3 Up 3 Down (Tight Ends)

3 Up 3 Down

UP

Chris Cooley- Cooley had a very nice year last year. He was 2^nd in the NFL in receptions (83) for a tight end and 3^rd in targets (111) for a tight end. He was such a big threat in the red-zone so he was consistently double-teamed and only ended up with one touchdown. He also had to block a bit more than usual last year which hurt his receiving yards, although he still got 849. I think he will bounce back from his low scoring season and get 6 touchdowns this year. I predict 77 receptions for 851 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Greg Olsen- Olsen has good hands and is great at getting open. While tight end Desmond Clark usually stays in and blocks, Greg goes out on a pass pattern and usually is open. Jay Cutler good use him as a great target to make the Bears offense even more explosive. His stats last year weren’t spectacular, but they were good enough. This year I expect very good numbers out of him. I predict 69 receptions for 867 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Brandon Pettigrew- Brandon is a rookie this season and was by far the most complete tight end in the draft. I don’t think Pettigrew is going to become the next Tony Gonzalez but he had a good college career and rookie QB Matt Stafford will need a big target to pass to. I don’t think that he will put up fantasy starter numbers, but he will be good for years to come. I predict 41 receptions for 403 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Down

Kevin Boss- Boss turned out to be a great replacement when Shockey decided to just quit on the Giants 2 years ago. But this year I just don’t think Boss will do that great. I think he is headed downhill. He will get you a couple touchdowns but he will just kill you with his receptions and receiving yards. Last year he had 33 receptions for 384 yards and 6 touchdowns. This year I predict 34 receptions for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Anthony Fasano- For anyone who took a chance on Fasano in ’08 were rewarded with 7 touchdowns. The bad news is that all of his touchdowns came inside the red-zone but he only had 11 red-zone targets. You won’t see Fasano catching that many touchdowns again this year. He isn’t very good at stretching the field or getting yards after the catch. He was a fluke in ’08. He is definitely not fantasy starter material. I predict 34 receptions for 456 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Heath Miller- Heath Miller has been productive for the Steelers in the past, but last season was close not good and I don’t expect it to get any better. Miller battled an ankle injury all year long. He is a decent red-zone target but still only caught 3 touchdowns in 2008. Ben Rothlisberger didn’t use him as much as he did in the previous couple seasons.