This two part article will view the depth of all 32 teams at the TE position. All of my articles are based on a twelve team league that starts one TE. If I list a player as TE I, he is one to twelve on my board and a fantasy starter. TE II, thirteen to twenty four, TE III, 25 to thirty six.

All of my position rankings will be ready by the end of July and will be changed accordingly.

I will also list each team’s TE’s in the order of projected fantasy scoring. For example, the New Orleans Saints, players will be listed in this way:

New Orleans, Jeremy Shockey, low TE I, Billy Miller

I project that Shockey will score the most fantasy points of the Saint TE’s listed, Miller the least of the two.

AFC East

Buffalo, Shawn Nelson, Derek Fine

Nelson, the Bills 4^th round choice from Southern Mississippi should win the starting job in camp. That means almost nothing for fantasy, the Bills completed about 50 passes for 500 yards and 2 scores to TE’s in 2008. Nelson will score a few fantasy points this year but any real value will come after he gains experience, he is 29 on the board and should only be selected in the deepest of leagues.

Miami, Anthony Fasano, low TE I, David Martin, high TE III

Fasano scored 7 touchdowns last year, although he is listed as a TE, he blocks very little and has a lot of value as a goal line receiver. He will not repeat his 7 scores as defenses will focus more on him, but is 11 on the board. Offensive coordinator Dan Henning uses him as he used Clint Didier in the mid 80’s when he was with the Redskins, Fasano will catch 35-40 passes and score three-5 touchdowns. Martin is a better blocker than Fasano and  25 on the board, in this TE friendly offense, both will score fantasy points.

New England, Ben Watson, low TE II, Alex Smith, Chris Baker

Watson is a great athlete but an average fantasy TE. He had six scores in Tom Brady’s record setting 2007. He scored just twice last year. He should rebound some and is 23 on the board but will share some receptions with former Buccaneer Alex Smith. Smith does not block well but has better than average speed for a TE, he is 44 on the board. Baker the former Jet has no fantasy value unless there is an injury to Watson or Smith.

Jets, Dustin Keller, low TE II, James Dearth

Keller could turn into a Pro Bowl TE eventually, but weak quarterbacking will hurt him over the course of this fantasy season, he is 20 on the board. There is something though that justifies his back up status, most rookie quarterbacks such as Mark Sanchez will throw a lot of high percentage passes to the TE. Keller, especially early in the season has some value.  . 

AFC North

Ravens, Todd Heap, low TE II, LJ Smith

Heap had a tremendous 2008 as far as blocking went but his days as an elite fantasy player have passed. He had just one game with 50 or more yards last season, against Houston, one of the weakest passes defenses in the NFL. Heap scored 2 of his three touchdowns in that game as well. Injuries have slowed him to the point where he is not a fantasy starter anymore. Smith, the former Eagle, 38 on the board, has been fighting a variety of aches and pains as well. Smith will score a couple of goal line touchdowns perhaps, but on a run heavy team such as the Ravens, the second TE has little fantasy value.

Bengals, Chase Coffman, low TE III, Ben Utecht, Reggie Kelly

Kelly, the best blocking TE in the game, probably will start but runs pass patterns rarely. Ben Utecht was brought in from the Colts to be a receiving TE, but caught just 16 passes and missed a half a dozen games in 2008. The Bengals have not thrown in years to the TE but the rookie Coffman could change all that. Although he will not be a starter opening day, he is 32 on the board. He has the pedigree to be an elite fantasy TE. His father Paul Coffman, also a TE, played in three Pro Bowls while with the Packers and scored 11 touchdowns in 1983. Chase Coffman will eventually in his career be a fantasy starter, he will score a few touchdowns this year and could provide value in some match ups later in the season after he grasps the offense better.

Browns, Marin Rucker, low TE III, Steve Heiden, Robert Royal

With Kellen Winslow being traded, there is a huge hole to be filled at TE in Cleveland. Heiden has scored some fantasy points and is in his 11^th season. Rucker, 34 on the board,  should win the starting spot and in deeper leagues has some match up value.

Steelers, Heath Miller, mid TE II, Matt Spaeth

Miller scored 7 touchdowns in 2007, mostly from goal line sets and was considered a viable starting fantasy TE, but failed last year to re produce those statistics, he is 19 on the board. You know what you get with him, always a possibility of scores from close in, but an average of no more than 35 yards a game. Spaeth only gains value if Miller is not able to play.

Houston, Owen Daniels, mid TE I, James Casey

Daniels, 7 on the board can be one of the most frustrating fantasy players to have on your roster. On the positive side, his receptions and yardage have risen every year he has been in the league, he had more yardage than Antonio Gates and Dallas Clark last year. On the downside, he scored just 2 touchdowns last season, and only three the year before. Also, he disappears some games, he had 2 games in which he had just one reception and 5 games where he was below thirty yards receiving. He deserves starting status because of his statistics over the course of the year but there will be weeks where he will score very little for you, just hope it is not a fantasy play off game.

Colts, Dallas Clark high TE I, Gijon Robinson

Clark caught 19 more passes in 2008 than 2007 and he played in the same amount of games. Peyton Manning threw 107 passes his way last year, he caught 77. Lining up in the slot gives him the ability to score more fantasy points than most TE’s. He is 4 on the board, but do not expect more than 7-eight touchdowns in 2009 as defenses will play him tighter near the goal line, especially if Marvin Harrison does not come back. The Colts second TE has provided some value in years past, Robinson, because of Manning has the capability to score a few touchdowns this season, also, because of Clark’s importance to the Colt offense, in case of injury, handcuff Robinson if you are in a deeper draft.  

Jaguars, Marcedes Lewis, low TE II, Greg Estandia

Lewis’ receptions and receiving yardage have gone up in each of his three years in the league. The Jaguars have never had an elite fantasy TE going back to their first year of play in 1995, and nothing will change that in 2009. Lewis could break 500 receiving yards in 2009, he had 489 in 2008, but 2-three scores is the most you can hope for, he is 25 on the board.

Tennessee, Bo Scaife, middle TE II, Alge Crumpler

Scaife has never caught more than 2 touchdowns in a season, but with Kerry Collins at quarterback his receptions improved in 2009. The Titans will run the same offense this year as last, expect 55-65 receptions, 500-six hundred yards, 2-three touchdowns, he is eighteen on the board. Crumpler has slowed some since his effective days in Atlanta, he is 47 on the board and only has value if Scaife is not able to play.

AFC West

Denver, Tony Scheffler, high TE III, Daniel Graham

Scheffler has the ability to be an elite fantasy TE, but new head coach Josh McDaniels offense calls for the TE to block more. With Graham the designated blocking TE, Scheffler may be on the bench more than not. Sheffler is twenty seven on the board, 40-fity receptions, 500-550 yards and a few touchdowns are reasonable expectations for him. Graham will line up in goal line situations , so there is always a chance for play action  touchdowns, he had 4 in 2008, but  he will hard pressed to reproduce those in 2009, he is 35 on the board.

Kansas City, Brad Cottam, low TE III, Tony Curtis

With the loss of Tony Gonzalez no team in the NFL will having a larger drop in TE production from 2008. They have no chance of reproducing his 1058 receiving yards and ten scores. Cottam, a second year player, should win the starting position but he is known more for blocking than receiving, he is thirty three on the board, because he is the probable starter, he carries some minimal value.  

Raiders, Zach Miller, mid TE I, Tony Stewart

This tells you how weak this year’s TE’s are on paper, Miller who scored just one touchdown in 2008 and has a below average quarterback in JaMarcus Russell is 8 on the board. Miller though, is considered to be the best young TE in the NFL and with 56 receptions for 778 yards in 2008 is easily the favorite receiver of Russell. The Raider offense should be better in 2009 and a large reason for that will be Miller being involved more in the offensive game plan. With Miller you should get 65-70 receptions, 800-900 yards, but you will be disappointed with just the 4-5 scores in 2009.