Tight End Rankings For 2009 College Fantasy Football
In college fantasy football, tight end seems to be the least valuable offensive position. In fact, some college fantasy football games don’t even include the tight end position in starting lineups.
It’s true that tight ends are a poor man’s wide receiver, and most of them are completely dependent on a high octane passing offense and a top-tier quarterback. Tight ends that play on teams with a mobile quarterback can see their fantasy value reduced even further because of their need to block.
The top two players in our tight end rankings for 2009 college fantasy football have high profile quarterbacks throwing them the ball. They also play in pass heavy offensive schemes.
One scored a crazy amount of touchdowns last season for the Oklahoma Sooners. The other has produced back to back 1000 catching passes from Max Hall at BYU.
Based on that pedigree of production and the fact that no fantasy football owner can bank on touchdowns, BYU’s Dennis Pitta starts the season as our no. 1 ranked tight end.
Pitta was a killer target for Max Hall in 2008, catching 83 passes for 1083 yards and 6 touchdowns. When you are drafting a top player at the receiver position, always look at receptions and yardage before considering touchdowns. That’s why we’re starting our check down of the top tight ends with Pitta.
Players on mid-major schools are always important to know when you decide to play fantasy football. Below are two other tight ends that might not steal the headlines like Pitta or Jermaine Gresham of Oklahoma, but they could turn out to be just as important to the success of your team in 2009.
- Cody Slate, Marshall: Slate missed two games last season and still managed 40 catches for 510 yards and 8 touchdowns. Those numbers were down significantly from his sophomore season when he caught 66 passes for over 800 yards and 6 TDs, but you have to assume he saw lots of double team coverage. Expect a rebound in his senior season – 50+ catches, around 800 yards and over 5 TDs.
- Jamari Grant, Florida Atlantic: Grant plays for another pass heavy offense and has a great quarterback throwing to him in Rusty Smith. Last season, Grant caught 45 passes for 642 yards and 4 touchdowns. He came on strong at the end of the season, however, with 5 catches or more in 3 of FAU’s last four games, plus 3 of his TDs. Expect statistical improvement across the board in 2009.
