TEs Week 4: Anthony Fasano is in the top 5…
Okay, I know who Anthony Fasano is, but some of you may not. As a fan of Notre Dame, I was upset when the Irish alum was chosen by the Cowboys in the draft. With Witten there, he’d never have a chance to be the main guy. When he ended up in Miami, I assumed his fantasy career would be all but dead.
The arrival of droopy-armed Chad Pennington has resurrected Fasano. I just got him off waivers in one of my leagues, and I’m fairly excited about his potential.
Fasano’s performance was unexpected, but his name isn’t the only surprising one among the top 10 fantasy tight ends so far this season.
Guys like Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez are at the top, but the rest of the top 10 is more of a Who’s-That than a Who’s-Who of NFL tight ends.
Following is a list of the top 10 fantasy tight ends based on standard scoring (scoring + performance, no PPR):
| Rank | Player | Team | Statistics (Rec-Yards-TDs) |
| 1. | Jason Witten | Cowboys | 27-363-1 |
| 2. | Antonio Gates | Chargers | 15-205-3 |
| 3. | Tony Scheffler | Broncos | 12-194-2 |
| 4. | Tony Gonzalez | Chiefs | 18-176-2 |
| 5. | Anthony Fasano | Dolphins | 11-150-2 |
| 6. | Bo Scaife | Titans | 13-154-1 |
| 7. | Kellen Winslow | Browns | 19-170-1 |
| 8. | Zach Miller | Raiders | 11-153-1 |
| 9. | Dustin Keller | Jets | 6-84-2 |
| 10. | Dante Rosario | Panthers | 12-138-1 |
Unlike with the wide receivers, adding PPR does switch out a couple players. Miller moves to 11th and Keller drops down quite a bit. They are replaced by the Redskins’ Chris Cooley and the Texans’ Owen Daniels. Cooley has 17 catches and 179 yards, Daniels has 14 for 191. Neither player has a touchdown.
Cooley was a top 10 guy coming in. So were Witten, Gates, Gonzalez, Scheffler, Winslow and maybe Miller and Daniels depending on your rankings. However, there are four names that are significant surprises.
I’ve already gone into why Fasano’s a surprise, so I’ll delve into Scaife, Keller and Rosario.
Scaife is one of those fantasy players that has been labeled breakout for years, but all he’s done is stumble. Keller is a rookie that is taking advantage of a spot normally occupied by Chris Baker. Rosario is a backup in Carolina, plain and simple.
Now it’s time to read between the lines of that chart:
- Please do not go after Rosario. He is still a backup and his spot in the Top 10 (he’s also tenth on the PPR list) is dictated by his huge opening game of the season. Seven catches, 96 yards and a touchdown will do that.
- It’s early in the season, that’s a big part of the reason why these lists are a little skewed, but it’s no stretch to think Fasano, Scaife, Miller and Keller will continue to have success this season.
- Fasano is a short option for Pennington, who will continue to use him a lot.
- I’m certain Kerry Collins will continue to dump it to Scaife when he gets in trouble. Vince Young has already shown he’s likes tossing to Scaife (6 Rec. for 105 yards in Week 1), so he may even be a better play when Young gets back.
- Miller, like Fasano and Scaife, is a good security blanket for Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell. Russell still doesn’t have a full 16 starts under his belt and young quarterbacks will tend to check down to the tight end. Miller seems to be getting open on that last checkdown. He had 4 catches in Week 1, then hauled in 5 last week. That 5-catch haul included a 63-yard TD pass.
- Baker is still getting points, but Keller’s 2 TDs make me think he’s Favre’s guy right now. He and Baker each only have 6 catches, which is worrisome, but Keller had 4 of those in one game. He also is averaging 14 yards per catch. There are worse tight ends to take a chance on right now.
Which tight end did you steal off the waiver wire? Who’s going to outseat your drafted starter? Let us know in the comments.
All the Top 10s have been interesting so far, we’ve already had a look at the QBs, RBs and WRs, and the kickers and defenses are on their way.
