The Top 10 NFL Tight Ends for 2013 Fantasy Football

This year will be interesting to say the least for fantasy football owners as they decide who they want to select for their tight end fantasy roster spot.

The NFL has become more of a passing league and tight ends are no longer used for blocking and five-yard passes. The likes of Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski are beasts at their position and play key roles for their teams.

Future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez is back for one more year after saying he would retire after last season. He is coming back to the Atlanta Falcons, and with that it brings potentially another great season for Tony.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton is back, and that means Drew Brees will be locked and loaded with a serious game plan from his coach that will involve a heavy dose of Jimmy Graham. So the team will no longer be thinking about Bountygate, which means the offense should be running on all cylinders. 

Both New England Patriot star tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, have dealt with surgery issues this offseason, which might limit their productivity. Please focus on the might. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will need to rely on those two, since the security blanket that was Wes Welker is now playing in Denver.

What about the veterans like Antonio Gates and Jason Witten? Do you pick them because you always have in the past? Here are some answers that could help you for this year’s fantasy football draft.

Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints

Yes, he had some surgery on his wrist in the offseason, but NFL.com reports that he is doing fine. Even with the headache that was Bountygate, Graham was a reliable target for Saints QB Drew Brees. Jimmy had 85 receptions that earned him a little under 1,000 yards receiving last year.

After missing only one game Graham found the end zone nine times. He was scooped up on average in the third round last year in fantasy drafts and looks to possibly go in the second round this year.

One reason is that head coach Sean Payton is back, which benefits the Saints in a major way. The relationship that Payton has with Brees trickles down to make the entire offense great. As the Saints get back to normal this offseason, Graham will benefit greatly from Payton’s return. Expect an outstanding 2013 from the Saints' tight end.

Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

Yes the party boy is always showing up on TMZ.com or some other site that looks like a scene taken out of “Girls Gone Wild,” but you can’t blame the guy for having a good time. The one knock on the Gronk is that he is injury-prone. It happened in the past, and who is to say it won’t happen again.

Recently the Boston Herald reported that the Patriots tight end will delay surgery to see if antibiotics will work to stop an infection he has in his forearm. He will need another steel plate in his arm once the infection is gone.

The bright side is that Rob is a freak of nature. He should be back in the huddle for the Patriots for Week 1. Tom Brady might even perform the surgery himself. Let’s just say he misses a few games like he did last year. You will still benefit from drafting him. If he is able to repeat 2012 season-numbers, you will be happy. In 11 games, Gronk had 11 touchdowns, 55 receptions, and 790 total yards. Not bad from a guy who missed a handful of games.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Tony is back for another season and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan couldn’t be happier. With offensive weapons like Julio Jones and Roddy White, Gonzalez is sure to be open.

In 2012 Tony had his best season as a member of the Falcons. Just like wine this guy gets better with age. He can still dunk the ball over the crossbar showing off this athleticism.  

Gonzalez helped out his team and fantasy owners with 930 yards on 93 catches and eight touchdowns. Some might think I have him too high on this list, but the veteran will always find a way to score or at least give you points with his receiving yards.

Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots

I am wondering if Gillette Stadium has a medical wing for tight ends. Aaron just wrapped up having surgery on his shoulder a few weeks ago, according to The Boston Globe.

Greg Bedard of The Boston Globe asked Hernandez how he felt after surgery.

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"I feel pretty good at this point, just trying to get back and get healthy and get ready for next season," Hernandez said.

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So what, it is another surgery for a Patriots tight end. It is as common as a Dunkin Donuts in every New England town.

Just like Gronk, Aaron benefits from having Tom Brady as his quarterback. He played in 10 games last year and scored five touchdowns. He should have a better year this season, and it looks like he is scheduled to be ready for training camp in July.

Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

If you are in a PPR (Points per Reception) league, Witten is your guy. Last year he had 110 catches for over 1,000 yards. This is the fourth time in his career that he went over the 1,000-yard mark.

The bad news is that he only scored three touchdowns. This drives fantasy football owners crazy, but his receptions and yards made up for it.  

Tony Romo has Miles Austin and Dez Bryant as his main wide receivers, but Witten is his go-to guy. When a first down is needed, Romo looks for Witten. It can be a blessing and a curse since the opposing defense knows this as well. Still, Witten is a reliable tight end that will help out your fantasy team.

Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

Slow and steady may win the race, but it doesn’t help in fantasy football. Gates started slowly but ended up getting back to his normal fantasy numbers. He finished the season with seven touchdowns and had 538 total receiving yards.

For the past nine seasons, Gates has had at least seven touchdowns. That stat alone makes him still a viable No. 1 tight end for fantasy league owners.

Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers

Vernon has come a long way since former head coach Mike Singletary forced him to leave the bench and go home during a game. Davis scored five touchdowns last year and had 548 receiving yards. There were games where it seemed 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick just targeted Davis. Other games it seemed like Davis was a ghost out on the field.

Now that Delanie Walker is no longer on the 49ers, Davis should get most of the snaps for the team. With Kaepernick having the offseason to fully prepare as the starter, I expect for Colin to work with Davis. That should equal more targets for Davis and hopefully more touchdowns for 2013.

Owen Daniels, Houston Texans

With players like Arian Foster and Andre Johnson that are always a scoring threat, Owen Daniels is making sure he makes the most of his targets from Texans QB Matt Schaub.

Like Antonio Gates, Daniels started off slow, but redeemed himself toward the end of the year. As the 2012 season wrapped up, Owen had 62 receptions for 716 yards and had six touchdowns.

As long as Foster doesn’t take all the scoring opportunities from Daniels, fantasy owners should see the same numbers or even better ones in the upcoming season.

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

Just like Owen Daniels, Olsen falls victim to other teammates taking his would-be goal-line touchdowns.

Instead of a running back, it is Panthers QB Cam Newton who usually takes it to paydirt. Yet Olsen was able to score five touchdowns last year. He had a total of 843 yards and is a low-end No. 1 fantasy option.

Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens

I have Pitta rounding out the top-10 just because Dennis might be playing for another team instead of the Ravens. After winning the Super Bowl, it seemed like players were either retiring or getting released.

The Ravens should hold on to Pitta since Anquan Boldin is no longer with the team and they will need to have viable offensive targets. According to NBC Sports, the Ravens have issued a second-round tender for Pitta.

In 2012, Pitta hauled in 61 catches for 669 yards from quarterback Joe Flacco. Dennis was able to get in the end zone seven times last year. If Pitta is playing for another team, fantasy owners should expect the same type of production from him.