- Rob Gronkowski. Gronk had a successful 2017 season, totaling 1,084 yards & 8 TDs on 69 receptions. That would total to 227.4 fantasy points in ESPN. This year he’s projected to total 250 fantasy points, a solid difference from what he totaled last season. This year Gronkowski will be Brady’s best target for the first 4 weeks while Julian Edelman serves his PED suspension. Brady will rely on Gronkowski for a lot of the passing situations as well. I think he could be a solid TE1 on your fantasy team.
- Travis Kelce. Kelce had a very good 2018 season with Alex Smith at helm, totaling 1,038 yards & 8 TDs on 83 receptions. That would total 233.5 fantasy points in ESPN leagues. This year he’ll be playing with a much younger QB in Patrick Mahomes, who loves to throw it deep. This year, Kelce will have to adjust to a new QB who plays in a totally different scheme, which could be hard for him to get settled in for the first few weeks. With that said, I do not think he’ll take a huge step back, since he’ll still be a no brainer TE1 in any league. But he could take a small step back. Kelce is projected to total 217.5 fantasy points, a decent sized decrease in points.
- Zach Ertz. Ertz had a good 2018 campaign, totaling 824 yards and 8 TDs on 74 receptions, totaling to 202.4 fantasy points. There’s no question him & Wentz have a very good connection, so if they can continue from where they left off in 2017, his 2018 season should be just as good, if not better. Ertz is projected to total 213.3 fantasy points in 2018. He could also be without Wentz for the first 1-2 weeks of the season, but he should still do good with Nick Foles at QB. Philadelphia also drafted Dallas Goedert in this years draft, who could take some targets away from Ertz in the red zone.
- Jimmy Graham. With Jimmy Graham signing with the Packers, its safe to say he will be getting the ball in his hands a lot. With a pass heavy offense in Green Bay, he should see an increase in targets and go back to his Saints days where he was averaging around 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns and seeing close to 140 targets a season.
5. Greg Olsen. Last year was a big down year for Greg Olsen as that was the only season he put up less than 200 yards, but his season was plagued with injuries. The past 3 seasons before last season, he put up over 1000 yards. He should go back to his 2016-2017 form if he can maintain his health.
Honorable Mention
Jordan Reed. If healthy, Jordan Reed is a top 5 tight end in the league. Plus we know Alex Smith loves his tight ends.
Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph did not have a good fantasy year last year but with newcomer quarterback Kirk Cousins, he should see an increase in targets compared to last year. Kirk loves his tight ends.