fantasy football rankings 2011

Fantasy Football 2011: Tight End Rankings

The final installment of the position rankings ends with the tight ends, where there is plenty of quality and depth. I’ve again projected these for non-PPR leagues, where players get 6 points a TD and 1 point for every 10 yards.Before the rankings, a few notes:

• Even though Jeremy Shockey is the starter, Greg Olsen looks to be the Carolina tight end you want, and even though I don’t think he is a fantasy starter, he’s a good reserve option;
• The Washington situation is one to watch, as Fred Davis has been getting a lot of work with the first team. Cooley is the established veteran, but be aware of this if you are considering Cooley based on last year’s points. For now, I split the baby between the two, making both only draftable in deeper leagues;
• Ben Watson had a career year for Cleveland at age 30, but they lacked many other receiving options. Evan Moore looks really good this preseason and is more of a receiver who the Browns will motion or split out wide, putting Watson in more blocking situations. Again, I’m not sure Moore is immediately draftable except in deeper leagues, but definitely someone to watch, and a reason to downgrade Watson from what he did last year;
• For years, I felt bad for Zach Miller because I thought he was better than his numbers playing in Oakland. I don’t feel sorry for him anymore because he chose to go to Seattle to catch passes from Tarvaris Jackson and be part of an even more muddled situation with Sidney Rice and Mike Williams already there;

Now, on to the ranking of the top 30 Tight Ends entering 2011:

1. Antonio Gates, SD (135)
2. Jason Witten, DAL (133)
3. Vernon Davis, SF (128)
4. Jermichael Finley, GB (120)
5. Owen Daniels, HOU (112)
6. Dallas Clark, IND (112)
7. Jimmy Graham, NO (111)
8. Kellen Winslow, TB (106)
9. Rob Gronkowski, NE (105)
10. Marcedes Lewis, JAC (98)
11. Brandon Pettigrew, DET (94)
12. Dustin Keller, NYJ (93)
13. Tony Gonzalez, ATL (91)
14. Jermaine Gresham, CIN (91)
15. Jared Cook, TEN (90)
16. Aaron Hernandez, NE (88)
17. Greg Olsen, CAR (87)
18. Brent Celek, PHI (82)
19. Zach Miller, SEA (80)
20. Tony Moeaki, KC (75)
21. Heath Miller, PIT (74)
22. Fred Davis, WAS (72)
23. Chris Cooley, WAS (71)
24. Lance Kendricks, STL (67)
25. Todd Heap, ARI (64)
26. Evan Moore, CLE (64)
27. Kevin Boss, OAK (61)
28. Visanthe Shiancoe, MIN (60)
29. Ben Watson, NE (59)
30. Ed Dickson, BAL (58)