Fantasy football: Spotting the next great tight end

Tuesday August 4, 2009 7:24 PM By Ryan Chatelain

Life is all about options.

For instance, I wouldn’t normally buy chicken nuggets out of an office vending machine. But when the other choices are bland energy bars and economy-size packs of Twizzlers, I’ll roll the dice on some poultry jerky every time.

Believe it or not, similar thinking applies to NFL tight ends.

Ask yourself this: What do the top fantasy football tight ends – Dallas’ Jason Witten, San Diego’s Antonio Gates and Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez -- all have in common?

Their offenses have no more than one top-flight wide receiver, meaning their quarterbacks have little choice but to use their tight ends as No. 1 or No. 2 options in the passing game. 

When evaluating this year’s class of tight ends — especially when trying to identify some breakout candidates — it’s important to first look at the wide receivers on their teams.

Here are a few tight ends who are in ideal situations to thrive this season:

Greg Olsen, Chicago
If the regular season began today, the Bears’ starting wideouts would be Devin Hester, a former defensive back still learning to play receiver, and Earl Bennett, who has never caught a pass in the NFL. New Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who leaned on his tight ends in Denver, should quickly learn that Olsen is his most reliable option.

John Carlson, Seattle
The Seahawks reeled in a big fish in free agency with wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who is expected to be quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck’s new go-to guy. However, No. 2 wideout Deion Branch has never had a 1,000-yard season and can’t seem to stay healthy, likely paving the way for a big year from Carlson, who was the seventh highest scoring fantasy tight end as a rookie in 2008.

Dustin Keller, N.Y. Jets
Wide receiver Laveranues Coles signed with Cincinnati, leaving Jerricho Cotchery as the Jets’ top receiver. The candidates to start opposite Cotchery are an unimpressive group of inexperienced players – Chansi Stuckey, Brad Smith and David Clowney. Reports out of Jets spring practices indicated that Keller was clearly Gang Green’s best receiver.

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Some tight ends facing stiff competition for targets:

Heath Miller, Pittsburgh
The Steelers’ Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes account for one of the league’s better wide receiver duos.

Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesot
Bernard Berrian is entrenched as the No. 1 wideout, and Vikings coach Brad Childress has fallen in love with rookie Percy Harvin.

Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans
The Saints have too many strong receiving options – including Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Reggie Bush – for Shockey to post elite stats.