Ladd Biro’s Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 25 Tight Ends
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A ranking of NFL tight ends heading into the regular season. Rankings will be updated throughout the preseason.
Special to Latimes.com
| RNK | NAME | TM | REC | YD | TD | COMMENT |
| 1 | Antonio Gates | SD | 81 | 964 | 13 | An unbeatable combo of size, speed and leaping ability; but no longer a secret weapon. |
| 2 | Tony Gonzalez | KC | 102 | 1258 | 7 | Once a man among boys, he has competition at the top for the first time in years. |
| 3 | Dallas Clark | IND | 25 | 423 | 5 | No longer forced to share the job with Pollard, Clark will give Gates a run for his money. Stokley's shoulder injury helps. |
| 4 | Todd Heap | BAL | 27 | 303 | 3 | Healthy again, with WRs that must be respected, he'll return to the top of the |
| 5 | Alge Crumpler | ATL | 48 | 774 | 6 | The only proven receiver on the Falcons, he actually catches Vick's passes. |
| 6 | Jeremy Shockey | NYG | 61 | 666 | 6 | Injury-prone and slightly over-rated, but can put up good stats when Eli looks his way. |
| 7 | Jason Witten | DAL | 87 | 980 | 6 | His stats, and value, drop with Dan Campbell back on the field, but Parcells and Bledsoe both like him. Still better than most. |
| 8 | L.J. Smith | PHI | 34 | 377 | 5 | Imagine what he could do if he just stayed healthy? Pinkston's loss moves him up a notch. |
| 9 | Jeb Putzier | DEN | 36 | 572 | 2 | Sure-handed receiver is poised for a breakout season. |
| 10 | Bubba Franks | GB | 34 | 361 | 7 | Always a red-zone threat, Franks just needs to improve his consistency to move into the elite. |
| 11 | Jermaine Wiggins | MIN | 71 | 705 | 4 | Would be in the top 5, but Kleinsasser's return will cost him air time. |
| 12 | Daniel Graham | NE | 30 | 364 | 7 | Should be Brady's second option, after Branch. |
| 13 | Randy McMichael | MIA | 73 | 791 | 4 | A threat to score, or land in jail, on any given Sunday. |
| 14 | Eric Johnson | SF | 82 | 825 | 2 | Will suffer while his rookie QB learns the ropes. Too bad, because he deserves better. |
| 15 | Ben Troupe | TEN | 33 | 329 | 1 | The second-year player could be a star if he didn't have to share snaps with Kinney. |
| RNK | NAME | TM | REC | YD | TD | COMMENT |
| 16 | Chris Cooley | WAS | 37 | 314 | 6 | Put up good numbers in just 9 starts, despite the Skins' QB woes. |
| 17 | Steve Heiden | CLE | 28 | 287 | 5 | Easy to overlook in such a weak offense, but Heiden is the best of their healthy TEs. |
| 18 | Jerramy Stevens | SEA | 31 | 349 | 3 | Why should you count on him when the Seahawks don't? |
| 19 | Doug Jolley | NYJ | 27 | 313 | 2 | With a new address, maybe the talented but underachieving TE will find a comfort zone. |
| 20 | Marcus Pollard | DET | 29 | 309 | 6 | No longer sharing the job with Clark, but no longer catches passes from Manning either. |
| 21 | Heath Miller | PIT | * | * | * | Cream of the rookie class landed in a beautiful spot, but will take time to develop. |
| 22 | Mark Campbell | BUF | 17 | 203 | 5 | A risky pick given the Bills' QB situation and after blowing out his knee late in '04. |
| 23 | Matt Schobel | CIN | 21 | 201 | 4 | Another Bengal with high expectations. Will be good for spot duty. |
| 24 | Courtney Anderson | OAK | 13 | 175 | 1 | Has secured the starting job after returning strong from a serious knee injury in '04. Has serious sleeper potential. |
| 25 | Kris Mangum | CAR | 34 | 323 | 3 | With Freddie Jones' unexpected retirement, Mangum takes over as the Panthers' unchallenged starter. |
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