2009 Fantasy Football Tight Ends: Best of the Rest

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

At the top of almost every fantasy football tight end ranking cheat sheet this year, you will find Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates as the top three. Luckily for you, there is a lot of depth at tight end this year.

While drafting one of these top three tight ends will definitely make your fantasy team stronger, it won’t be disastrous if you have to settle for someone listed below.

Let’s take a peak at some of the other tight ends that should have fine seasons in 2009.



Dallas Clark – Indianapolis Colts

When you look at the outlook for the Indianapolis Colts passing game in 2009, the absence of Marvin Harrison should definitely benefit Anthony Gonzalez.

While I do agree with that prediction, I can’t help but think that Dallas Clark will benefit just as much, if not more. He and Peyton Manning have already proven to be quite a tandem while Harrison was still a part of the offense.

Last year, in standard scoring leagues, four tight ends reached 100 points on the season—the three that I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, and Clark. You could easily include him in that top tier group with the other three elite tight ends.



Owen Daniels – Houston Texans

Despite failing to clinch a playoff spot yet in the history of the franchise, the Houston Texans put points on the board. They had the third best offense in the league a year ago. One of the key components of that offense, Owen Daniels, finished third in the league in yards (862) and fifth in receptions (70) among tight ends.

Although he only found the end zone twice, he should continue to get a lot of looks in ’09.

Keep in mind that his success may hinge on the health of Matt Schaub, but if Schaub is under center, Daniels should see similar yardage and probably a couple more touchdowns this season.



John Carlson – Seattle Seahawks

The man who led the Seattle Seahawks in receptions (55), touchdowns (5) and receiving yards (627) last year was John Carlson, a rookie in 2008. Granted, the Seahawks offense was lackluster last season, but Carlson impressed a lot of people a year ago, and didn’t play like a rookie.

This offense should be improved this year, and there’s no reason why they won’t continue to look for Carlson just as much in 2009, but remember the Seahawks signed T.J Houshmandzadeh, and Deion Branch and Nate Burleson are expected to be healthy.

Still, Carlson will produce as a No. 1 TE. 



Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles

Exit L.J. Smith, and enter Brent Celek. When the Philadelphia Eagles made their postseason run a year ago, Celek had a team-leading 19 receptions and three touchdowns, while Smith only had three catches.

Smith has gone to Baltimore now, and Celek is the No. 1 TE in this offense. It’s still a bit of a question mark to see how Celek performs in a full season as the Eagles’ top tight end, but he’s already shown Andy Reid that he can perform when the pressure is on. 



Greg Olsen – Chicago Bears

Perhaps the biggest potential sleeper among the tight ends heading into this season is Greg Olsen of the Chicago Bears. Olsen had a productive 2008 campaign, leading all receivers on the Bears with five touchdowns. Only Matt Forte collected more receptions than Olsen.

This all occurred with Kyle Orton behind center. Now, Olsen has Jay Cutler running the offense.

With Devin Hester listed as the team’s top receiver right now, it’s a safe bet that Olsen will be on the receiving end of many Cutler passes.



Zach Miller – Oakland Raiders

You may not have heard about Zach Miller a lot last year since he only scored one touchdown and he played for a pretty bad team in the Oakland Raiders.

What you may not have realized is Miller was, by far, the Raiders’ best receiver last year. He finished with 56 receptions for 778 yards. The next best receiver on the team, Johnny Lee Higgins, ended with 22 receptions for 366 yards.

This team hasn’t done much to improve its passing game, so there’s no reason why Miller shouldn’t continue to be JaMarcus Russell’s main target.



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