Travis Kelce could be a nice early-round TE not named Gronk or Graham

If you do not plan on spending a high draft pick on a tight end named Gronk or Jimmy, chances are you will be targeting the position later in your draft, or even stream TEs all season long.  There are a few tiers for tight ends that we can create using FantasyPros rankings. FantasyPros did you the favor of taking the consensus of 21 experts to compile their rankings. Here are a few tight ends I recommend targeting in 2015:

Greg Olsen & Travis Kelce – Early Rounds

Greg Olsen is a tight end on paper, but I’d argue he is the de facto WR1 in Carolina. In 2014, Olsen trailed in targets only to Gronkowski (129) with 120 targets, converting 84 of those for a 67.5% catch rate. He also led his team in red zone targets with 20. A similar argument could be made for Kelce in the sense that he too is the de facto WR1 in Kansas City, as no wide receiver scored for the Chiefs in 2014 (although that should change with the acquisition of Jeremy Maclin). Kelce trailed only Dwayne Bowe in targets, amassing 67 receptions on his 76 targets for an impressive 76.3% catch rate. His 5 touchdowns should increase with the departure of Anthony Fasano in 2015, and his ability to create yards after the catch are evident from his 12.9 yards per catch average. Either one of these tight ends are worth an early pick in a round where you may be targeting a receiver due to their receiver-like numbers that they post. I’m not as high on Martellus Bennett (Cutler’s inconsistency), Jordan Cameron (injury history/new team), Julius Thomas (product of Peyton?/new team) or Zach Ertz (catching from Bradford? Sanchez? Mariota? Who knows…) as the experts are, however I do like…

Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, & Dwayne Allen/Coby Fleener – Mid-to-Late Rounds

At this point, you’ve already drafted your core receivers and/or running backs and are looking for a mid to late round tight end. Any one of these veterans would be a smart option in my opinion due to their relationships with their quarterbacks. Antonio Gates was one of the better tight ends in 2014. Philip Rivers heavily targeted him – 91 times – and Gates turned those targets into 69 receptions and 12 touch downs. Gates current ADP of 7.09 is a steal based on the touchdown total alone. Jason Witten, also a steal at his current ADP of 10.11, is someone to target, especially in PPR leagues. Anyone remotely interested in football hears all the media jokes of Romo’s “BFF”, and they are true in terms of targets with 83, 2nd most on his team. Romo looks for Witten on 3rd down situations and near the end zone. His 5 touchdowns may not be what you are looking for in a tight end, but if you are waiting until close to the 11th round to draft one you could certainly do worse than Witten. The same applies for Dwayne Allen. Although he had 32 less targets than Andrew Luck‘s former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener, he converted a higher percentage of his targets (58%). However, you should temper expectations with Allen, as he and Fleener both had 8 touchdowns apiece. Fleener is going a full four rounds (12.04) later than Allen (8.02). If Fleener’s ball catching skills improve, Allen could be a bust in the 8th round, but I still like Allen’s upside.

Kyle Rudolph, Heath Miller, Vernon Davis, Mychal Rivera, & Virgil Green – Late Rounds

Now, I realize that there are other tight ends who are being drafted higher and are sexier options such as Jordan Reed, Tyler Eifert, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Eric Ebron, but if you are going to wait on a tight end until the late rounds or intend on streaming, these are good options. Injuries plagued Kyle Rudolph last season, but an off-season for the fully healed tight end could be all he needs to develop chemistry with 2nd year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Despite missing 7 fantasy eligible games in 2014, Rudolph trailed Chase Ford by just 1 target with 34. When he was healthy and in the game, Bridgewater was looking his way. Health Miller is another target hog with Big Ben throwing to him 83 times, 14 times in the red zone. Vernon Davis is currently the only tight end worth mentioning in San Fransisco, though his 2 red zone targets are a cause for concern. Mychal Rivera is a player who showed promise and chemistry with rookie quarterback Derek Carr. His 89 targets, including 8 in the red zone, are plenty if you’re drafting your tight end at the end of the 14th round, currently where Rivera is going. Virgil Green has a small sample size and is an absolute dark horse. In 4 full seasons, he has a paltry 23 receptions. With Julius Thomas leaving the Broncos for a payday, Green’s competition is veteran Owen Daniels. Virgil Green is an example of opportunity meeting success if he can win the job in training camp and develop rapport with Peyton Manning. Most of the tight ends in this category are a gamble, but that’s why they’re available this late in the draft.

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The tight end position as a whole is evolving, and players are doing much more than blocking. Any tight end can have a huge week, like Larry Donnell‘s 3 touchdown game which accounted for 50% of his scores on the year in 2014. If you don’t spend a high pick on one, wait until the later rounds and and based off matchups have some fun living the stream!

Click here for more early 2015 draft prep.

Jen Ryan is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Jen, check out her archive and follow her @JerseyJen22.