2008 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
by Michael Cooper
Radio Host
7/27/08


#1 Antonio Gates - He came into the league with Dallas Clark and Jason Witten and with 43 TD’s has almost as many as the two of them combined. Despite saying he’s only playing football (over his first love of basketball) for the money – He’s simply the best….

#2 Dallas Clark – Last year with 11 TD’s he established himself as the second best tight end in football.  Once again he has more career TD’s than Witten (25) and I expect him to break the 10 TD barrier again this year.

#3 Jason Witten – Last season Jason took a page out of the Jeremy Shockey book – “I don’t need no stinking helmet”. He scored 7 TD’s last year and with Tony Romo as his best friend, Witten is on his way to double-digit touchdowns this season.

#4 Kellen Winslow – Barring another injury he’s in position to blossom this year. He’s Derrick Anderson’s favorite target in clutch situations and should easily double his 5 TD performance from last season.

# 5 Jeremy Shockey - A return to greatness! This guy needed a change of scenery and some much needed New Orleans voodoo. He's got it and look for him to connect with Drew Brees who just so happens to like throwing to elite tight ends if you remember his days with #85 in San Diego.

#6 Heath Miller – All this guy does is average 6 TD’s a season. He’s always there, deep in the draft, the forgotten great tight end that just catches touchdowns.

#7 Chris Cooley - If you notice while listed as a tight end Cooley and Dallas Clark wear running back numbers because their teams consider them slot backs with the intention of catching the ball instead of blocking. Cooley has been the main cog in the Redskin offense and I don’t see that changing. I can’t list a guy with 27 TD’s in four years any lower than this.

#8 Todd Heap had a torn hamstring last season (ouch). Watch him carefully because if he’s healthy Heap is the #1 wide receiver on the Ravens team and, with Cam Cameron running this offense, the sky’s the limit for a healthy Heap.

#9 Vernon Davis - He was drafted to become the best tight end in football and with Mike Martz at the helm he might just do it.

#10 Tony Gonzalez – 66 career scores, more than anyone else who has ever played this position, but his best years are behind him. Expect no more than 5 TD’s this season – Sorry Paul, you’re living in the past making him your #3!!!

#11 Benjamin Watson – It’s hard keeping this guy out of the top ten.  This may be his best year yet and he may rise on my list before September.  Wait untill you hear what Belichick says about him on The Football Expert Radio Show.

#12 Ben Utecht - He has only 3 TD’s in his career but with a change of scenery moving from Indy to Cinncy, I look for a breakout year as his numbers will look more like Dallas Clark’s with Carson Palmer zeroing in on him.

#13 Donald Lee - This guy came out of nowhere last season with 6 TD’s for the Packers. With a new contract, Lee has cemented himself as the #1 tight end on this powerful passing team. Of course, the big question is can the new pilot get the ball to him?  

#14 Greg Olsen  - I just had to put him here – Grossman doesn’t have anybody else to throw to besides Desmond Clark who I think takes a backseat to the highly paid future star this season.

#15 Tony Scheffler - Tony is going to have a monster year with Brandon Marshall’s off field troubles; making him even more important to Denver’s offense and you can’t ignore 9 touchdowns in his first two seasons!

#16 Leonard Pope - The NFL’s tallest tight end who caught 5 TD’s last season. I see this guy just getting better and better as he enters his third season. Just like Ben Watson, this kid is out of the University of Georgia and is the biggest target in the NFL for whoever quarterbacks that team.
.
#17 Alge Crumpler - I worry that this guy has lost his legs and that it seemed the only team showing any interest in him was Tennessee but, with that said, he still has 35 career TD’s and Vince doesn’t have another receiver I can name.

#18 L .J. Smith – As a prime option for Donovon McNabb he should be higher on this list but, after 5 seasons, this guy only averages 3 TD’s a season and he can’t stay healthy.

#19 John Carlson - In 16 seasons as an NFL head coach Mike Holmgren has never started a rookie tight end until now – Nuff Said.

#20 Two way tie:

Owen Daniels has 8 TD's in just two seasons and he’s another guy that will probably rise on my list by September.

Randy McMichael - with the Rams he’s got the talent but just how bad is his team?