2010 Fantasy Football Preview – Top Tight Ends

No position, in any sport, has seen more change and evolution in recent years than the tight end position in football. In todays NFL the tight ends are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before.

You don’t have to look any further than fantasy football to see that the evolution took another huge step in 2009. The 32 starting tight ends scored a combined 3465 fantasy points in 2008. Last season that number jumped to an all time high of 3885 fantasy points.

Tony Gonzalez – Lean, Mean, Scoring Machine

The inspiration for the stud tight ends we draft today comes from the Godfather of tight ends – Tony Gonzalez. Gonzo was a fantasy scoring machine before tight end fantasy scoring was cool.

Since the 2001 season Gonzalez has amassed and amazing 1,971 fantasy points. His lowest point total in that span was 182 points during the 2002 season. His contribution to the TE position is even more remarkable when you consider he is just 376 fantasy points behind Randy Moss.

Even though he won’t catch Moss, Gonzalez is blazing a path straight to the Hall Of Fame and has been a pioneer of the game.

2010 Fantasy Tight Ends – Experienced Studs

Some of the best tight ends the game has ever seen are playing in their prime right now. Colts Dallas Clark led all tight ends in 2009 with the highest fantasy TE total this decade at 272 points. After his public flogging, by Head Coach Mike Singletary, late in the 2008 season Vernon Davis got the message and busted out for a career high 253 fantasy points during the 2009 season.

Super Charger Antonio Gates has struggled with injuries over the past couple of years but has scored more points than any other tight end over the past six years. His 1,379 points includes a stellar 243 fantasy points during the 2009 season.

Cowboys TE Jason Witten has also been hit by the injury bug over the last couple of years. It’s easy to understand because Witten is fearless going over the middle and never avoids a hit. Witten has posted 200 or more fantasy points in each of the last three seasons

Don’t forget about the Redskins Chris Cooley and Texans Owen Daniels. They were both off to huge starts in 2009 before their seasons were cut short half way through with injuries. If healthy, they will both score over 200 fantasy points during the 2010 season.

New Breed Tight Ends – Young Guns Set To Shine

While the experienced core of NFL tight ends continue to put up extraordinary numbers, there is a group of younger, stronger and faster players who have already made their mark.

The Packers Jermichael Finley, the Eagles Brent Celek, the Vikings Visanthe Shiancoe and the Raiders Zach Miller are the next wave of stud Fantasy tight ends.

The 2010 crop of tight ends is very rich in talent and plentiful in numbers. Any of the studs listed above will enhance your fantasy team during the 2010 fantasy football season. You should however remember that because the talent pool is so deep, there is no reason to reach for a TE early in your 2010 fantasy draft.