Can Brent Celek Bounce Back?
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Brent Celek caught just 42 passes for 511 yards and four touchdowns. Rather disappointing numbers for a fourth-year tight end coming off a 76 catch, 971 yard, eight touchdown season. Considering Michael Vick’s primary target in his Atlanta days was tight end Alge Crumpler, the disappointment is compounded.
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Celek led the team in receptions in 2009 and was second to DeSean Jackson’s 117 targets with 112 of his own. Last year Celek finished fifth in receptions and yards and fourth with just 78 targets.
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The scary thing is Celek’s season would have been a whole lot worse if he did not catch 23.8 percent of his passes (ten) for 18.9 percent of his yards (97) in Week 16 against the Vikings. Through the first 14 games he averaged 29.6 yards. Celek only had five quality fantasy performances on the year.
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There are plenty of reasons for the decline. He did set the bar pretty high in 2009. He dealt with nagging injuries. The Eagles offense focused more on the big plays. Celek stayed in to block much more frequently than he did in 2009. Plus his hands weren’t nearly as good.
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Obviously if he can remain healthy in 2011 that will help his cause. Both physically and mentally, which could take care of the drops. If team’s copy the Vikings’ Week 16 formula by taking away the deep ball, Celek could see more work underneath.
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Unfortunately for fantasy owners, Celek seems to have embraced the blocking part of his tight end duties. He has added muscle this offseason to help in his blocking duties.
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Celek has an ADP of 16 among tight ends according to Mock Draft Central, which makes him a TE2. With the plethora of quality tight ends in the league, I would probably hold off on drafting him and add a backup tight end when my starter had a bye week. Of course, if Celek got out of the gate quickly I wouldn’t hesitate to add him.
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What’s your take on Brent Celek?
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