Evolution of the Tight-End Position: A Fantasy Football Analysis

No single position has been revolutionized more than the tight-end position in football.  In the “old days,” fantasy football players simply looked to fill the tight-end position with anybody that would just touch the football a few times a week.  Fantasy football players also tried to out draft any of their counterparts that were fortunate enough to pick-up marquee tight-ends like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, and Jason Witten by drafting better wide receivers.  However, that has all changed.

All we have to do is go to the record books and we’ll see how little the tight-end position contributed to the offense of teams within the past 20 years:

1992

In 1992, there were only three tight-ends that finished top-50 in receiving yards and they were ranked 43, 44, and 45.

1997

In 1997, there were five tight-ends that finished top-50 in receiving yards and they were ranked 12, 39, 42, 43, and 44.  Tight-end receptions were increasing and so were their yardage, yards per catch, and TDs.  Shannon Sharpe broke the 1,000 yard mark, and made apparent that a tight-end could be an effective weapon in the passing game for those who forgot and didn’t realize it yet. His performance that season highlighted the importance of the tight-end position as we know it, in the more, modern day of fantasy football.

In 2002, the importance of the tight-end position regressed a bit.  Jeremy Shockey was the receptions leader (74 recpts.) and yardage leader (894 yards) back then but ranked no better than 25 and 29,respectively, among all receivers.  But, Todd Heap, Tony Gonzalez and Shannon Sharpe all broke into the top-40 in receptions.  Fast forward just five years, and see what happens:

2007

** Denotes finished out of top-50 in reception yards.

Three tight-ends topped 1,000 yards receiving and a fourth, Antonio Gates, was awfully close.  Dallas Clark posted double digit touchdowns.  And, across the board, yardage per reception topped ten yards for tight-ends finishing among the top-50 in receptions.

Last season, the production of tight-ends underscored the explosion in tight-end production which has been going on the past few years and certainly supports the importance of the position in the modern day game as well as fantasy football:

2011

** Denotes finished out of top-50 in reception yards.

A fantasy football player can’t help but step back and exclaim, “Wow!” The tight-end position is absolutely important in the modern day and equally important on your fantasy football draft day. So, what do fantasy football players take from this?

Even though more tight-ends are finishing in the top-50 in fantasy football receiving, after the first two, in this case, it shows that most tight-ends are created more equal in fantasy
football play than we would expect.  If you miss one of the two or three top-ranked tight-ends on draft day, there is no reason to panic as there are several that should be able to fit your roster needs on a week-to-week basis.

The analysis says not only a lot about tight-ends but a lot about wide receivers.  With the rise of incorporating tight-ends in the modern day football offense, it also shows the decline of the wide receiver position in terms of its overall value on the field, and its diluting effect in fantasy football.  What The Fantasy Greek means by this is fantasy football players can’t walk around thinking that wide receivers are king in fantasy football in comparison to tight-ends, especially in leagues that award receivers points per reception (PPR).  That is simply not the case anymore.  However, wide receivers do get the opportunity to stretch the field in cases of the long bomb and based on their speed, breaking tackles for long gains. In non-PPR leagues, the case is slightly different in that you could likely wait a bit to draft a tight-end if you miss out on one of the top two or three until you have a good WR1, a good WR2 or even a good WR3, depending on the circumstances, on your roster.

The “Solution to Dilution” in the case of wide receivers and tight-ends is simple.  It is in line with the philosophy of making good, reasonable decisions in fantasy football. The Fantasy Greek has preached that you should treat tight-ends like all other receivers on fantasy football draft day. If one of the top tight-ends is on the draft board after the best, top wide-receivers have been drafted, it’s time to draft the tight-end.  The above also highlights the fact that after the top twenty receivers (including tight-ends), there will likely be a drop off in the quality of receivers left on your draft board.  This is really a function of the fact that modern football teams have so many offensive weapons these days that they are spreading the ball around among them, either by choice or by necessity.  Defenses transform as offenses transform.  So should we.  We should not be surprised that teams are looking to add personnel in their secondaries that can defend the pass to the tight-end position.  In the end, this should give wide receivers some more opportunities that they have been losing in recent seasons.

Still, acknowledge the importance of the tight-end position and proceed accordingly.

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