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2016 Tight End Sleepers (Fantasy Football)

2016 Tight End Sleepers (Fantasy Football)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins

Is this finally the year Austin Seferian-Jenkins puts it all together and breaks out?

We look for them in every draft. Those fantasy diamonds in the rough. Those late-round picks that end up blowing up and winning you your league. They’re the sleepers that we comb through pages and pages of players looking for and read countless updates to find. BEHOLD, I present, a trio of tight end sleepers that you could scoop up towards the latter few rounds of your fantasy draft that could wind up winning you the whole darn thing.

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Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TB): ADP TE23
“ASJ” has always been gifted with size and tons of talent. A five-star recruit out of high school, he started since his first game freshman year at the University of Washington, eventually winning the John Mackey Award in 2013 as the nation’s top tight end. At 6-foot-5, 262 pounds running the 40s in the 4.5s, everything is there for him to take over the game.

But, he hasn’t quite put the pieces together through two seasons in Tampa. He’s struggled to stay on the field, missing 16 games, which has stopped him from gaining chemistry with franchise quarterback Jameis Winston. He’s only averaged 21 receptions, three touchdowns, and under 280 yards per season. These factors led to ASJ being in the doghouse with former head coach Lovie Smith and falling to No. 2 on the tight end depth chart behind Cameron Brate. But, with new coach Dirk Koetter, ASJ has already received praise for his work ethic. With Mike Evans disappointing sophomore season and Vincent Jackson not getting any younger, ASJ has a chance to be a fixture of this offense. His upside is simply too big to ignore late in drafts as your TE2 sleeper – especially in an offense that will need to put up points as Tampa’s defense continues to rebuild.

Vance McDonald (SF): ADP TE28
First off, I say this with a large degree of caution. As a die-hard 49ers fan, I’ve seen old clang-hands Vance drop plenty of passes his way over the trio of seasons he’s been on the squad. But, fate may be on McDonald’s side this season. The fourth-year tight end has never found his groove at the NFL level either playing behind Vernon Davis or at the hand of nagging back injuries. This year with Davis out of the picture and presumed starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the fold, he’s going to draw consistent targets in the passing game. McDonald has acted as Gabbert’s safety net this preseason and figures to do the same in the regular season as the 49ers lack offensive skill players besides Torrey Smith and Carlos Hyde. Plus, Gabbert has consistently “checked down” over his career instead of going for the downfield target. The two hooked up for a 43-yard touchdown this preseason showing a glimpse of what could blossom when the games matter.

Virgil Green (DEN): ADP TE32
Now granted, this would be a later-career breakout, but the 28-year-old is quietly on the verge of a fantasy breakout nonetheless. Green, who the Broncos picked in the seventh round of the 2011 draft, was Colin Kaepernick’s starting tight end during their collegiate days at Nevada. The sixth-year pro has spent his entire career in Denver seeing limited snaps playing behind tight ends Julius Thomas and Owen Daniels. Green has primarily seen the field due to his blocking prowess which has resulted in only 35 catches in his career. But, the talent is there.

Consider this: Broncos.com Andrew Mason believes Green could “shatter” his career highs in every receiving category. His lone competition on the roster for target, second-year Jeff Heuerman, can’t get healthy. The Ohio State product spent his entire rookie year on IR after tearing his ACL in training camp last year and has been out all training camp this year dealing with a hamstring issue he suffered in June OTAs. Green has reeled in all eight of his targets this preseason. And, he spent all last year working with recently proclaimed starting quarterback Trevor Siemian on the second-team offense. The two seem to have built some solid chemistry that could translate to consistent fantasy points. Plus, the 6-foot-5 255 pounder has the size and length to become a red-zone target. If Demaryius Thomas continues to underperform, he could draw even more offensive attention. Keep an eye on Green as a late-round TE2 with upside.

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Derek Guilford is a correspondent at FantasyPros. You can read more from Derek by checking out his archive or follow him @derekguilford.

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