Last time around, I looked at the wide receiver position. Today I am transitioning to the fantasy tight end studs and duds which will be the last of this series. Tight ends in fantasy vary from value. There are only two tight ends really valuable enough to draft in the first round, while the rest are drafted in the other rounds. Was one of these duds from the first round or was one of the studs from the later rounds? Well, let’s find out. Here are the fantasy tight end studs and duds from the 2020 season.
Fantasy Tight End Studs and Duds
Studs
Travis Kelce
The first stud of fantasy tight end studs and duds is Travis Kelce. Travis Kelce is only one of two tight ends that are worthy enough of being drafted in the first round in fantasy. Actually, at this point, based on his production, Kelce should be considered a wide receiver.
Kelce had 105 catches for 1,416 receiving yards with 11 touchdowns and a total of 312.76 fantasy points for the Kansas City Chiefs. Since Kelce is too good in comparison to tight ends, it is easier to compare him to wide receivers. His receiving total would put him second amongst receivers, while his total fantasy points would put him fourth among wide receivers.
The special value that Kelce holds is his consistency. He rarely has any off games, and he rarely drops the ball. To back this up, Kelce only scored under 10 points one time this season, while in 12 out of 15 games played, he scored over 15 points. He was very valuable in the last weeks of the season and the fantasy playoffs, as he averaged 25.2 fantasy points in that time frame.
After this season and many seasons of consistent production, Kelce has proven that he should be drafted in the first round or the early second round.
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Logan Thomas
The second stud of fantasy tight end studs and duds is Logan Thomas. Logan Thomas was drafted in the very late rounds of fantasy drafts, while in some cases he wasn’t even drafted. He was a steal for those who took him late or picked him up off of waivers. In 16 games, Thomas had 72 receptions for 670 receiving yards along with six touchdowns. He was a huge part of the Washington Football Team offense.
He had 176.72 fantasy points which were third among tight ends, while he averaged 11 points a game. Those numbers might not be eye-popping, but let’s remember he was drafted very late, and in some leagues undrafted. That is exceptional production from a late-round draft pick. He exceeded expectations allowing him to be labeled a stud.
Robert Tonyan
Robert Tonyan is another tight end that didn’t have mouth-watering numbers, but he greatly exceeded expectations. Coming into the season, not many people heard of Robert Tonyan resulting in him being undrafted in many leagues. He quickly rose up the depth chart and asserted himself as a starter in the packers lineup.
In his “Cinderella” season, he had 52 catches for 586 yards and a very impressive 11 touchdowns. A total of 176.6 fantasy points put him fourth among tight ends. He averaged 11 points a game. Some would consider this not special, but that is very solid, especially for a guy who nobody ever expected to get this much production. A player that drastically exceeds expectations is a stud, therefore Tonyan this season was a stud.
Darren Waller
The last stud of fantasy tight end studs and duds is Darren Waller. The perfect word to characterize Darren Waller this season is beast. He was an absolute beast out on the field as he had a mind-blowing 105 receptions for 1,196 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. His 278.6 fantasy points were second among tight ends and that would have been fifth among wide receivers.
Waller was a player that outproduced his draft position. He averaged 17.4 points a game, and that is worth being drafted in the second round, but in many leagues, he wasn’t. Additionally, Waller might have some down games a year, but he also has boom potential as he scored 30 fantasy points in one game, while 45 in another. If Waller can be consistent next year, then he should be drafted in the second round.
Duds
Evan Engram
The first dud of fantasy tight end studs and duds is Evan Engram. Evan Engram is usually one of the first tight ends drafted each year, and it seems as if he disappoints every year. That narrative did not change this season. Although he had 654 yards along with 63 catches, he only scored one time. That production gives him 141 fantasy points on the season, which is 15th among tight ends. That is very poor for a player that was one of the first couple of tight ends drafted.
Engram wasn’t very consistent, as he averaged 8.8 points a game. Lastly, Engram showed that he doesn’t have a high ceiling as he scored over 15 points only two times this season while scoring under 10 points in 10 out of his 16 games.
Maybe Engram can improve over the next couple of years, but for now, he is a fantasy tight end that can’t be trusted.
Zach Ertz
The last dud of fantasy tight end studs and duds is Zach Ertz. Throughout the years, Zach Ertz has been known as a very good fantasy tight end. Unfortunately, this season, Ertz didn’t play well and it is especially bad because he was drafted in the earlier rounds. Actually, his average draft position was in the fourth round. Being drafted as early as the fourth means he should have been in the top four in fantasy scoring for tight ends, but he wasn’t. He had 335 receiving yards on the season, which was good for 77.5 fantasy points. That ranked 31st among tight ends.
To be fair, Ertz did miss five games, but he played poorly in the games he had the chance to play in. In fact, in only two games this season he scored over 10 points, while in nine out of 11 games he scored less than 10 points. Lastly, Ertz actually lost his starting job on the Philadelphia Eagles to Dallas Goedert and this really sums up his season. Being drafted early means high expectations, unfortunately, Ertz didn’t come close to those expectations causing him to be one of the duds this season.
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