LestersLegends.com

Last season Greg Olsen was a solid tight end in his second professional season, catching 54 passes for 574 yards and 5 TD.  Considering that he only started seven games and had Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman throwing him the ball, that’s actually pretty impressive.

He was actually the team’s second leading receiver in both catches (Matt Forte had 63) and yards (Devin Hester had 665), while leading the squad in TD.  Desmond Clark, who had been the starter, figures to be the second tight end this season, giving Olsen even more opportunity to mature and take the next step.

You also have to take into account that Jay Cutler will now be manning the QB position, a significant upgrade.  While Bears QBs combined for 3,229 yards and 14 TD, Cutler passed for 4,526 yards and 25 TD.  Needless to say, there are going to be significantly more opportunities to make plays, even in the dismal winter weather in Chicago.

Having not imported any significant WR to help upgrade the position, the extra completions have to go to someone.  While Forte figures to be one of the safety valves for Cutler, Olsen should be the other.  There were only seven tight ends who caught over 700 yards last season, a mark that I would fully anticipate Olsen exceeding.

The team’s tallest receiver stands at 6′3″, and that’s Brandon Rideau who has appeared in just two games after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005 by the Browns.  At 6′5″, Olsen should prove to be a prime target in the red zone and should be among the leaders in TE for TD.

With that said, let’s look at what I’d expect from him in 2009:

Receiving – 78 catches, 870 yards, 8 TD

Those numbers would easily place him among the top five tight ends in the league.  His ADP is currently at 79.75, the sixth TE coming off the board.  My original rankings had him at #7, but that obviously has changed.  When the new rankings come out, he’ll be at #5, having jumped ahead of Dallas Clark & Kellen Winslow.

What are your thoughts of Olsen?  How good do you think he could be?

Image courtesy of Icon SMI

Save $80 on CBSSports.com’s Fantasy Football Commisioner league with the exclusive LestersLegends discount code.   Sign up today!

When to draft a tight end is always something that is tough to decide.  I compare it to drafting a catcher in your fantasy baseball draft.  Do you reach in the early rounds and get one of the elite?  Do you wait and hope one of the middle tier players can emerge?  Do you just wait until the last few rounds and pick up the scraps, figuring that there’s not much of a difference once you miss out on the elite?

Let’s take a look at when some of the tight ends are coming off the board and if they would be considered a good pick:

• Jason Witten (42.50)
  We’ve spoken about him in the past, but more importantly the idea of drafting a tight end in the fourth round.  Just how much of an advantage do you really think he gives you here?  No other tight end is coming off the board, on average, until the fifth round.  You would also be passing up on WR who have the potential to easily out-produce him or a #2 RB (Darren McFadden or Derrick Ward, for example), which doesn’t make sense, does it?  I’m all for position scarcity and getting one of the top players at a position, but this is just a little too high for my tastes and appears to put your team at a bit of a disadvantage.  At this point, I would ask you, if he was a WR would you select him in the fourth round?  If the answer is no, then don’t select him this early just because of the position he plays.
• Antonio Gates (51.24) & Tony Gonzalez (54.78)
  Both of these are going, on average, in the fifth round, a little bit more palatable of a spot.  By now you likely have both of your RB and either a pair of WR or a WR and a QB spot covered.  The WR coming off the board are probably comparable players and these two were the top two tight ends in TDs last season.  If you want to get one of the elite guys, this seems like the perfect round to do it.
• Dallas Clark (61.77)
  The consolation prize, if you will, as he’s the one TE who is kind of on the edge.  He could be among the elite, but he also could be as good as the rest of the pack.  Going on average in the sixth round, this one almost seems like a waste to me.  I know he has the advantage of Peyton Manning, but just because you miss the big three don’t feel forced to take Clark the next time you pick.  You could likely do just as well in the next round or two, instead strengthening your RB spot in this round (Knowshown Moreno, for example, has an ADP of 63.36).
• Kellen Winslow (75.70) & Greg Olsen (81.89)
  The seventh round appears to be the round for the high upside TEs and if I had my choice, this is where I’d be selecting.  Both of these guys will, at worst, likely be an average TE in 2009 but also could emerge among the elite in the game.  Considering the rest of your roster should be pretty well set at this point, the gamble is more than worth taking.
• Chris Cooley (86.30) & Owen Daniels (92.93)
  Missed out on all the rest?  Now is the time to just grab one of these guys and fill the void.  If you miss out on them, you might as well wait a while because how big of a difference is there really going to be between John Carlson & Vishante Shiancoe?  Probably not a very big one.

So, what do you think?  Which grouping of TEs do you like to shoot for?  What’s your strategy when it comes to the position?

Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Save $80 on CBSSports.com’s Fantasy Football Commisioner league with the exclusive LestersLegends discount code.   Sign up today!