Tight End Premium Leagues: A Real Consideration?

Much like quarterbacks, the tight end position has lost some importance in standard fantasy football leagues due to parity at the position. After Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, there is a mess of tight ends rounding out the next ten-to-twelve spots – this creates many leagues in which there is little point in trading tight ends outside of the top two. We can hope to get a different player (even in the top five), but that doesn’t give you much of an advantage over the next tier of players in your league if it that player is not named Graham or Gronkowski. In this article, I will breakdown the three most common types of “Tight End Premium” leagues and hopefully convince you that this is a good option for your dynasty startup league.

FIRST TYPE: TIERED PPR

The most commonly used tiered PPR system is 0.5 ppr for running backs, 1ppr for wide receivers and 1.5 for tight ends. If you find yourself in this type of league, it is very important to adjust your positional rankings if your running backs are losing 0.5 points per reception. A top receiving running back like Jamaal Charles or Pierre Thomas will lose roughly 35 points per year or >2 points per week in this format vs standard PPR. The top wide receivers are still around 20ppw (points per week) and the starting tight ends all move up around 30-45 points for season (1.9-2.8ppw). This adds a premium to the position where the tight ends score closer to the wide receivers. It also creates a further separation between the top tier of starting tight ends and the bottom group within the position. This may not be the intent, but it does lead to more trading if you are struggling for points from your tight end.

In this format, Jimmy Graham scored 346 points in 2013 (303 in standard ppr). This is more than Josh Gordon (313), Demaryius Thomas (319) and Calvin Johnson (304). Graham had 303 in standard PPR compared to Jamaal Charles (378), but ahead of LeSean McCoy (332) and Matt Forte (340). If you take away 0.5ppr from each running back, Charles had 343, Forte had 303 and McCoy 306.

Rob Gronkowski had 141 points in 7 games –  this would project to 322 points in 1.5ppr. Don’t sleep on him! Just be the first person to take a second tight end and you will be set. This would be more than any wide receiver scored in 2013. However, Josh Gordon and Calvin Johnson only played 14 games, so they theoretically would have outscored him if they all played the entire season.

With tiered PPR, the top tight ends really stand out and should be high first round picks in 1QB leagues. After Graham and Gronkowski, the next group of tight ends do not do much to separate themselves. The 1.5ppr helps players like Jason Witten, Jordan Reed and Antonio Gates move up the tight end ranks. Still, the next ten tight ends scored between 259 points (Tony Gonzalez) and 200 points (Delanie Walker). Reed and Kyle Rudolph were not in there due to injuries. For your reference, the rest of the top tight ends were Jordan Cameron (253), Julius Thomas (247), Jason Witten (243), Vernon Davis (239), Greg Olsen (226), Charles Clay (222) and Gates (222).

This is not my ideal Tight End Premium league format because it doesn’t do much to increase trading and it gives Graham and Gronk a strong chance to be the top non-QB scorer.

[inlinead]SECOND TYPE: 1.5 PPR FOR TIGHT ENDS

1.5ppr for tight ends keeps the top players at wide receiver, running back and tight end close in total points. It also still had Jimmy Graham as thehighest scoring (346 points) non-Quarterback in 2013. You may see more trades in this format compared to standard scoring since you don’t want to be stuck with one of the worst starting tight ends. You will also see the top 4-6 tight ends get drafted pretty highly in your drafts because teams want to feel comfortable with the position in this format. You should also see rookie tight ends get a slight bump in dynasty rookie drafts.

It doesn’t do much for the fact the tight ends in the 3-12 range are still very similar in points per season. My biggest issue with this method is that 1.5 points for a reception is a lot for just catches. Heath Miller could get you four catches for ten yards and that is equal to seven fantasy points. It’s a little much for me just to create equality among the non-QB positions.

THIRD TYPE (MY FAVORITE): START TWO TIGHT ENDS

This is my favorite type of Tight End Premium league (especially in dynasty) for a few reasons. One is you don’t need a young tight end to develop into a top 10-12 option to be fantasy relevant. Rookie scouting is one of our favorite things about dynasty football. Players like Joseph Fauria, Luke Willson, and Troy Niklas will probably never crack the top 12 for a season as tight ends and have very little value in “start 1 Tight End” leagues with normal size rosters. However, if you have 20-24 tight ends starting in your league every week, every starting tight end will be on your radar and have value.

Adding the extra starting spot also creates an opportunity for teams to have a weakness they need to trade to fill. My experience has been that you see a lot of tight end trades in this format. You will also see tight ends drafted earlier in startup and rookie drafts. A starting tight end is at worst a bye week replacement. A top 24 tight end is a day one fantasy starter in 12 team leagues. I like to root for deep sleepers and it is fun when they become starters. For them to become top 12 tight ends is much less likely.

Another reason I like this “Start 2 Tight End” format over “1.5PPR TE premium” leagues, is that 1.5 points is a lot for just catching a pass. Another reason I like this format is you can replace kickers with the second Tight End. I only have kickers remaining in 1 of my redraft leagues. Selecting a kicker involves very little strategy. Selecting a second Tight End takes a lot more strategy and they are much more fun to root for.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In conclusion, you are setting up your dynasty league for the long term. You want to make roster and scoring settings that keep people active for years upon years. You cannot fairly make significant changes to the starting rosters once you have created your dynasty league, so be forward thinking. Parity of the starting tight ends and quarterbacks have made them very devalued in standard dynasty football settings. Add twists like “Super-flex” or “Tight End Premium” to keep you’re league mates trading  so your league doesn’t become stale.

Hit me up on Twitter to discuss fantasy football anytime @NFLLionBlood.

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