Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Kyle Smith       

- Edited by Marc Caviglia     

The Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs featured some surprisingly good performances by tight ends, including the reappearance of Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels. This weekend, things should ratchet up a notch as two of the top three fantasy football scorers at the position begin their postseason runs. Let’s take a look at how things will play out this week.

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 9, 2013::

 
1. Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots) vs. Houston

After a five-week absence, Gronk returned in Week 17, and though he only caught two passes, they went for 42 yards and a touchdown. He is far and away the most impactful fantasy performer among tight ends, finishing second at the position in fantasy points despite playing just 11 games. Gronkowski’s talent and Houston’s difficulties covering tight ends could mean a huge game for the third-year pro.
Point Projection: 15 points

2. Aaron Hernandez (New England Patriots) vs. Houston

Due to injuries, Hernandez and Gronkowski only played together in three games this season. Yet Hernandez did have a pair of touchdowns in those contests, and he’s a valuable fantasy commodity whether Gronk is on the field with him or not. Hernandez has the same benefit as his more heralded teammate this week in terms of match-up, which should lead to each delivering for fantasy owners.
Point Projection: 10 points

3. Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Seattle

Gonzalez finished the season ranked third in fantasy scoring among tight ends, which is a solid accomplishment considering his advanced football age. He didn’t register as many yards in the season’s second half as he did in the first, yet did score half of his eight touchdowns from Week 10 on. Seattle is by no means a monster against tight ends, and he could see even more targets than usual because the Seahawks’ big corners match up well with the Falcons’ wideouts.
Point Projection: 10 points

4. Dennis Pitta (Baltimore Ravens) @ Denver

Pitta caught a pair of passes for 21 yards and a touchdown for the Ravens during their win against the Colts last week. That performance continued a late-season surge by Pitta, who wound up seventh in fantasy scoring at his position. He should do well this week against a Broncos squad who allowed more fantasy points to tight ends than all but one other team this season.
Point Projection: 9 points

5. Owen Daniels (Houston Texans) @ New England

Daniels had been worthless from Weeks 13-17, failing to accumulate more than four fantasy points in a game during that time. He was struggling from some injury problems, which may have accounted for his troubles, but whatever was ailing him seems to have dissipated, because last week he reversed course and led the Texans with nine catches and 91 yards in their win over the Bengals. Daniels had just two catches for 24 yards when the Texans and Patriots met earlier in the regular season, but New England remains a good match-up for him and we expect more production this time around.
Point Projection: 7 points

6. Jermichael Finley (Green Bay Packers) @ San Francisco

Finley’s solid play down the stretch during the regular season didn’t transfer into the playoffs, as he had only a single catch for 10 yards. A minor hamstring issue may have been a factor, but he’s said to be healthy now. For whatever it’s worth, Finley did catch one of two touchdowns this season against the 49ers in Week 1, and also had seven receptions in that game. We don’t put too much stock in that though, because he basically fell off the tight end map after that.
Point Projection: 4 points

7. Zach Miller (Seattle Seahawks) @ Atlanta

Miller led the Seahawks with 48 yards on four receptions during their win over the Redskins last week. During the regular season he had only one game with more yards, and one game with more catches, which tells us a lot about his fantasy value – very little.
Point Projection: 3 points

8. Delanie Walker (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Green Bay

Walker caught just 21 passes this year, but had more fantasy points than teammate Vernon Davis in all but one game from Weeks 12-17. His fantasy value remains low, however, because the threat of Davis still lurks, and because the Packers gave up the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends during the regular season.
Point Projection: 3 points

9. Jacob Tamme (Denver Broncos) vs. Baltimore

Tamme had a highly disappointing regular season, as many fantasy owners expected him to thrive with Peyton Manning. That didn’t happen, and Tamme finished with fewer fantasy points than the likes of Ben Watson this year. He has next to no fantasy value against a Ravens team that allowed fewer fantasy points to tight ends than any other squad this season.
Point Projection: 2 points

10. Joel Dreessen (Denver Broncos) vs. Baltimore

Like his aforementioned teammate, Dreessen has to face a Baltimore team that mostly destroys tight ends. And like his teammate, the little fantasy value that he had gets ruined because of it. There is no reason to use Dreesen this week.
Point Projection: 1 point

11. Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Green Bay

Davis was a colossal bust for fantasy owners this year, and from Week 4 on, had more than three fantasy points in a game just twice. He had four total points from Weeks 12-17, and though he’s certainly capable of putting up good numbers, we simply haven’t seen it this year and there’s no reason to think he’ll suddenly revert to the Vernon Davis fantasy owners expected in their drafts.
Point Projection: 1 point

DIVISIONAL ROUND RANKINGS:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF  (click to view)