Fantasy Football Season: Predictions - Tight Ends

Blog number four = Tight Ends.

According to the Yahoo! Sports fantasy league to which I subscribed, your point leaders for 2009/2010 are as follows:

[there may be point differentials from league to league based on how they statistically score points, but this can be used as a broad baseline]

1. Vernon Davis (SF)- 174 points.
2. Dallas Clark (Ind)- 171 points.
3. Antonio Gates (SD)- 163 points.
4. Brent Celek (Phi)- 145 points.
5. Tony Gonzalez (Atl)- 122 points.
6. Visanthe Shiancoe (Min)- 122 points.
7. Kellem Winslow (TB)- 119 points.
8. Jason Witten (Dal)- 115 points.
9. Heath Miller (Pit)- 114 points.
10. Greg Olsen (Chi)- 109 points.


1. Vernon Davis (SF)
Davis came into his own this season, finding the end-zone 13 times, a league leading total for tight ends and tied for the league lead for receivers as well. Davis is a physical specimen (6'3, 250 lbs), and should repeat next season as the fantasy king for tight ends.
2009/2010 stats: 965 receiving yards, 78 receptions and 13 touchdowns.

2. Dallas Clark (Ind)
Targeted often by Manning, Clark was his favorite target over the middle and was a consistent threat all season long. Clark notched over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career, his best games coming against Miami - 7 receptions for 183 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Houston - 14 receptions for 119 yards receiving.
2009/2010 stats: 1,106 receiving yards, 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns.

3. Antonio Gates (SD)
Gates notched over 1,000 yards receiving for the second time in his career, and has been a top-3 tight end consistently for the past 5 years. Next year will be no different.
2009/2010 stats: 1,157 receiving yards, 79 receptions and 8 touchdowns.

4. Brent Celek (Phi)
Celek had a breakout season in his 3rd year in the league, and should improve yet again next season. 2009/2010 stats: 971 receiving yards, 76 receptions and 8 touchdowns.

5. Kellen Winslow (TB) ↑
Winslow had a decent season in his first year in Tampa, but I would like to see him improve his touchdown totals. Winslow has never had more than 5 touchdowns in a season in his career so far. 2009/2010 stats: 884 receiving yards, 77 receptions and 5 touchdowns.

6. Tony Gonzalez (Atl)
Gonzalez's numbers were slightly down this year, but that's expected with the change of location. Look for him to get back to the 1,000 yard mark next season.
2009/2010 stats: 867 receiving yards, 83 receptions and 6 touchdowns.

7. Jermichael Finley (GB) ↑
Look for a breakout year from Finley in what will be his 3rd year in the league. He missed some time this year, and with another year under his belt, and in one of the leagues more prolific passing offenses, he should improve on his numbers from this year significantly.
2009/2010 stats: 676 receiving yards, 55 receptions and 5 touchdowns.

8. Jason Whitten (Dal)
Whitten reaches the 1,000 yard mark for the 2nd time in his career, but his touchdown total went down for the 3rd year in a row. To be an elite tight end, he needs to find the end-zone more. 2009/2010 stats: 1,030 receiving yards, 94 receptions and 2 touchdowns.

9. John Carlson (Sea) ↑
Carlson was partly a casualty of the Seahawks dreadful season, but he did up his touchdown total from the year before (5). Look for him to have a better year yardage wise in 2010/2011.
574 receiving yards, 51 receptions and 7 touchdowns.

10. Visanthe Shiancoe (Min)
Shiancoe's fantasy value was inflated because of his touchdown total, but he seems to have built a good chemistry with Favre in the red-zone. If that continues, he should be a top-10 tight end next year. 2009/2010 stats: 566 receiving yards, 56 receptions and 11 touchdowns.


** Scoring in my Yahoo! Fantasy Football League was as follows:

Offence
Passing Yards = 25 yards per point
Passing Touchdowns = 6
Interceptions = -1
Rushing Yards = 10 yards per point
Rushing Touchdowns = 6
Reception Yards = 10 yards per point
Reception Touchdowns = 6
Return Touchdowns = 6
2-Point Conversions = 2
Fumbles Lost = -2
Offensive Fumble Return TD = 6

Kickers
Field Goals 0-19 Yards = 3
Field Goals 20-29 Yards = 3
Field Goals 30-39 Yards = 3
Field Goals 40-49 Yards = 4
Field Goals 50+ Yards = 5
Point After Attempt Made = 1

Defense/Special Teams
Sack = 1
Interception = 2
Fumble Recovery = 2
Touchdown = 6
Safety = 2
Block Kick = 2
Points Allowed 0 points = 10
Points Allowed 1-6 points = 7
Points Allowed 7-13 points = 4
Points Allowed 14-20 points = 1
Points Allowed 21-27 points = 0
Points Allowed 28-34 points = -1
Points Allowed 35+ points = -4