1. Rob Gronkowski - Everyone knows Gronk had 17 touchdowns in 2011, but I didn't
realize Gronk had also caught 90 balls.
He also had more receiving yards (1,327) than any other TE and the
highest receiving yard average of any TE over 50 receptions (14.7). So I was
thinking, he can't catch that many touchdowns again or even more for that
matter. Then I looked at his previous year. He had 10 TD's on 42
receptions!! Gronk is catching
touchdowns for his career at a clip just over 1 out of every 5 receptions
(2010 24% and 2011 19%). That's insane especially when you compound that by
the fact he was targeted third most among TE's in 2011 (2 targets behind
second) and caught the second most balls. Some could argue that the addition
of Lloyd could help Gronk as Lloyd will draw attention outside thus creating
a seam for Gronk to exploit.
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2. Jimmy Graham - For 2012 PPR I would select Graham over Gronk, under the
thinking of New Orleans losing Robert Meacham and Gronk having Brandon Lloyd
added to the Patriots arsenal. Being fairly unpolished due to his basketball
career; most believe Graham is only scratching the surface of his potential.
In 2011 he was targeted the most out of all TE's with 149 targets and caught
99 of those to lead the league's TE class in receptions. That productivity
allowed him to come just 17 yards shy of 1st among TE's in yards with 1,310.
He was also second in TD's with 11 and only one of two (Gronk) to hit double
digit TD's. Graham's role in the offense is expected to grow and he himself
concedes that he left 30 receptions on the field last year.
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3. Jason Witten - Of the leagues best TE's, I expect Witten to bring the better
value in return than his eventual ADP.
The Cowboys lost Laurent Robinson who emerged last year as Romo's
security blanket. Laurent Robinson
amassed 81 targets 54 receptions 858 yards and a whopping 11 TD's. The
Cowboys have done very little to upgrade their #3 WR with Robinson's
departure and also lost Martellus Bennett to the Giants. Witten still
finished 5th in targets, 5th in receptions, 3rd in yards and had one of the
6th highest receiving TD totals at 5.
Absorbing some of Robinson's stats is a sure fire thing, so those
targets and receptions should easily bump him to top 3 and with just 3 of Laurent's 11 TD's he would have had the 3rd highest TD total among TE's in 2011.
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4. Antonio Gates - After receiving criticism that he was too heavy beginning 2011,
Gates lost some weight and looked spry towards the end of the season. If
Gates remains healthy for all 16 games he should absorb some of Vincent
Jackson's and Mike Tolbert's receptions and receiving yards. Furthermore,
this division's offenses have improved with the addition of Carson Palmer to
Oakland, Peyton Manning to Denver, and Jamaal Charles back from ACL; so San
Diego may need more production than ever from Gates to keep San Diego in the
hunt.
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5. Aaron Hernandez - The more versatile TE of the New England Patriots, Hernandez
lines up out wide, in the slot and even in the backfield taking handoffs.
Although missing two games each of his two years in the league, Hernandez
proved very serviceable alongside the more popular Gronkowski. Hernandez still managed 113 targets and was
8th of the 8 TE's to amass 100+ targets. He managed 79 receptions on those
targets which was enough to tie him for 5th most. Hernandez finished 4th
among TE's for receiving yards with 910 and tied for the 4th highest TD total
of 7. Hernandez on another team is a
top 3 or 4 TE, but sharing the field with Gronk, Aaron bridges the gap
between the elite and serviceable starting TE's.
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