end of the season, Moeaki could be almost completely phased out and Kelce could be impressing on a weekly basis.

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Jacob Feldman

Honorary Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Jacob is a high school math teacher by day and a father at night. This doesn't leave too much time for sane thought, so occasionally words like "icky" will slip into his writing. It is all a part of the fun!