The emergence of Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham over the past two and a half seasons has turned the tight end position into an all out rat race. If you don’t own either of these players, you know exactly what I’m talking about. They’re a matchup nightmare on a weekly basis. If you do own one of these guys, you just smile from ear to ear every week. It’s virtually a lock you’re going to win that matchup (unless you’re up against Tony Gonzalez or Jason Witten this season). What a great luxury piece to own, and they’re both so young. I think the thing that impresses me the most about Gronk and Graham is how fast their game translated to the NFL – it’s unparalleled.
If you were to ask most dynasty enthusiasts what position takes the longest to develop, what would the most common answer be? Probably quarterback. It’s a common misconception amongst dynasty coaches everywhere. From what I’ve seen over the better part of a decade, that’s not the case. The tight end position takes longer than any other to develop and it’s not even close.
Tight ends typically don’t fit into the “norm” as far a player development goes. For other positions like running back, wide receiver, and in most cases quarterback, player development is usually somewhere in the 2-3 year range. From what I’ve seen in my time as a dynasty owner I’ve found that tight end development usually takes anywhere from 3-5 years before they reach fantasy relevance, sometimes longer, and in some cases (just like every other position), never.
Which leads me to my next question – what’s the point of ever investing a first round pick on a tight end, even if it’s your greatest team need? The chances of them being on your roster by the time they are relevant is highly unlikely. Tight ends are probably the most recycled commodity on the waiver wire.
