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Catching on

Keeping an eye on tight end developments

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One of the top tight ends in the league, Wesley Walls faces big questions about his health and who will throw to him. Doug Pensinger/Allsport

By Bob Harris, Special to CNNSI.com

The latest installment in a position-by-position series previewing this year's major training camp battles -- and other significant issues -- from a Fantasy perspective. Next Position: Placekickers.

Arizona Cardinals

Hardy, whose 30 receptions two years ago were the most by a Cardinals tight end since Rob Awalt had 33 in 1988, is looking forward to playing under new offensive coordinator Rich Olson, who comes off a stint as quarterbacks coach of the Redskins. Washington's Stephen Alexander pulled in 47 catches last year working in the same offense Arizona will run this year.

Player To Watch: Tywann Mitchell
The 6-5, 250-pound Mitchell, who has been working with the first he first team in Hardy's absence this summer, brings remarkable quickness to the table. According to tight ends coach Pete Hoener, "He gets from zero to 15 yards about as fast as anyone on the team." However, Mitchell --who has gone from receiver to tight end, back to receiver and now to tight end again -- is still a work in progress.

Atlanta Falcons

The newcomer is currently catching everything thrown his way in camp and those who follow the team closely say he's a lock to work extensively in the team's two-TE sets. At this rate, Crumpler will be pushing Reggie Kelly for the starting job in no time at all.

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Always a threat around the goal line, Riemersma managed to score five TDs on 31 receptions last season despite missing four games with a sprained knee. Look for the former Michigan star to come into his own this season with the Bills running the West Coast offense.

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Lucky is reportedly a week away from returning to team drills, but he's more of a blocker than receiver. With Fontenot -- a solid receiver -- scheduled to miss six to eight weeks, look for veteran Jackie Harris to handle the bulk of the team's receiving needs at this position.

Deeeeeep Sleeper: James Whalen
Despite gaining 50 pounds in the last three years, Whalen is probably still too small to have a legitimate shot at a starting job in the NFL. However, what he lacks in size, he certainly makes up for in receiving skills. In case you missed it, Whalen set an NCAA record for catches by a tight end with 90 for 1,019 yards as a senior at Kentucky in 1999. And he was the most productive tight end in NFL Europe this spring, pulling in 66 catches for 691 yards as a Scottish Claymore. As Dallas head coach Dave Campo said last week, "Everywhere he's been, he just seems to lead a bunch of stuff."

Given the team's injury problems at this position, anything is possible. However, Whalen is still more of a project than prospect at this point. Tight ends/special teams coach Joe Avezzano recently noted, "The only problem with fitting James into the scheme of things is, how do you utilize him? He will not be able to line up at the line of scrimmage and overpower or match up with huge defensive people who outweigh him by 70, 80, 90 pounds. So his task is to continue to catch everything he's thrown. Our task is to see if [he] fits into the 53-man roster."

In the meantime, Whalen continues to work towards the future; his goal is to add another 15 pounds of muscle to his 6-2, 228-pound frame next offseason. "Obviously, I need to keep getting bigger and stronger," he explained. "I think that will come. But what I do well and what I've always done well is get out and catch the ball and use my instincts to get open."

Denver Broncos

While both men are likely to catch a number of passes this year, pencil Clark in as the receiver and Carswell as the blocker.

Detroit Lions

"You can see how we're going to bring him back, piece by piece," head coach Marty Mornhinweg said on Monday. "He is ready to do some of those things. He simply is not going to be in any contact for a period of time."

Player To Watch: Sloan
With just a few subtle adjustments to his game, a healthy Sloan could easily be in line for a career year. The former New Mexico standout has the size, speed and hands to work effectively regardless of scheme. But he could emerge as one of the league's elite tight ends by working on the following skills: Gaining separation from defenders on shorter routes; overall route-running; quickness; and his ability to read and recognize various coverage schemes -- all of which will come in mighty handy with Mornhinweg calling the shots in Detroit this year.

Green Bay Packers

Go Time: Bubba Franks
The Packers acquired Bobby Collins in a trade with the Bills early this week and they signed veteran free agent Troy Drayton to a contract last month. But neither of the newcomers will push second-year starter Franks for reps.

Held to less than 400 yards on 34 receptions last year, Franks' biggest shortcoming was his inability to establish himself as a legitimate threat in the red zone (he finished the season with just one TD catch). Look for that to change this season as a stronger, more mature and more confident Franks emerges as one of the league's top threats.

Player To Watch: David Martin
According to Kirwan, the sixth-round draft pick "has been impressive. He can get off the line of scrimmage, has soft hands and runs excellent routes. He could be a dangerous weapon in red-zone situations."

Indianapolis Colts

Despite the shared workload, Dilger, an accomplished receiver who is particularly dangerous in the red zone, posted career-high 47 receptions in 2000. However, Pollard has emerged as one of Peyton Manning's favorite targets because coaches are often able to isolate him on slower, less-physically imposing defenders. The former college hoops star has the kind of size (6-4, 250) and speed that makes life miserable for both safeties and linebackers alike. Pollard has also become an expert in assaulting the opposition's coverage seams.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Of course, Kyle Brady is locked in as the starter at tight end. However, the 6-5, 277-pound Jones has surprisingly soft hands and he began to establish a reputation as a dangerous target in the red zone after pulling in a career-high 19 catches for 221 yards with four TDs in 1999.

Given the team's problems inside the 20-yard line last year, don't be surprised if quarterback Mark Brunell looks towards Jones early and often this year.

Kansas City Chiefs

In fact, Vermeil began talking about the possibilities back in May when he called Gonzalez "an unbelievable weapon." Kansas City Star reporter Adam Teicher recently wrote that the Chiefs will use Gonzalez in much the same way Dallas used Jay Novacek in the early '90s and San Diego used Kellen Winslow in the '80s.

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Although the Vikings haven't used their tight ends extensively as pass receivers in the past, Robert Smith's offseason retirement could change that.

According to head coach Denny Green, "[Chamberlain] is a guy that we can get the ball to. He is a very smart player. He can work underneath or down the field. We have to be able to get the ball to the tight end to take some of the pressure off of the outside. Having Jake Reed will force people to play a lot of 'cover 2' and to do that you have to be able to break it down by running the football and getting the ball to your tight end and Daunte [Culpepper] keeping the ball himself."

New Orleans Saints

Player To Watch: Cleeland
An above-average receiver who has remarkable speed and athletic ability for a man of his size, Cleeland has Pro Bowl talent and could flourish in the Saints' West Coast offensive system -- if -- he remains healthy.

The former Washington star missed the 2000 season after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon in last summer's preseason opener. He re-injured that same tendon in a non-football related accident in October, but still managed to hit the practice field in June as scheduled.

Is there any reason to be optimistic about his chances of making it through a full season this year?

Prior to Monday's setback, Cleeland had only missed one of the team's first 13 practice sessions this summer. That might not sound very impressive, but we're talking about a guy who has missed 24 of the last 32 regular season games due to injury.

New York Giants

Better yet, the youngster has been seeing extensive action when the Giants have worked on their red zone offense this summer and Kerry Collins targeted him twice in goal line situations last Thursday; Rivers turned one of the opportunities into a touchdown.

Do yourself a favor and follow this kid closely.

New York Jets

But team officials are reportedly counting on the former West Virginia standout to come on strong this year as both a blocker and a receiver.

Make no mistake about it: Becht has the receiving skills, physical attributes and athletic ability to emerge as a steady contributor for the Jets and one recent report stated that it wouldn't be a stretch to say he could triple last year's reception total. Why not? He's pretty much the only game in town as far as tight ends go.

Oakland Raiders

Primary Battle Front: Roland Williams vs. Andrew Glover, Brigham, Bjornson and Mondriel Fulcher
Williams is a lock to fill the opening left by Rickey Dudley's free-agency defection to Cleveland. The former Ram isn't as flashy or athletic as Dudley was, but he tends to play at a more consistent level than his predecessor. He also happens to be one of the league's best blocking tight ends.

Remember, Jon Gruden's offense requires the tight end to be a blocker first and a receiver second.

That said the Raiders line up in two-tight end sets on a regular basis in order to provide additional blocking for the rushing attack. Glover is reportedly the leading candidate to win that second spot with Bjornson, Brigham and Fulcher battling for the third spot.

Philadelphia Eagles

Owners in yardage leagues shouldn't worry, but those in basic scoring leagues should note that Jeff Thomason, who pulled in six touchdown catches last season, is back for more this year. And even though the team's wide receivers seem to be struggling this summer, Duce Staley -- an excellent receiver out of the backfield -- returns to the lineup to compete for looks from Donovan McNabb.

St. Louis Rams

This puts him at odds with any number of observers, including Pro Football Weekly columnist Howard Balzer, who also serves as a senior editor for Lindy's Pro Football Yearbook and secretary/treasurer of the Pro Football Writer's of America.

According to my friend Howard, Conwell is more flexible this year than he's been in the past (he can actually reach his arms over his head -- something the muscular veteran couldn't do before) and he has a good shot at making the Pro Bowl.

Jim Thomas, who covers the Rams for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, also has a slightly different view than Miller. Thomas had the following take on Conwell last month: "The long wait is over for TE Ernie Conwell. He hasn't been an NFL starter since suffering a devastating knee injury midway through the 1998 season. Now, the knee finally feels right and Conwell is back in the starting lineup, still running the 40 in the 4.6 range. Martz plans to make use of that speed, and Conwell's disruptive tendency in the open field."

And just in case there's still some question in your mind, long time Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote last week that Martz is probably more excited about Conwell than any player in camp.

And then there's. Hey, what's this? A flag?

Oops. The editor is penalizing me for piling on. Fair enough. You get the idea.

San Diego Chargers

Already one of the team's most consistent offensive performers, Jones could be on the verge of joining the league's elite tight ends with Doug Flutie under center and Norv Turner calling the plays.

San Francisco 49ers

Clark has delivered increased production in each of his four years as a pro, going from a mere eight catches for 96 yards as a rookie to 38 catches for 342 last season. He clearly has the tools necessary to be an effective part of San Francisco's West Coast offense -- a scheme predicated on throwing over the middle to the tight end. However, that doesn't mean he ranks among the top players at his position.

For starters, the former Stanford star doesn't have the speed and route-running ability of guys like Gonzalez and Sharpe. The fact he's yet to make it through a full 16-game season without getting hurt doesn't weight in his favor either.

Seattle Seahawks

Mili is faster and more athletic than Fauria, but his laid-back personality seems to keep him playing with the kind of intensity Holmgren is looking for.

Tennessee Titans

Wycheck has a knack for finding open spaces in the middle of the field, a skill that has earned the confidence of Steve McNair, who tends to keep one eye on the veteran tight end at all times

Washington Redskins

Alexander is clearly the team's most talented player at this position, but head coach Marty Schottenheimer has been impressed with backup Walter Rasby, saying the veteran "has been the most delightful presence. Not only is he a good blocker, but he's a better receiver than I thought he was going to be and he's got a tremendous work ethic. He is a top-shelf human being and good player."

But as impressive as Rasby and fellow backup Zeron Flemister have been, Alexander shouldn't have any trouble keeping them on the sidelines once he's healthy again.

Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications. His work is prominently displayed in all four FSP Fantasy annuals -- Fantasy Football Pro Forecast, Fantasy Football Experts Poll, Fantasy Football Cheatsheets and the Fantasy Football DraftBook. ... Look for all four on newsstands nationwide or Order them online now!

 

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