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Rookie Tight Ends: Worth the Wait?

Posted Jan. 28 at 06:26 AM

The season is long since over for most fantasy owners, but at least those in keeper leagues can look ahead to their annual rookie drafts. Owners will be looking at running backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks, of course, and -- based on recent history -- can also find immediate help at kicker, with Green Bay's Mason Crosby and Dallas' Nick Folk two of the league's top scorers at their position in their rookie seasons.

In contrast, it makes sense for those looking for immediate contributions to avoid the tight end position altogether. Over the last 10 years, only two (Jeremy Shockey and Cameron Cleeland) of the 45 tight ends taken in the first three rounds of the draft have managed even 500 receiving yards as rookies, and only three (Cleeland, Chris Cooley and Heath Miller) have scored even 5 TDs. Unless you're prepared to wait 2-3 years, look elsewhere on draft day. The rookie numbers from those first-day picks are presented below.

Year - Player, Team - Rec - Yds - TDs
2007 - Greg Olsen, Bears - 39 - 391 - 2
2007 - Zach Miller, Raiders - 44 - 444 - 3
2007- Matt Spaeth, Steelers - 5 - 34 - 3
2006 - Vernon Davis, 49ers - 20 - 265 - 3
2006 - Marcedes Lewis, Jaguars - 13 - 126 - 1
2006 - Tony Scheffler, Broncos - 18 - 286 - 4
2006 - Joe Klopfenstein, Rams - 20 - 226 - 1
2006 - Anthony Fasano, Cowboys - 14 - 126 - 0
2005 - Heath Miller, Steelers - 39 - 459 - 6
2005 - Alex Smith, Bucs - 41 - 367 - 2
2005 - Kevin Everett, Bills - 0 - 0 - 0
2004 - Kellen Winslow, Browns - 5 - 50 - 0
2004 - Ben Watson, Patriots - 2 - 16 - 0
2004 - Ben Troupe, Titans - 33 - 329 - 1
2004 - Kris Wilson, Kansas City - 0 - 0 - 0
2004 - Ben Hartsock, Colts - 4 - 33 - 0
2004 - Chris Cooley, Washington - 37 - 314 - 6
2003 - Dallas Clark, Colts - 29 - 340 - 1
2003 - L.J. Smith, Eagles - 27 - 321 - 1
2003 - Teyo Johnson, Raiders - 14 - 128 - 1
2003 - Bennie Joppru, Texans - 0 - 0 - 0
2003 - Jason Witten, Cowboys - 35 - 347 - 1
2003 - Mike Seidman, Panthers - 5 - 35 - 0
2003 - Visanthe Shiancoe, Giants - 10 - 56 - 2
2002 - Jeremy Shockey, Giants - 74 - 894 - 2
2002 - Daniel Graham, Patriots - 15 - 150 - 1
2002 - Jerramy Stevens, Seahawks - 26 - 252 - 3
2002 - Doug Jolley, Raiders - 32 - 409 - 2
2002 - Matt Schobel, Bengals - 27 - 212 - 2
2002 - Chris Baker, Jets - 2 - 14 - 0
2001 - Todd Heap, Ravens - 16 - 206 - 1
2001 - Alge Crumpler, Falcons - 25 - 330 - 3
2001 - Sean Brewer, Bengals - 0 - 0 - 0
2001 - Shad Meier, Titans - 3 - 31 - 0
2000 - Bubba Franks, Packers - 34 - 363 - 1
2000 - Anthony Becht, Jets - 16 - 144 - 2
2000 - Erron Kinney, Titans - 19 - 197 - 1
2000 - Dustin Lyman, Bears - 1 - 4 - 0
1999 - Reggie Kelly, Falcons - 8 - 146 - 0
1999 - Jim Kleinsasser, Vikings - 6 - 13 - 0
1999 - Steve Heiden, Chargers - 0 - 0 - 0
1999 - Dan Campbell, Giants - 0 - 0 - 0
1998 - Cameron Cleeland, Saints - 54 - 684 - 6
1998 - Stephen Alexander, Washington - 37 - 383 - 4
1998 - Rod Rutledge, Patriots - 0 - 0 - 0

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