With the NFL season and fantasy football season starting up on Thursday night in Denver with the Broncos and the Ravens, fantasy owners everywhere are looking for the best sleeper options at every position and one that is deep is with tight ends, as names like Julius Thomas, Tyler Eifert, Jared Cook and Fred Davis could put up big numbers in Week 1.
Players like Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez as well as Jason Witten and Vernon Davis will be gone early in drafts, so owners looking for value must find some sleepers and this season two big ones are Cameron Jordan with the Browns and Julius Thomas with the Broncos. Denver already has enough players to throw the ball to for Peyton Manning with Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas and now Wes Welker and with Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen already at tight end, things feel crowded, but that may not stop Thomas.
The Broncos drafted him due to his size and athletic ability and based on raw talent he is better than Tamme and he also showed during the preseason that he has no issues vibing with Manning, catching 12 balls for over 120 yards and he could end up as the biggest sleeper in the 2013 class. The Broncos throw a lot to the tight end position and based on how Thomas looks, he won't be on the sidelines for very long. The local press has loved what they have seen from Thomas over the summer and being a fourth round pick, there is a chance he will get some playing time, especially after being the leading receiver for the team when they played the 49ers in the preseason.
Cameron could be a beast with Norv Turner coming to run the Browns, as everyone saw what he did when he was with the Chargers, using Antonio Gates as a prime scoring threat. Cameron has the same type of build and athletic ability that Gates had and with Brandon Weeden developing in his second year, it could be a huge find for the Browns at tight end. Zach Sudfeld is another name at tight end that has been looked at as a sleeper, especially with Gronk out for who knows how long.
The Bengals selected Tyler Eifert with their first round draft pick and after playing for Notre Dame in college, he could be a huge target for Andy Dalton. Jay Gruden likes to use the TE on offense and with Giovani Bernard also coming in, the team could be explosive. Eifert has great hands and intelligence on the field and his size could make him a target in the endzone as well. Eifert was taken number 21 in the draft and since the Bengals had issues scoring in the redzone last season, Eifert could help change all that.
Eifert is a prime sleeper in PPR leagues and he could be a target on third downs for the team, which is another area where they struggled. According to ESPN.com, Eifert was able to make 36 catches on third downs last season and he only failed to covert first downs on five of them. Dalton will love that.
Jared Cook was one of the top free agent options at the position after leaving Tennessee and now he is with the Rams. The team could use Cook quite a bit as Sam Bradford develops in the offense and he could end up being a very productive option in the offense for Jeff Fisher. Cook has great size and speed for his position and he could be a matchup nightmare. Fred Davis is also another sleeper option for the Redskins after coming back from an injury. In 2011 he put up great stats with 59 catches for 800 yards and he could do that again if healthy.
