We complete our rankings breakdowns with the rookie tight ends.
Part of the Betsperts Media and Technology Group
Well, that was fun. Another year in the books, and hopefully you were able to grab that dynasty league championship. While the games are thrilling and the results matter, this is the time of year I really look forward to. Yes, the off-season is my favorite part of fantasy football. I love diving into the NFL Draft, analyzing rookies, re-assessing the veteran dynasty landscape, and giving you all the info I can to help you get ready for the upcoming season.
This year, I’m continuing my series – My Dynasty Off-Season. This is where I pull back the curtain a little to share what I’m doing in terms of team building, roster evaluation, player assessments, trade possibilities, value changes, and anything else that’s on my mind. I hope this series helps guide you through the off-season and positions you for success next year. Over the coming weeks, I’m going to share my positional rankings for the rookies in detail. If you missed it, this was the preview version. Today, let's jump into the toughest position to evaluate every year, the tight ends.
Do you like proven production or athletic upside? That’s likely going to be the question NFL Scouts and dynasty managers have to answer as they look at Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland (more on him later) as the potential TE1. Warren was amazing for Penn State this year with 104 catches for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. Think about that for a second. He posted over 1,200 yards as a college tight end. His 19 career touchdowns for the Nittany Lions are also impressive as Warren has simply shown the ability to produce against any opponent. He ranked in the top two in NFL Next Gen stats in terms of production, athleticism, and total score at the NFL Draft Combine and could very well be the safest pick in the NFL Draft.
You can argue Brock Bowers was a better prospect last year, and you honestly wouldn't get a tremendous amount of resistance from people. However, Warren and Loveland both look like legitimate first round rookies and we saw what Bowers did for dynasty teams last season. If you can get a truly elite-level tight end, it can make a huge difference in a dynasty league and it seems we may have at least two (and maybe even three) in this class. Warren is the safest bet with a high floor and high ceiling as well. He should land on a team on day one and if he's paired with an effective quarterback, it's going to get really interesting really quickly.
Do you want production or potential? If you want potential, Loveland is your guy over Warren. While his 56/582/5 line doesn’t jump off the page and isn't anywhere close to that of Warren's, it just doesn't tell the story because his athleticism and athletic profile does. He’s essentially a big wide receiver and has the ability to run a full route tree. For a tight end, that’s significant. Most view Loveland as a future Pro Bowl level player and if he lands in the right spot, he could be used in a Bowers-type role right away. Many think Loveland could be what Kyle Pitts could have been and that's very interesting in dynasty leagues.
