2008 Fantasy Football Recap: Top Seven Tight Ends

At the end of every season we like to go back and recap how the players at each fantasy position fared. And as with every season, there’s always the good, the bad and, of the course, the downright ugly at each and every position.

In this fourth installment of our "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly" series, we’ll take a look at the GOOD tight ends this season. Yes, despite the down year across the board for the tight end position, there are still some names that belong here. To find out who they are, just keep on reading.

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1. Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City Chiefs)

Despite hauling in 99 passes for 1,172 yards (both best among tight ends) during the 2007 season, Gonzalez found himself ranked fourth at his position heading into 2008. The primary reason behind Gonzalez's placement towards the bottom of the top five had to do with age as many owners felt that it was just a matter of time before father time caught up with the veteran tight end. At the age of 32, Gonzo was a lot less appealing than the likes of Jason Witten, Kellen Winslow, and Antonio Gates, all stud tight ends sporting ages of 26 or younger. Turns out, owners should have gone with experience as Gonzo dominated the tight end position this season.

Even with quarterback woes for a good chunk of the beginning of the year, Gonzo finished the season with 1,058 yards and 10 TDs, good for 158 fantasy points. Those 158 points were 44 more than the next highest point getter, Witten. Gonzalez developed a nice rapport with quarterback Tyler Thigpen as the year matured and thanks to Dwayne Bowe's presence on the outside keeping defenses honest, Gonzo and Thigpen were able to capitalize on that rapport. Until Gonzalez actually shows signs of slowing down, it's probably best not to underestimate him as we head into 2009.

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2. Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys)

His 952 yards and four TDs may have been a step back from the 1,145 yards and seven TDs he had in 2007; however, when you consider the disappointing years many tight ends had (i.e. Kellen Winslow, Todd Heap, Jeremy Shockey, etc.), Witten's performance wasn't half bad. In fact, Witten's year was good enough to rank him second in fantasy points among tight ends for the year, something his owners were more than happy to take.

Witten's numbers become even more impressive when you consider the injuries the Cowboy's tight end had to deal with, and we're not just talking about the rib and ankle issues that plagued him for the better part of the second half of the season. We're, also, talking about the thumb injury to Witten's quarterback, Tony Romo, an injury that kept Romo out of the line-up from Weeks Seven to Nine. During that span, Witten amassed a mere 52 yards with Brad Johnson throwing him the ball. With Romo healthy for those three games, Witten most assuredly would have gotten the 48 yards he was short of 1,000 for the year and very well could have added an extra TD or two. So, don't let the step back scare you away for 2009.

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3. Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts) 

If the NFL season lasted a mere 12 games, Clark would never have appeared on this list. Luckily, for the tight end and his fantasy owners, that's only three-quarters of the season. Clark took full advantage of those final four games, going for 335 receiving yards and three TDs over that span. Added to his totals from the first 12 games of the year, that left Clark with 848 receiving yards and 6 scores on the year. Numbers that resulted in 112 fantasy points, good for third best this season.

Yes, Clark fell short of the 11 TDs he amassed in 2007, but with Anthony Gonzalez's emergence over that season and the return of Marvin Harrison for 2008, Clark wasn't expected to reach that number again. In fact, his six TDs, the second best of his career, exceeded expectations as did the 848 yards he was able to haul in. It's obvious that Peyton Manning trusts his tight end, and with his strong finish to 2008, Clark should be highly coveted next season.

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2008 Fantasy Football Recap: Top Seven Tight Ends