There was no surprise at the top of the tight end leaderboard in fantasy football. Despite missing one game, New England tight end Rob Gronkowski dominated the position once again this season with 183.60 points.
He finished with 25 more points than the second-place finisher among tight ends. For Gronkowski, it was all about the touchdowns. He was consistent with his ability to find the end zone, with 11 touchdowns. He scored in nine games.
As long as he can stay healthy, Gronkowski will once again lead tight ends again next season. He will be the lone tight end with a first-round grade next season, similar to this past season.
Here’s the best and worst values among tight ends for the 2015 fantasy football season.
Best value
Gary Barnidge
You could have given us about 20 guesses before the season and we still wouldn’t have said Barnridge’s name as a stellar tight end option.
Barnidge was the 50th ranked tight end in the preseason. His average draft position isn’t even worth mentioning since nobody drafted Barnidge.
It didn’t take long for Barnidge to start showcasing why he would eventually finish second among tight ends in points with 158.30. He reached double-digits in each game from weeks 3 to 8. He reached the end zone in five of those six games.
He will feature a much better ranking next season based on his production this past year. However, his value will be tricky as he fell off toward the end of the season. He registered only two touchdowns in the final six games for the Browns.
Worst value
Jimmy Graham
His expectations weren’t as high as in the past few seasons. But he was still rated as a top-tier fantasy option entering the season.
Many didn’t anticipate the same numbers he put up while in New Orleans. But many thought as Russell Wilson became more accustomed to Graham, he would put up decent numbers in Seattle.
Unfortunately for the people who drafted him, that wasn’t the case.
Graham entered the season as the No. 2 tight end, with an overall ADP of 25, putting him at the beginning of the third round.
Before an injury derailed his season in week 12, Graham still wasn’t putting up numbers to justify his ranking. He recorded three games in double-digits to go along with six games with less than five points.
The Seahawks’ offense actually got better without Graham, so the jury is still out how Seattle will utilize him next year. He may not have much of an impact, making his value drop significantly.
Good value
Jordan Reed
Reed was another tight end, much like Barnidge without much fanfare in the preseason. For Reed, it was likely because nobody expected anything out of the Washington Redskins offense.
Reed entered the season as the 19th-ranked tight end with an ADP of 235. He likely wasn’t on any fantasy football rosters to begin the season, but he finished with the third-most points thanks to a stellar end to the season.
In three of his final four games, he registered 18 or more fantasy points. His targets continuously increased during the season and became Kirk Cousins’ favorite target in the red zone. He had eight touchdowns from weeks 9 to 16.
Much like Cousins’ ADP, Reed will see a big jump in his ranking next year.
Bad value
Martellus Bennett
Even before he was injured, his return on investment wasn’t going to be good.
Bennett entered the season as the fifth-ranked tight end, with an ADP of 61. When he finished his season in week 13, he had 61.90 points for the season.
He had eight outings where he failed to reach more than six fantasy points. Only three times did he register double-digit fantasy points.
Quarterback Jay Cutler’s inability to find the tight end consistently hindered Bennett this season. He will not have the same hype going into next season.
Good value
Benjamin Watson
People may look back on Watson’s 2015 preseason value with a smirk. The Saints were reliant on the tight end position in recent years, but Watson still entered the season as the 28th-ranked tight end.
His ADP was 307, 94 spots lower than his overall ranking of 213. The public wanted to avoid him like the plague, likely based on Josh Hill, who started the year sharing the tight-end role with Watson.
Hill actually had a better ranking and ADP entering the season. However, Hill finished the season with 24 points, while Watson was eighth in fantasy points with 116.50 points. Watson was a consistent target, especially in the final part of the season, registering eight or more targets in five of the final six games.
At age 35, we can’t imagine his value will increase next season. However, the Saints offense seems to make the tight end, instead of the other way around.
Bad value
Jordan Cameron
Cameron came into 2015 with high hopes. Many expected plenty from Ryan Tannehill and Cameron was his primary target.
However, despite his No. 6 ranking and ADP of 86, Cameron failed to take off, along with the rest of his Dolphins teammates. Cameron never registered double-digits in fantasy points.
In fact, he failed to even reach five points in 11 of 16 games. Sure, we know that Graham was a big bust, but Cameron may be the biggest bust among tight ends. He was a sleeper pick, expected to put up big numbers. However, he was likely off many fantasy football teams by the middle of the season and never made a case to get off the waiver wire.
