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Brandon Pettigrew returned from his ACL injury to have 71 catches for 722 yards and four touchdowns in his sophomore season with the Detroit Lions. Those are solid numbers, but hardly the type of numbers that make you want to blindly plug him in your fantasy lineup each week.
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Pettigrew had his moments, picking up at least 75 yards and/or a touchdown in seven of his 16 games. He had at least 50 yards in three other games giving him ten games of at least a decent fantasy performance. For those of you in PPR leagues, he had at least five receptions on seven occasions.
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The problem with Pettigrew was when he was off, he was really off. He had 36 or fewer yards in seven games. He bailed his fantasy owners out with a touchdown in three of those starts, but that’s still a troubling statistic.
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The theory that a healthy Matthew Stafford should lead to an improved Pettigrew is debatable. In the three games that Stafford played Pettigrew had just six catches for 32 yards. He had two touchdowns from Stafford, but with that kind of yardage, it’s hardly enough for Pettigrew to average more than five points in non-PPR leagues in those games. Stafford did, however, play in Pettigrew’s best games as a rookie.
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The Lions have a lot of weapons on offense. Perhaps the most they have had since the days of Barry Sanders and the run and shoot. Pettigrew’s size makes him an attractive option near the goal line, especially since Megatron commands so much attention.  The big yardage days could be hard to come by though.
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Pettigrew’s Mock Draft Central ADP puts him as the eighth tight end, which is right around where I have him. I don’t think he’s elite, but I still consider him a TE1. If I did draft Pettigrew I would most likely add a high end TE2 so I could play the match-ups.
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What’s your take on Brandon Pettigrew?
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Also check out:

• 2011 Early Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Football RB Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Football TE Rankings

I wrap up my NFL Rookie skill position breakdown with the top Tight Ends.

Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions – I’m not sure how much he’ll contribute as a Rookie Tight End, but he is definitely the one to target in dynasty leagues.  Not only is he an exceptional blocker, he has good hands.  Every young QB needs a safety valve and when Matthew Stafford gets his feet wet, the bit 6’5″ TE out of Oklahoma State will be just that.  Pettigrew caught 42 passes for 472 yards last year despite missing four games.

Richard Quinn, Denver Broncos – Quinn will mainly be utilized for his blocking ability.  It’s puzzling why he went so early, and to a team with Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham and Jeb Putzier.  New England values Tight Ends and H-Backs so perhaps Josh McDaniels is trying to borrow that philosophy.  There is some speculation that Scheffler will be dealt. 

Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans – Here’s another team with a glut of Tight Ends.  Bo Scaife recently signed his one-year franchise tender and they have veteran Alge Crumpler.  Cook was a big play TE at South Carolina catching 73 passes in his three years for 1107 yards (15.2 ypc) and 7 TDs.  He’s a big target (6’5″, 240) that should develop into a solid TE in a couple years.

Chase Coffman, Cincinnati Bengals - Chase capped off an extremely productive collegiate career with 90 receptions for 987 yards and 10 TDs.  He finished with 247 receptions for 2659 yards and 30 TDs.  He could easily slide into the starter role for the Bengals and is my pick for most productive Rookie TE.

Travis Beckum, New York Giants - Beckum was limited to six games last year, but he averaged 68 receptions for 942.5 yards and 5.5 TDs his previous two years.  He’ll be used in two Tight End sets with Kevin Boss, but doesn’t offer much fantasy value initially.  Quality pick by the G-Men though.

Shawn Nelson, Buffalo Bills – Buffalo had a need for a pass-catching TE and Nelson should fit the bill.  He caught 53 passes last year for 557 yards and 3 TDs.  He averaged 514 yards per season in his stellar four years at Southern Miss. 

Cornelius Ingram, Philadelphia Eagles - It may take a year or two for Ingram to make an impact, but the potential is there.  He had 34 receptions for 508 yards and 7 TDs in 2007.  Great athlete, but is recovering from an ACL injury that cost him all of last year for the Gators.

J.D., a young Bleacher Report writer and creator of The Sports Report with J.D., contacted me to see if I wanted to post some of his articles on the site.  Always looking to encourage an aspiring writer, I agreed.   J.D. discusses Brandon Pettigrew.

Image courtesy of Icon SMI

Brandon Pettigrew, to me, is the number one ranked tight end in the NFL Draft.  He ran the 40-yard-dash three times. The scouts went with his 4.87 time, which is pretty good. Pettigrew is, no doubt, a five-star caliber player.

Pettigrew has great size. He’s 6’5″ and almost 260 pounds! He has good hands catching the ball, and great down-field blocking ability!

He’s not without his weaknesses though.  He doesn’t always runs crisp routes, he sometimes catches the ball with his body rather than his hands, and he will be 24 years old as a rookie, whichis older than the average senior.  He has character issues to he has an arrest on his record.

He is a big, physical Tight End.  He jumps off the snap and is ready to go.  He is a reliable passing target.  He has been in workouts with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, and Cleveland Browns.

The Jets could use Pettigrew to compliment Dustin Keller.  Pettigrew would be a nice fit with the Atlanta Falcons, though, who are in a huge need of a Tight End.  They still haven’t adequately replaced Alge Crumpler. 

Pettigrew reminds me TEs like Marcedes Lewis or Alge Crumplerbecause of his athletic ability.  They can all catch passes, as well as block very well.

Pettigrew’s stats have been improving over the years. In his first year, 2005, he had 11 catches for 128 yards with one TD. Pettigrew also finished with 11.6 yards per catch.  In 2006 he had 24 catches for 310 yards and 4 TDs.  He improved to 12.9 yards per catch.  In my opinion 2007  was his best year.  He had 35 catches for 540 yards and 4 TDs.  He finished with 15.4 yards per catch, including a 54-yard-touchdown.

Last year as a Senior Pettigrew finished with 42 catches for 472 yards, which was good for 11.2 yards per catch. His numbers could have even been better as he missed four games that year.

Pettigrew led Oklahoma State to the Holliday Bowl against Oregon. Unfortunately, they lost, 42-31. Pettigrew caught six catches for 51 yards.

Pettigrew finished his career at Oklahoma State with 112 receptions for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns.  He should be able to make the transition to the next level.

A look at where some of the experts have him pegged:

Scott Wright’s Draft Countdown:  #21 to the Philadelphia Eagles

WalterFootball.com:  #24 to the Atlanta Falcons

Draft King:  #21 to the Philadelphia Eagles

Consensus Draft Services:  #21 to the Philadelphia Eagles

The Football Expert:  #28 to the Philadelphia Eagles

War Room Report:  #21 to the Philadelphia Eagles