Antonio Gates has dominated the TE position the last few years in drafts as the clear cut #1 TE in the league. However, the torch may be slowing passing, or at least the gap has closed dramatically. Gates finished the 16 week fantasy season as the #2 TE behind Jason Witten, and only 12 pts seperated him from the #4 TE, Kellen Winslow (Tong G was only 6 pts behind). Gates struggled down the stretch as well as he was only the #5 TE over the last 6 weeks of the season.

Another interesting thought is that with the new flock of TE's that look to be more then able to be major players on your fantasy team, is the day long gone in which it makes sense to burn a 3rd rounder on Gates (or any TE for that matter) when you can get a more then viable option 3-4 rds later?

So what is your position on Gates and the landscape of the TE position next year?

strangely/sadly i was just wondering about gates myself today. i cant help but notice how his declining production has lined up eerily similar to:

1) chris chambers showing up and starting to make some plays
2) lt2 starting to break out again
3) the chargers winning a lot of games

it seems like gates fits better when hes not the do-everything type but can block a bunch and open up the field for others. i was already thinking today that he is probably no longer a 2nd or 3rd round pick, even though he was this year for half a season no question. i also know he struggled with injuries some this year and that has to be partially affecting his production.

Any other opinions on this?

I definitely think the gap is closing. You could spend a third on Gates or wait and get a bargain on Witten, Cooley, Gonzalez (one more year left), Winslow, Shockey, V. Davis (third year will be his breakout) Donald Lee, Tony Sheffler, Dallas Clark. You get the picture I would rather have a stud third round receiver or solid RB backup than gamble on Gates.

I agree with the above comments. I actually took Gates in 3 out of 4 of my drafts with a 3rd rounder (he was taken one pick before me in the 4th). I also traded him in one league, so I ended up with Gates in 2, then Cooley and Shockey in the other 2.

IMO, the problem with all TEs, especially this year, is their inconsistency. I wasn't expecting Gates to be the high scoring TE every week, but i was expecting a more consistent output over the year.

I think his loss hurt me in the league where I traded him. Shockey was ok this year, but I could've used a couple of those blowout productions Gates had at the beginning of the season. They both pretty much sucked at the end, sorry to say.

As I recall, Cooley started out slow but was really very consistent for me. I know Witten had at least 1 or 2 down weeks, because one of them came when I played him in the SO Challenge lol.

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'll do next year. As Bomb said, Gates was also dealing with injuries this season, which he hasn't really had before. I think it'll be hard to spend a 3rd rounder on him again, but if a lot of people feel that way and he starts dropping to the 4th, I expect I'd have trouble passing him by.

For me I would wait and get Winslow. I believe he will be the best TE in the league very soon and he was healthy the entire year which people said was his downfall. Also if he and the Browns didnt get screwed on a horrible call Winslow would have had those 6 points )

Witten will be the #1 TE on my board next year.

Oddly enough I was thinking about this same thing albeit in different context watching the Bengals beat the Brownies. Winslow is a new player this year. He's truly more of a wide out than a te but still blocks...or more like gets in the way. For a while the all purpose te was the soup de jour in the NFL making guys like Gonzo and Gates the rare ones you could take a chance on early.

I think with the emergence of guys like Witten who is also an all around te and the others listed this is becoming for fantasy football terms more like a wr pool. Unlike most trends in fantasy football I feel the te production surge will translate into the 08 season. And I think we'll see more reciever like te's in the future making their value for overall points increase but the elite status of a top producing te will be watered down with the increase in talent.

This point that Ram makes about the theory of getting an elite TE is important. In previous years grabbing a Gonzo or Gates early provided a huge advantage at TE. Once they were gone the rest of the TEs were 400 yard guys that caught a TD every 4th or 5th game. So this meant you had a huge point advantage at the TE position every week. The only time you didn't have a huge advantage with Gates was when you played the guy with Gonzo and vice versa for the Gonzo owner. Then you might have gotten tagged by the other guys infrequent TD catch a couple of times. (but you usually still had a big yardage advantage). This means for 3/4 of your season you had a huge point advantage at that position. Now with all these other TEs starting to produce elite like numbers your your huge advantage may be less than half of what it was. You are likely to face 6 or 7 owners that match up well at the TE position. Its still great to draft Gates but just not as good as it was.

NORM!!!!

Well put. Thanks for making sense of my drivel.

No reason to take Gates in the late 2nd/early 3rd when guys like Winslow,Witten and Gonzo will be around in the 5th/6th rounds and Heap,V Davis and even H Miller can be had in the later rounds.

I actually always take Heap as my starting te but this year it killed me in a couple leagues.

Yeah, Heap killed me too. With tight ends becoming more productive in the offense and less of an outside lineman, it would make more sense to me to wait until at least fourth or fifth round, maybe even later, to pick up a tight end.

I think you are seeing the tight ends value rise in the NFL in general because there seems to be a shift towards passing the ball more and running the ball less. For example the Patriots never really "had" to run the ball this season, they used a short dink and dunk pass offense which has the same effect as a run. A short pass keeps the pressure off QB and opens up the deep ball as well.

The thing about Gates is the safety that goes along with drafting him. Even with a down year, he was still a solid guy to have in the lineup. That said, with more and more tight ends becoming a focus of the offense, it is much easier to wait until the 5th or 6th round and still get a solid tight end.

Witten was great this year, and he was pretty great two years ago. Last year, however, those who owned Witten probably drafted him much higher than what his value ended up being. And if you draft Witten as your first tight end next year, keep in mind that, depending on the schedule, there will be a couple games where he is kept in to block, and not used as a receiving option.

Winslow will most likely be at the top of my list in 2008, or at the lowest, #2. That could change though, depending on what happens at the quarterback position. Also remember, the Browns will play a tougher schedule next season.

The tight end that will be on my radar is Owen Daniels. Houston will be taking another step forward in 2008, and Daniels should become more of a redzone target as the Texans offensive line improves. If all goes well for Houston next year, Daniels could become a steal.

Along the Owen Daniels line rumors are saying that LJ Smith may dealt away or let go this offseason. It is said The Eagles may just go with rookie Brent Celek which may make him a nice grab especially in leagues that draft way too early.

I agree with MOJO, Daniels could be a hell of a steal in 08'. I really like the direction that the Texans offense is headed.

I would buy all that gobbledygook if Mike had written it.


Seriously, Winslow is going to be a beast next season. Shockey, too.

Shockey is a guy I will never buy into, simply for the fact he can be counted on for two things every season. Extreme hype, and injuries. He and McNabb are very similar in both of these categories.

I agree with Mojo, Shockey is definately the most overhyped tight end every year that always ends up hurt. My two targets next year will be Winslow 1 and Daniels 2.

My feeling on the entire state of the TE position is that the Elite TE's value is diminishing due to there simply being more of them. However, overall the value of the TE is increasing making it necessary to address the position in the first 5-7 rounds, you wait longer then that and the top couple tiers will be gone and you will be at an increasing disadvantage due to the increasing pts this position is putting up.