College Fantasy Football: Way-Too-Early 2011 Tight End Rankings

We've covered the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.  Now our "Way Too Early" player ranking parade hones in on the tight ends.

Remember, we're calling them "Way Too Early" rankings for a reason.  It's just a first glance at the 2011 prospects.  A gut feel. 

We haven't fully analyzed returning o-lineman for each school.  We haven't yet plugged in the incoming stud recruits (Signing Day is Feb. 2).

We didn't account for all of the new coaching changes.  And we haven't taken a peek at the upcoming fall schedules.  All of that will come with due time. 

So, without further ado, let's dive into the tight ends!


"Way Too Early" 2011 Tight End Rankings

2010 was not a banner year for college fantasy football tight ends.  Only seven players at the position were able to crack 100 fantasy points on the season (three from BCS schools).

Louisiana-Lafayette's Ladarius Green tops our initial ranking. Despite missing a couple games due to injury, Green wound up being a Top 3 fantasy tight end in 2010.  He posted a solid 44-794-7 statline.

Michael Egnew continued a tradition of fine fantasy tight ends hailing from Missouri.  He had an outstanding season, hauling in 90 balls for 762 yards and 5 touchdowns.

But quarterback Blaine Gabbert is off to play on Sundays, which could hamper his production in 2011.

Rice's Vance McDonald entered last season with a lot of hype.  An injury slowed him down the first half of the year (he missed most of five games) and most owners threw in the towel on McDonald and cut him loose. 

Those who scooped him off the waiver wire were rewarded handsomely, as McDonald was white-hot down the stretch, scoring five touchdowns in his final three outings.


Some TE questions to chew on:

What position designation will Johdrick Morris have in your league in 2011?  Last fall, the Southern Miss receiver was listed as a TE in some leagues, and a WR in others.  He's a run-of-the-mill fantasy WR, but he holds tremendous value as a TE.

Perhaps no tight end in the country has more pure talent than Georgia's Orson Charles.  But this athletic Dawg has yet to translate his vast potential into fantasy production. 

With all-world WR A.J. Green off to the NFL, will this be the year he takes center stage and finally lives up to the hype?

What will new Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis do with Jordan Reed?  Reed's value in 2010 was as a unique TE/QB hybrid. 

He got most of his fantasy points running the ball in Wildcat situations.  Reed is a complete fantasy wildcard until we see how he is utilized this spring.

A pair of up-and-coming Big Ten tight ends, Eric Lair (Minnesota) and Ted Bolser (Indiana) will be breaking in new quarterbacks this fall.  How will this affect their production?

Can Oklahoma's James Hanna keep up his incredible catch-to-TD ratio?  Last year he only snagged 18 balls, but 7 went for scores.


Here's we rank the tight ends at the moment....

CollegeFootballGeek.com's "Way Too Early" 2011 Tight End Rankings

1    Ladarius Green    La-Lafayette    44-794-7 in 2010, missed 2 games with injury
2    Michael Egnew    Missouri    90-759-5 in 2010, new QB at helm
3    Vance McDonald    Rice    28-396-8 in 2010, was hurt 1st half of year
4    Tyler Eifert    Notre Dame    27-352-2 in 2010, put up all stats in final 7 games
5    Johdrick Morris    Southern Miss   46-663-4 in '10, likely listed as WR in most leagues
6    Drake Dunsmore    Northwestern    40-381-5 in 2010, tailed off when Persa was hurt
7    Lucas Reed    New Mexico    34-464-5 in 2010
8    George Bryan    NC State    35-369-3 in 2010, will QB Russell Wilson return?
9    Orson Charles    Georgia    26-422-2 in 2010, will he finally live up to hype?
10    Coby Fleener    Stanford    28-434-7 in 2010, had monster bowl game
11    Jordan Reed    Florida    new coaching staff could mean new role in offense
12    Eric Lair    Minnesota    39-526-2 in 2010, new QB & new coach in 2011
13    Joe Halahuni    Oregon State    30-390-5 in 2010
14    Ryan Otten    San Jose State    17-201-3 in 2010, only played in 4 games - injury
15    Ted Bolser    Indiana    27-407-5 in 2010 as r-FR, new QB in 2011
16    David Paulson    Oregon      24-418-4 in 2010, WR Jeff Maehl departs
17    Kyler Reed    Nebraska    22-395-8 in 2010
18    Kyle Efaw    Boise State    24-299-5 in 2010, stud WRs are gone
19    Luke Wilson    Rice    33-425-3 in 2010
20    Gavin Escobar    San Diego State    29-323-4 as frosh, stud WRs & coach gone, QB back
21    James Hanna    Oklahoma    18-292-7 in 2010
22    Brandon Barden    Vanderbilt    34-425-3 in 2010
23    Cooper Helfet    Duke    34-380-2 in 2010
24    Josh Chichester    Louisville    22-317-5 in 2010, TE Graham is gone
25    Nick Provo    Syracuse    33-365-1 in 2010
26    Danny Noble    Toledo    18-223-5 in 2010
27    Brian Linthicum    Michigan State    18-230-1 in 2010, TE Gantt departs
28    Dwayne Allen    Clemson    34-392-1 in 2010, needs to get into end zone!
29    Terrence Miller    Arizona    29-345-0 in 2010
30    Ryan Griffin    Connecticut    31-248-1 in 2010, new coaching staff
31    Justin Jones    East Carolina    21-211-5 in 2010, might be listed as WR in leagues
32    Rhett Ellison    USC    21-239-3 in 2010, missed 3 games to injury
33    Jack Doyle    Western Kentucky    20-224-2 in 2010, only played in 7 games - injury
34    Chris Pantale    Boston College    30-327-1 in 2010
35    David Blackburn    Central Michigan    22-285-3 in 2010
36    Zach Ertz    Stanford    16-190-5 in 2010, 2 top WRs gone
37    Tim Biere    Kansas    19-228-4 in 2010
38    Jake Stoneburner    Ohio State    21-222-2 in 2010
39    Colter Phillips    Virginia    18-155-3 in 2010
40    Blake Hammond    Western Michigan    9-113-3 in 2010, top WRs are gone
41    Kevin Koger    Michigan    14-199-2 in 2010, new coaching staff
42    Philip Lutzenkirchen    Auburn    15-185-5 in 2010, Cam Newton is gone
43    Trey Millard    Oklahoma    could be listed as FB. 24 car, 16 rec, 209 tot yds, 4 TD
44    Chris Gragg    Arkansas    8-171-2 in 2010, TE DJ Williams is gone
45    Evan Rodriguez    Temple    21-247-2 in 2010
46    Mike Cruz    Pittsburgh    19-213-2 in 2010, new coaching staff
47    Alex Bayer    Bowling Green    22-298-1 in 2010
48    Jordan Thompson    Ohio    21-204-3 in 2010
49    Ryan Deehan    Colorado    25-249-1 in 2010
50    Chaz Demerath    Air Force    17-241-2 in 2010
51    Tim Erjavec    Kent State    7-71-1 in 2010 as frosh
52    DC Jefferson    Rutgers    10-166-1 in 2010
53    Huston Prioleau    Texas A&M    9-58-1 in 2010
54    Kellen Bartlett    Utah State    15-222-0 in 2010
55    Gabe Holmes    Purdue    sophomore to watch
56    Michael Williams    Alabama    Preston Dial moves on
57    Anthony Miller    Cal    stats declined from 2009 to 2010

Todd DeVries is the founder of CollegeFootballGeek.com, your premier destination for all things college fantasy football.