Julius Thomas:
ADP: 115.5
TE: 12

Bennett:
ADP: 119.3
TE 14

The tight end position has more depth this year than in the past. Many big names up at the top are as would be expected: Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Delanie Walker and the currently injured Tyler Eifert are coming off big seasons that warrant early-to-mid-round selections.

As you get later in the draft, however, several guys with a lot of potential stand out, including both Julius Thomas and Martellus Bennett.

Thomas, one season removed from repeat 12 TD campaigns, is now playing in a high-flying, young offense with Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson as its centerpieces. The big-bodied former basketball star could put up big numbers as almost an afterthought – though he is not durable and he is coming off of a humdrum season.

Bennett left Chicago and Jay Cutler for the friendly confines of New England, where tight ends not named Gronk frequently find the end zone. But does the team’s TE2 warrant fantasy consideration in the latter rounds of drafts?

Tony: Buy on both.

I get that Thomas wasn’t great last year, and Bennett is technically the TE2 in New England. But Thomas has the opportunity to be the third option on a team with two potential #1 WR in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, meaning there should be a lot of opportunities for one-on-one coverage. And Bennett was bordering on good in Chicago—and now he goes to play with Tom Brady, for the coach that was in the middle of pioneering a two TE offense that produced a combined stat line of 169-2,237-24 the last year they were both healthy, and 106-1,273-16 the following year when they weren’t (21 games between them in 2012). No telling how incredible that TE2 spot may have become if not for a little murder conviction.

So you don’t want to pull the trigger early? Completely understand that—but let’s look at some of the guys going ahead of these two right now:

  • Zach Erts, 98.0 – He’s got the skill, but call me when he actually fulfills his potential on a regular basis.
  • Jason Witten, 107.5 – He keeps ticking, but the Cowboys may run the ball 500 times this season to keep Tony Romo healthy, and Witten hasn’t been TE1 worthy since 2013.
  • Antonio Gates, 102.4 – Just two years ago, he put up 69-821-12. Last year, 56-630-5. And he’s got Hunter Henry breathing down his neck.
  • Gary Barnidge, 91.7 – Wonderful story last year. This year?  Let’s see him prove it.

Add in non TE, like Tavon Austin (116.3), LaGarrette Blount (119.1), and Justin Forsett (114.2), and I’m stumped as to why these guys are falling this far.

Andy: Sell on Thomas, Cautious sell on Bennett

The arguments against Julius Thomas – and the reasons why he won’t be on any of my fantasy teams this season – are relatively simple.

Thomas exploded on to the scene in 2013, his third year, when he caught 65 passes that resulted in 12 touchdowns. The following year, he still scored 12 TDs, but his reception count went down by 22. And last year, he produced just 455 yards and five TDs on 46 catches. Each of the last two seasons his yards per catch dropped – last year to just under 10 yards per reception.

This is Thomas’ sixth season. He’s had one very good year and, arguably, two solid ones. He’s never played 16 games in a season, so there are durability questions. And it’s very legit, I believe, to point out that the two seasons in which he combined for 24 TDs were the two years Peyton Manning played his best football in Denver.

In Jacksonville, he’s playing with up-and-coming Blake Bortles, but he’s competing for balls with the likes of Robinson and Hurns. Combine declining stats that are falling from a level that was never superstar-like with his being fragile and number three on the target chart, and I’ll happily pass on Thomas. I just believe there are safer options – including some of the guys Tony mentioned above.

The argument against Bennett is a bit harder to make. He has been a legitimate star, at least at times, throughout his first eight seasons, with the capstone so far being a 90 catch, 916 yard, six TD campaign in 2014.

Pair him with Angry Tom Brady for the last 12 weeks of fantasy football and I think, even with Gronk in the mix, I think you’ve got a possible superstar. Word has leaked that Bennett could be on the field for 80 percent of the Patriots’ offensive plays. That harkens back, as many have said, to the days when Gronk and Aaron Hernandez used to play together. The best of those three seasons was 2011, when they combined for 169 catches, more than 2,200 yards and 24 TDs. In 2012, the duo missed a combined 11 games, but still produced 106 catches, nearly 1,300 yards and 16 TDs.

The last three seasons, however, New England’s second-highest performing tight ends have combined for a total of 61 catches, 654 yards and 11 TDs – probably not terrible for a TE2, but certainly not numbers that are fantasy relevant spread over three seasons.

I believe that the addition of Bennett will see the Patriots’ offense more strongly resemble the 2010-2012 dual threat TE numbers when Gronk and Hernandez were together than the 2013-2015 stretch during which Hernandez has been doing time.

But it’s not like the New England offense has shriveled up and disappeared the last three seasons. It’s still been quite good, even with one star TE and some mostly pedestrian WR. All I’m saying is, if you do draft Bennett, have a backup plan, just in case the TE2 in this offense is a bit fantasy underwhelming.