Outlook: Only one player can boast a two-point per game average gap over the second rated player at their position while commanding a tier of their own in fantasy rankings. At just 26 years of age, Rob Gronkowski has been the most dominant and consistent tight end since joining the league in 2010. He has posted 54 touchdowns in 65 NFL games and two 1100-plus yard seasons, including a whopping 1327 yards and 17 TD campaign in 2011. His value does take somewhat of a hit if Brady is suspended for the full four games, however, Gronk’s size and ability to find the end zone will likely make him a favorite target for Jimmy Garappolo. Fantasy owners looking for a clear advantage over the competition at the tight end position can do no wrong with Gronkowski. The question is can he deliver on the first round price tag that accompanies a player of his caliber.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: Perhaps the biggest off-season acquisition in the league, Jimmy Graham left the friendly confines of New Orleans to join Russell Wilson in Seattle. Arguably the most-talented tight end in the league, Graham has produced monster numbers in each of the past four seasons, including a ridiculous 46 touchdowns during that stretch. While it would be easy to expect that Graham’s success from New Orleans continues in Seattle, there’s no question he is going from one of the league’s most pass-happy offenses to one of the least. Over the past three seasons, Drew Brees attempted an absurd 1,979 passes. By comparison, Wilson attempted just 1,252 during that same timeframe. Wilson’s pass attempts have increased in each of his three seasons, but it’s almost unfathomable that he would even approach Brees’ numbers, let alone surpass them.

While pass attempts alone won’t tell the story, it’s worth considering that Graham’s total targets could see a decrease of as much as 20-to-30 percent now that he is in Seattle. The quality of those targets could go up, but it will be extremely hard for him to replicate the numbers he put up in New Orleans unless Seattle completely changes the gameplan that has brought them to back-to-back Super Bowls. Still, given the weakness at the tight end position, Graham remains one of the elite options at the position and could be selected as high as the second round in drafts while still returning solid value.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: Greg Olsen became the surest pair of hands in Carolina following the departure of Steve Smith. As a result, Olsen has seen his targets ascend over 100 for three consecutive seasons. The increased reliability helped Olsen post his most productive fantasy season to date in his eighth year as a pro. The team inked him to a new deal prior to training camp, and the plan should remain unchanged moving forward. Olsen’s upside is capped because he doesn’t provide much downfield game and his team has plenty of options in the red zone. However, the volume of passes thrown his way allows him to rack up plenty of receptions and yardage, making him one of the more consistent tight ends in the league. His totals from 2014 are far closer to his ceiling, but he isn’t likely to regress too much. There are a lot of uncertainties at the top of the positional fantasy rankings, with several tight ends moving to new situations. As a result, fantasy owners are putting more value into Olsen’s more projectable 2015 forecast. As a top-three tight end option in PPR leagues, Olsen’s value drops to that of an average starter in touchdown leagues, so let your league settings set Olsen’s value on draft day. Backup Ed Dickson hasn’t been able to recapture the fantasy spotlight since 2011, when he emerged as the starter in Baltimore. Even if his role is expanded at some point during the season, odds are there would be better fantasy options available on the waiver wire.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: One of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2014 fantasy season for Chiefs players, tight end Travis Kelce burst onto the scene in his sophomore season, catching 67 passes for 862 yards and five touchdowns. Tight end is a position the Chiefs have been looking to fill for years now, ever since the departure of Tony Gonzalez, and they might have finally found their man. Kelce’s numbers a season ago are even more impressive when you consider he was limited in snaps early in the season and he only started 11 games. It’s believed he will see much more work in 2015 now that he has bulked up his frame a bit during the offseason, but that, of course, might cause him to lose a step as a pure receiver.

Currently going off the board as high as the No. 3 fantasy tight end in drafts, Kelce will need a substantial increase in production to justify that type of draft position. He’s capable of doing it, but now that the team has a new high-end receiving target in Maclin, Kelce might not be the apple of Smith’s eye quite so often in 2015. Another cause for concern is the Chiefs did select a tight end, James O’Shaughnessy, in the fifth round of the NFL draft. While O’Shaughnessy is a bit raw in his skills, he does possess solid pass-catching skills that saw him make nine touchdown receptions as a senior. O’Shaughnessy himself isn’t worth selecting in fantasy drafts at this time, but he could cut into Kelce’s numbers, as he may see looks in the red zone that would otherwise have gone to Kelce.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: He may be a mercurial headache, but gosh did Martellus Bennett produce at an elite level in 2014. Finishing first among tight ends in receptions (90) second in targets (128), and third in yards (916), Bennett had by far the best season of his seven-year career. After sitting out OTAs in an attempt to broker a raise, Bennett and the Bears seemed poised to continue their relationship into 2015. Fantasy speaking, the addition of reliable slot receiver Royal, will mean a drop in receptions and yards for Bennett, but the touchdown opportunities should remain for the 6’6 mammoth. Bennett should remain a value fantasy asset in a muddled tight end position, but expect TE1 production closer to his number No.10 finish in 2013.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: An aging veteran tight end who is likely headed to Canton when he finally hangs up his cleats, Witten posted top-ten fantasy numbers despite having a sizable reduction in targets (21 less from the previous season) and the lowest yardage total since becoming a starter in 2004. An increase from his five receiving touchdowns in 2014 is not out the question considering the fact that the loss of DeMarco Murray may force the Cowboys to use Witten more in the red zone. But owners looking for Witten to return to his 2012 form in which he logged 110 catches on 147 targets may be disappointed.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: Delanie Walker is coming of his best fantasy season to date, and the addition of Offensive Coordinator Jason Michaels and Mariota should keep Walker within fantasy’s top 10 tight ends again in 2015. Michaels comes to Nashville following a three-year stint as the Tight Ends Coach with the Chargers, working with an aging Antonio Gates. Considering Walker is set to turn 31 years old in August, having an offensive coordinator who understands how to keep veteran players involved in the game plan each week is a coo for fantasy owners. Then there is the old adage of rookie quarterbacks leaning on the tight end position. If all goes according to plan, Walker should set new career bests in targets and catches. Adding to his appeal as a fantasy starter is the fact he was able to finish in the top 10 at the position with only four touchdown catches. A modest increase in this category with Mariota at the helm would see Walker make another small step forward in 2015. Anthony Fasano and Chase Coffman add depth to the position and could be used as a bye-week replacement should Walker miss any time during the year.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: One of the most disappointing players in all of fantasy football over the past two seasons, Vernon Davis has all but fallen completely off of the radar for fantasy owners as we head into the 2015 season. Davis’ fall from grace was astronomical, as he caught half as many passes in 2014 as he did in 2013 and failed to even reach 250 yards on the season. Worst yet, though, was he tied a career low with just two touchdown receptions on the year. All this came just one year after a monster 2013 season which saw Davis make 52 catches for 850 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns.

Even after this horrendous season, though, Davis remains a potential sleeper who could put up huge numbers and be a major difference-maker for fantasy owners. We’ve seen this before from Davis, who has had wild swings in production from year to year. This would be his greatest feat yet, but it’s definitely possible. The talent is still there. The entire San Francisco offense was horrendous this past season, so it wouldn’t be entirely crazy to throw 2014 out the window for Davis and instead consider the body of the work throughout his career. He’s had five 50-catch seasons and he’s been over 750 yards four different times. The big selling point with Davis, though, is he remains one of the absolute best red zone threats at the tight end position. Ten touchdowns is not out of the question, but five to eight scores seems to be most likely. He’s not Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham, but few late-round flier tight ends will give you a higher ceiling than Davis.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: The offseason has brought about many changes for the Broncos offense, but perhaps none greater than the loss of tight end Julius Thomas. Thomas, had become one of the elite fantasy players at his position over the past two seasons, scoring 24 touchdowns over that span, left for Jacksonville in free agency. This left a huge hole on the depth chart which is otherwise filled with players who have minimal on-field experience.

But if experience is what coach Kubiak was looking for, it would be hard to find a player who fit that bill more than Daniels. Daniels, now 32 years old, will be entering his 10th NFL season after following Kubiak from Houston to Baltimore and now onto Denver. Daniels has played his entire NFL career with Kubiak as his head coach and despite never truly breaking out as a high-end option, he has been among the more consistent players at the position over that time. Some may worry about Daniels’ age, but the reality is that Daniels could be heading into his best fantasy situation yet. This past season, a 31-year-old, Daniels caught 48 passes for 527 yards and four touchdowns. That came despite him playing behind Dennis Pitta for the first three weeks of the season and sitting out Week 8. Now without much competition at the position and in a much pass-happier offense with Manning behind center, there’s a real chance that Daniels has the best fantasy season of his career. Even if the rumors of Virgil Green getting more playing time as a pass-catching tight end this season are true, Daniels figures to be the top tight end in what could again be one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses. Daniels is a sneaky pick to approach double-digit touchdowns and one would have to assume that his 48 receptions for 529 yards from 2014 are closer to his floor than his ceiling for 2015.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: If not for injuries over the past two seasons, Allen may be one of the top five tight ends off the board in 2015. Still the better fantasy asset over Coby Fleener, Allen continues to be bothered by an ankle injury that plagued him throughout the 2014 campaign. He has missed time during OTAs in hopes that the extra rest will allow him to be healthy once the regular season nears. When in the lineup, he exploits the holes created by the speed on the outside and can split the field up the middle. The Colts love to line up with two tight ends, so Allen’s health is certainly worth keeping an eye on as the preseason gets underway. Fantasy owners should still consider him the team’s fantasy option at the moment, but Fleener isn’t far behind. Fleener led all Colts tight ends with 92 targets and eight touchdowns a year ago but isn’t likely to see as many opportunities if Allen is at full strength. Nonetheless, Fleener will see plenty of time in two-tight-end formations and near the goal line for red zone opportunities but may not rack up the yardage like other elite fantasy tight ends.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: Once the premier tight end in all of fantasy, Antonio Gates has stuck around and still remains one of the top players at the position even at age 35. Gates' 821 yards put him seventh in the league at the tight end position, but it was his 12 touchdowns – tied for most among tight ends – that made him an elite fantasy option once again.

As Philip Rivers' most trusted target, Gates gets plenty of looks in the red zone and there's no reason for that to change. Among all tight ends in league history, only Tony Gonzalez has more touchdowns over the course of his career than Antonio Gates. Look for Gates to close the gap, which is currently 12, and potentially threaten to overtake that record in 2015 if he gets out to a hot start.

While backup Ladarius Green appears to be the potential tight end of the future, Gates is still the man in this passing game and with the Chargers defense still struggling, look for plenty of passing from San Diego again this season. Gates isn't Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham, but there's no reason to think that he can't once again be in the conversation to lead the pack among the second-tier of fantasy tight ends, while costing significantly less than many of the other options at the position.

Player Page | Track this player