Should we all be getting interested about selecting Zach Ertz in fantasy drafts this summer? He was drafted in the second round last year, and the recent history of those tight ends in their second seasons in the pros is pretty solid.
Over the last decade, there have been 14 other tight ends selected in the second round. Eight of those players have put up over 500 receiving yards in their second season; a ninth, Kyle Rudolph, finished with 493 and caught 9 TDs. Five of those players caught 5 TDs.
Gavin Escobar (Dallas) and Vance McDonald (San Francisco) also were second-round picks a year ago, but the odds are against them doing anything in year 2 -- they're stuck behind two of the league's elite tight ends. Ertz, who should be Philadelphia's main receiver at the position, looks like the best bet for a breakout season.
The second-year numbers from second-round tight ends over the last 10 years, sorted by yards, are presented below.
YEAR 2 NUMBERS, 2ND-ROUND TES, 2004-PRESENT | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Pick | Player | No | Yds | TD |
2010 | 42 | Rob Gronkowski | 90 | 1327 | 17 |
2007 | 38 | Zach Miller | 56 | 778 | 1 |
2012 | 34 | Coby Fleener | 52 | 608 | 4 |
2008 | 38 | John Carlson | 51 | 574 | 7 |
2006 | 61 | Tony Scheffler | 49 | 549 | 5 |
2004 | 40 | Ben Troupe | 55 | 530 | 4 |
2011 | 47 | Lance Kendricks | 42 | 519 | 4 |
2008 | 48 | Fred Davis | 48 | 509 | 6 |
2011 | 43 | Kyle Rudolph | 53 | 493 | 9 |
2008 | 61 | Martellus Bennett | 15 | 159 | 0 |
2006 | 53 | Anthony Fasano | 14 | 143 | 1 |
2006 | 46 | Joe Klopfenstein | 2 | 37 | 1 |
2004 | 61 | Kris Wilson | 3 | 33 | 0 |
2009 | 64 | Richard Quinn | 1 | 9 | 0 |
2013 | 35 | Zach Ertz | ? | ? | ? |
2013 | 47 | Gavin Escobar | ? | ? | ? |
2013 | 55 | Vance McDonald | ? | ? | ? |
--Andy Richardson