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A tight end by many fantasy owners is over looked. Keying in on high valuable position players such as quarterback, running back, and wide receiver is the bulk of a successful draft and season. The cream of the crop at the top of leagues though typically have a narrow gap of separation points wise. You need to have success at the tight end, defense, kicker, and flex positions in order to hoist your league trophy and money league prize. In order to do that you need to be thinking of a tight end plan, especially if you do not plan on getting a top tier one.

Here is an early look at the rankings of tight ends. Stay tuned for updates throughout the preseason and regular season.

1. Jimmy Graham- The Saints do keep marching in, with Drew Brees and monster tight end Jimmy Graham.
2. Jason Witten- The Cowboys have had issues year after year building a winning team. Witten has not been one of those issues.
3. Rob Gronkowski- You have to hope all the hoopla surrounding Gronkowski’s injuries will be erased and his play on the field will speak for itself once again.
4. Tony Gonzalez- The Falcons pursued Gonzalez to come back, and why not? He seems to have plenty left in the tank, and would have likely regretted watching a powerful Falcons team return in 2013.
5. Kyle Rudolph- I like how Christian Ponder developed last year. He still had his woes and may be a game manager, but the Vikings do not need him to be superman. He is about eight feet behind him already in the backfield. Rudolph should post similar numbers and will be there a round or two after the top four tight ends go. He is a valuable tier two tight end If you can get him.
6. Vernon Davis
7. Greg Olsen
8. Owen Daniels
9. Antonio Gates
10. Jermaine Gresham
11. Brandon Pettigrew
12. Ed Dickson
13. Jermichael Finley
14. Heath Miller
15. Jared Cook
16. Dustin Keller
17. Fred Davis
18. Jake Ballard
19. Coby Fleener
20. Delanie Walker
21. Martellus Bennett
22. Dwayne Allen
23. Scott Chandler
24. Kellen Winslow Jr
25. Rob Housler
26. Visanthe Shiancoe

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The spike and rise of offenses in the NFL involving their tight ends as focal points has seen a large shift of use over the past few years. We know about the Jimmy Graham’s, Rob Gronkowski’s, Jason Witten’s, and Tony Gonzalez’s of the first tier automatics. One can argue that as teams have platooned out their running backfields the same has happened at tight end.

Teams have an arsenal at their disposal when it comes to a tight end, and they can use them for an array of situations. The big down playmaker tight end is there, along with the short yardage tight end that can block for pass protection. Mixing the two together forms that added advantage to an offense. While the scale of high fantasy numbers won’t come close to the yardage and touchdowns of the first tier tight ends, you can land yourself a solid six to twelve fantasy points with the depth that is now at the entire tight end position in football.

There were plenty of moves in offseason at tight end and though none are expected to fly off the board in your drafts, drafting an appropriate tight end can be all the difference in squeezing out a win or a loss.

1. Jared Cook
Cook has always had the skill set that’s impressed people. For Cook though I believe it was more of an situational issue with the Tennessee Titans. The Titans offense never found itself with poor play from Jake Locker and CJ2K’s decline. Reuniting with Jeff Fisher and an offense that has weapons should put Cook in a decent TE2 with a possibility of spot starts.

2. Dustin Keller-
Miami did a lot of investing on the defensive side of the football and with Mike Wallace’s contract. Tannehill will have a safety net with Keller, but will Tannehill have enough time to throw the football with a revamped offensive line? Keller did enough as a Jet with the worst quarterback in Mark Sanchez, so that’s why I rank him second of new tight ends in new places.

3. Delanie Walker-
If Vernon Davis had went down to injury at any point, Walker would have been a fine fill in. A lot of Walker’s success came with Alex Smith, who had issues targeting and finding a number one wide receiver as a 49er. That was partly due to the toned down pass plays the 49ers had in place for Smith. Walker possibly fed off of Davis more than anything. Landing in Tennessee could be a big problem for Walker if Locker does not show any advancements on the field.

4. Martellus Bennett-
Bennett looks like a great signing but I’m going to categorize him as a one year wonder for now. He had opportunities his entire career, and finally had a break through as a New York Giant a year ago. I believe teams did not see Bennett as a threat and that’s how he snuck back on the fantasy radar a year ago. Chicago has an offensive minded coach now, and if Bennett struggles I would not be surprised for him to see limited snaps.

5. Brandon Myers-
I may have Myers rated too low in this ranking out of anybody listed so far. In actuality the difference statistically from Cook to Myers thus far should not be much of a difference between a tenth and twelth round pick. Myers shined last year as Raider, which was a team that produced for fantasy owners late in games when behind. As a Giant, Myers automatically steps in to a great situation.

6. Kellen Winslow Jr-
This is the last hooray for Winslow to showcase whatever he has left. His years as a Cleveland Brown seem far distant, before he washed out as a Buccaneer. The Jets are going to give him every opportunity to produce again. If he has came back to full health, Winslow Jr could be a backup tight end in deeper fantasy leagues.
7. Anthony Fasano-
Fasano is on the far backside of his tight end career. But over the years Andy Reid has always been one to have an off balance when it comes to percentages of the run game to pass game. Kansas City is expected to be balanced with Alex Smith and a quarterback friendly game plan. That alone could give Fasano a breakout game or two during 2013. His value is not worth drafting at this time.

8. Visanthe Shiancoe-
This was an emergency veteran signing by the Baltimore Ravens when their young stud Dennis Pitta went down. Schiancoe was non-existent on the fantasy radar last season because he did absolutely nothing. A resurrection at age 33 would be a huge shock. Baltimore signed him for a reason though, and New England has been a destination that has limited careers before. Two years ago in his last season as a Viking, Schiancoe had just 400 yards receiving with and just a few scores. One highlight for Schiancoe is that Joe Flacco loves to get the ball to his tight ends.

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Bye Weeks: Detroit, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Oakland

Who will be the big play wide receivers in week five? Atlanta has shown to have the best duo at wide receiver. A big reason for that is because of Hakeem Nicks injury woes. Denver though is quietly having a tandem of their own succeed in Eric Decker and DeMaryius Thomas.

Will Greg Jennings get back on the field soon enough to get the Packers passing attack back in the top ranks? That remains to be seen but here are week five’s wide receiver rankings based on matchups.

1. Roddy White
2. AJ Green
3. Larry Fitzgerald
4. Andre Johnson
5. DeMaryius Thomas
6. Brandon Marshall
7. Jordy Nelson
8. DeSean Jackson
9. Torrey Smith
10. Victor Cruz
11. Wes Welker
12. Julio Jones
13. Mike Wallace
14. Eric Decker
15. Michael Crabtree
16. Anquan Boldin
17. Dwayne Bowe
18. Steve Smith
19. Reggie Wayne
20. Antonio Brown
21. Brandon Lloyd
22. Pierre Garcon
23. Marques Colston
24. Brian Hartline
25. Percy Harvin
26. Justin Blackmon
27. Sidney Rice
28. Danny Amendola
29. Malcolm Floyd
30. Ramses Barden
31. James Jones
32. Jeremy Maclin
33. Lance Moore
34. Alshon Jeffrey
35. Leonard Hankerson
36. Davone Bess
37. Kevin Walter
38. Andre Roberts
39. Nate Washington
40. Brandon Lafell
41. Andrew Hawkins
42. Greg Little
43. Donnie Avery
44. Jerome Simpson
45. Randy Moss
46. Chaz Schilens
47. Robert Meachem
48. Donald Jones
49. Jon Baldwin
50. Kendall Wright

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Hut, hut, when that quarterback receives the hike, he is not turning to hand that football off as much as ten years ago. It’s a fast past league now, and in order to do that successfully with points on the board, it needs to come through the air. Here is the first installment of wide receiver rankings heading into the last week of preseason.

1. Calvin Johnson- Speed, height, freakish athleticism, and can out jump anyone in the secondary. Randy Moss when he had Randall Cunningham, except Johnson possesses better ability in crowds to corral the football.

2. Larry Fitzgerald- People want to lower his ranking based on the Cardinals quarterback situation. Just look at Fitz’s last two seasons and he still has flourished with poor quarterbacks. John Skelton and Kevin Kolb both performed last year. Whoever wins the job is going to perform better than a year ago. Fitz is the hardest working player in the game, and will continue to produce no matter who is throwing the football.

3. Brandon Marshall- Awfully high you say. Marshall has had the quietest off-season in recent memory. No antics in practice, selfish pouting, or off the field issues. He is revived with his old quarterback, and on an offense that should be potent. Behind Johnson, Marshall is the best height to speed receiver in the league. His Pro Bowl performance was not a fluke, and he will be targeted by Jay Cutler early and often.

4. Roddy White- Everyone is talking about last years quarterback class and this year quarterback class. Refocus back to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan. Both seem ready to bust out the gate and have career years. Why not? Roddy White is an outstanding receiver. With Ryan gaining confidence White could have a Victor Cruz type of year from 2011.

5. Steve Smith- Too high again you may think. Smith is the Hines Ward of receivers nowadays. He has the tenacity and toughness and is just a competitor on every play. Cam Newton is going to progress and that means more deep balls to Smith. He will shine in consecutive years with Newton.

6. AJ Green- Last year in the beginning of the season everyone was wowed by Andy Dalton’s readiness for the NFL. The pinpoint answer to that was AJ Green. He got behind teams secondaries with such ease that even Tim Tebow could of hit him. With an off-season to sharpen his route running and add some weight to his frame, Green should be a gold mine for fantasy owners once again.

7. Andre Johnson- It’s always worrisome when an athlete starts a trend with injuries. Will they go away? Johnson would likely be ranked second if it were not for his history. Even if he plays twelve to thirteen games he has the capability of putting together a top fifteen fantasy season. Houston is a team that’s primed to supplant the New England Patriots. In order to do so they’ll need Johnson all season.

8. Eric Decker- He is just the perfect type of receiver for Peyton Manning. Last year reports were that Decker was shining in practice. With the Tebow offense of a year ago, DeMaryius Thomas was the main guy because of his height. Quick throws were easy for him to corral in, and risky throws were to his advantage as well with his size. Decker though can run the type of routes that meshes with veteran Peyton Manning. Connections with Manning have always produced great fantasy seasons. Marvin Harrison, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, etc. The type of preseason Decker has had it’s a no brainer that it will continue in the regular season.

9. Torrey Smith- I profiled in an article a few weeks ago that Joe Flacco is ready for his breakout season. Lets face it, the Baltimore passing offense has been pedestrian every season. There one of the few teams that likes to run the ball continuously and rely on their defense. Their defense is aging and the Ravens know come playoff time, they’re going to need to score points to advance. Even with Baltimore’s toned down offense it still has been fantasy friendly for receivers. Imagine this season with more targets his way what Smith is going to do.

10. Wes Welker- Brandon Lloyd is going to hurt Welker’s value a bunch. Josh McDaniels has a chemistry with Lloyd and that will transfer over to play calling and on the field results. Not to mention that Tom Brady is going to continue eyeballing his dynamic tight end duo. Expect for Welker to be a high yardage guy and low touchdown performer ala Keenan McCardell. He is ranked this high now based on last season and not going to crazy on lowering him. I expect him to be a high teen receiver by the end of the season.

11. Jordy Nelson
12. DeSean Jackson
13. Hakeem Nicks
14. Greg Jennings
15. Victor Cruz
16. Stevie Johnson
17. Mike Wallace
18. Julio Jones
19. Dez Bryant
20. Marques Colston
21. Dwayne Bowe
22. Vincent Jackson
23. Justin Blackmon
24. Jeremy Maclin
25. Reggie Wayne
26. Anquan Boldin
27. Brandon Lloyd
28. Antonio Brown
29. Miles Austin
30. Percy Harvin
31. Santonio Holmes
32. Kenny Britt
33. Darrius Heyward-Bey
34. Michael Crabtree
35. Malcolm Floyd
36. Davone Bess
37. Lance Moore
38. Mike Williams
39. Pierre Garcon
40. Sidney Rice
41. Santana Moss
42. Robert Meachem
43. Randy Moss
44. Brandon Lafell
45. Demaryius Thomas
46. Kendall Wright
47. David Nelson
48. Titus Young
49. James Jones
50. Nate Washington
51. Austin Collie
52. Jonathan Baldwin
53. Stephen Hill
54. Greg Little
55. Laurent Robinson
56. Danny Amendola
57. Denarius Moore
58. Nate Burleson
59. Michael Floyd
60. Brian Hartline

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If you own a police scanner in the NFL off-season you can roam the frequencies and like catching a fish you’re bound to hear about an NFL player getting arrested. Years ago media outlets would drag out initial reports on just about any athlete. Now it’s usually just a headline flasher and quick part of the news and notes segment.

It’s too common these days and NFL teams typically have run out of patience with athletes and arrests. Roger Goodell has a strict policy in place, and teams have clauses to protect themselves now. In certain instances though, athletes with high potential still outweigh waiting for the athlete to stack more newsworthy issues or live out his contract.

Dallas of the 1990’s know all too well about off the field issues with players. The organization took a proactive route and told Bryant not only do we employ you at the practice facilities, but were going to enlist a set of rules for you to abide to off the field. No more saying if you’re in an instance and need help, here is an immediate contact number. Bryant’s shown that he is still immature and needs the guidance of the organization to prevent him from straying into trouble.

The list of things Dallas has put into place is not abnormal. Rules such as not going to strip clubs or clubs is promoted by head coaches especially in training camp. Young athletes that think they’re invincible though and can not avoid their old friends egging them on, are going to continually get themselves put in ominous positions. The area that lets Cowboys fans know that Dallas is backing Bryant is by having full time security surround him.

Security is often looked at as preventing danger in front of bevies of people. The three security staff members that will surround Bryant though will do much more than that. They’ll develop a bond with Bryant and partake in many conversations with Bryant. Over time this will be more beneficial than any of the team rules listed on Bryant. The support of those guys around him all the time should finally develop the maturity people are seeking from Bryant.

Barring injury, this type of news boosts Bryant’s fantasy worth. Miles Austin’s hamstrings are red flags of an ongoing issue that will either limit his production or eventually cause him to miss more time in the regular season. Dallas is not going to slow down it’s passing game, and Bryant will be the main threat that benefits from this. His physical tools and youth are the reasons why he is still sporting a Cowboys uniform, and not on his way to the Cincinnati Bengals.

By Zack Cimini

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The preseason is mainly a gauge for the team to analyze depth and workout kinks on the offense and defensive side of the football. While holes filled in special teams and proper depth position is an annual routine, there is another area coaches are looking to develop. Drafted rookies usually get a high percentage of looks and opportunities. Confidence in the preseason from rookies often will carry over to the regular season.

Cardinals rookie wide receiver Michael Floyd is not necessarily lighting up the statistics. In the hall of fame game he caught one ball for fifteen yards, followed up by week one of the preseason with a catch for three yards, zero catches week two, and last night two catches for sixteen yards. Fellow rookies, Kendall Wright and Justin Blackmon on the other hand have had high success and look much more ready to have a fantasy impact out the gate.

Fantasy owners are having a hard enough time figuring out where to rank Larry Fitzgerald in standard drafts, and how much to bid on him in auction drafts. Fitz has put up statistics though throughout his career with Max Hall, Matt Leinart, and both Skelton and Kolb. His statistics actually jumped with Skelton over Kolb last season, but both will get him the football.

A bright side to the fact that Floyd has had dismal preseason numbers is a breakdown of the Cardinals embarrassing quarterback battle. Before Kolb’s performance last night, neither Skelton or Kolb had thrown over the mid 30’s for yardage in the preseason. That’s correct, and this is coming from two guys competing for a starting job. You might not find another team in the NFL that’s had these type of preseason performances just with their backup quarterbacks.

There were some good things pointed out by the ESPN crew on what the Cardinals can do to move forward with the offense. Kevin Kolb is use to the quick pace from when he was in Houston. When Arizona used the hurry up offense he seemed to have a better grasp of the offense, and the team as a whole responded better. It may be just what he needs to get out of the funk he is in.

The Cardinals are going to have to announce the starter here in the next three to five days. Skelton was the favorite going into week three’s preseason game, but Kolb did outperform him Thursday. This could be a hot potato affair which Cardinals fans have become accustomed to since the Kurt Warner days.

That spells trouble for rookie Michael Floyd. If the Cardinals have any success offensively it will likely come through the ground attack. Touchdowns thrown through the air will be gobbled up by Larry Fitzgerald. Expecting either Kolb or Skelton to throw over twenty touchdowns even with sixteen games as a starter would be exceeding expectations.

Those hoping for Floyd to be a rookie sleeper better look the other way at Kendall Wright and Justin Blackmon. Floyd will have the worst numbers of the three, and should not be on any fantasy roster this season. Larry Fitzgerald is the only one worth eyeing, unless Kevin Kolb shows back to back games like his three games in Philadelphia than. Rookies like Floyd may scatter and tease you with a game or two here and there. The inconsistencies and headaches of knowing when that will occur will drive an owner crazy. Spare yourself.