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Football season is right around the corner and fans all over the country are salivating to watch meaningful gridiron play again. Even more than that, co-workers and friend groups are trying to nail down their fantasy football leagues (including our own office). One of the most important positions always perplexes most players and that is: the Tight End.

When should you draft a tight end? What is the ‘sweet spot’ in each round to get the most production for the draft slot? Who will be Tight End Number 1 when the year is over? Will the reign of Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce being TE1 finally end?

All valid questions, none of them with clear-cut answers. However, there is hope out there for the many loyal readers of the SportsCollectibles.com blog. Within the Kansas City Chiefs offense, Kelce looks like he should take a step forward even further from the pack losing a weapon like Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. However, there is something being overlooked about him and that is the fact he will be double and triple-teamed even more in the upcoming season.

While Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has had the luxury of both Kelce and Hill giving nightmares to opposing defenses about how to match up with them, he won’t have that same abundance of firepower at his disposal this season. Tyreek Hill always made defenses match his deep speed, and with Mahomes’ cannon-like arm strength 70-yard throws could happen at any time. This would usually give Travis Kelce a lot more room to operate with the rest of the field. With Tyreek getting traded to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs looked to free-agency and the 2022 NFL Draft to improve the weaponry surrounding Patrick Mahomes with Western Michigan Broncos rookie receiver Skyy Moore and former Green Bay Packers speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling. These guys are solid, but won’t help Travis Kelce get as open as Tyreek Hill did while he was playing in Kansas City.

Enter Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews into the Tight End 1 chat. With Lamar Jackson losing Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals, the offensive skill players might look light to some fans. True NFL fans know about #89 Mark Andrews’ true dominance in the Greg Roman-led Ravens offense. A great blocker in the run game, Andrews can parlay this into getting wide-open in the play action game because defenders don’t want to get blocked by him and get sucked into the run action. This automatically gives Andrews a leg-up on his competition with how many targets he will have this season with no defenders around, giving him ample room to get plenty of yard after the catch (YAC).

Jackson is also fighting for a generational-wealth type of contract and will come out this season firing on all cylinders to prove the doubters wrong and show that he is more than a “running back playing quarterback”. Lamar also has the accolades to back up his performance come contract negotiating time led by his amazing agent- his mom. This all plays into Mark Andrews having a record-breaking 2022 season being Lamar Jackson’s safety blanket and number 1 target. It will also help if former first-round pick Rashod Bateman can demand some coverage and be another target for Lamar to throw to and another player that defenses must respect.

Most fantasy players can get Andrews a round or two after Kelce and could very well accumulate a considerable number of points this season. Make Andrews a top priority when drafting this year and you can also win your league and have bragging rights over your friends, family and co-workers. Good Luck Fantasy Players!

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This post brought to you by Sports Collectibles Blog Dog Fantasy Phenom Barkley!

-Barkley is the best boy ever! He’s been with the SportsCollectibles.com team for 3 years and couldn’t imagine doing anything else! He enjoys LONG walks around the neighborhood and playing fetch. His hero is Air Bud. His favorite foods are pizza and tortilla chips. He can’t wait for Fall Football and snuggling on the couch with his Mom and Dad to watch his favorite team, the Chicago Bears!

If you are a die-hard Fantasy Football fan like each of us at Sportscollectibles.com, you have already started to do your research on the upcoming fantasy football season. But if you haven’t started yet, we will help you out with our favorite fantasy sleepers for this Fall’s NFL Season.

Almost everyone knows about the flowing blonde mane out in Duval County, Florida, sporting the #16 jersey, but not enough people are drafting him high enough and that is why he kicks off our sleeper list. Trevor Lawrence is a golden-haired and golden-armed quarterback who can make all of the throws a coach asks of him and more. With a new coaching staff after the Urban Meyer project didn’t quite work out, former Super Bowl Champion Coach Doug Pederson is looking to take the Jacksonville Jaguars to the next level. They spent heavy on the offense adding weapons for Lawrence to target like Christian Kirk and Evan Engram and even beefed up the offensive line with guard Brandon Scherff. Everyone should be on the lookout for Lawrence to be drafted in the later parts of their fantasy draft and can get some real value.

The next sleeper on our list is Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. The former Michigan Wolverines standout is looking to capitalize on the departure of Austin Hooper, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. There are plenty of targets that are left on the table and Peoples-Jones looks to be in line to take a good share of them. If you are playing in a PPR (Points-per-Reception) League look no further than #11 by the Lake.

Another receiver that is looking at a breakout year is Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman. The Ravens traded away Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason and Lamar Jackson will need a new number 1 receiver to hit when Mark Andrews is double-covered by defenses on third downs. Baltimore is a run-heavy offense, but they run a considerable amount of play action which could play into Bateman racking up big plays when the defenses get worn down by the J.K Dobbins-led rushing attack. Watch out for Bateman to have a big year in fantasy this year and is still being taken later in drafts.

The last fantasy sleeper we have is the Florida State Seminoles 2013 Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion Jameis Winston. The New Orleans Saints starting quarterback was hurt last season and is coming into this year with a chip on his shoulder. The Saints are a dark horse to make the playoffs this season and it is because of Winston. He has gotten better every season since entering the league and the Saints have some serious weapons on offense. They boast three major wide receivers with All-Pro Michael Thomas, newly acquired Jarvis Landry and 1st round draft pick, Ohio State Buckeyes TD record holder, Chris Olave. To make things even more unfair they have Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill getting plenty of touches as well. Jameis Winston looks to be the beneficiary of having a plethora of weapons at his disposal and could very well win plenty of fantasy leagues this year.

Just be sure to remember us when earn your big Fantasy Super Bowl winnings! 😊

SC.com Blog Dog:

-Barkley is the best boy ever! He’s been with the SportsCollectibles.com team for 3 years and couldn’t imagine doing anything else! He enjoys LONG walks around the neighborhood and playing fetch. His hero is Air Bud. His favorite foods are pizza and tortilla chips. His favorite teams are the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs.