A report came out yesterday that Seattle might not have veteran tight end Ed Dickson (knee) at the start of the season. This is noteworthy only because they might have needed him. Will Dissly (pictured) is coming back from a serious knee injury of his own. Will Seattle have a draftable starter at the position?
In my TE-friendly dynasty league (tight ends get 1.5 points per reception), I have some interest in Dissly. He started out strong a year ago with a couple of big games, but tore the patella tendon in his knee and was lost for the season. He's reportedly been doing some work at practice this year, but it's a tough injury for a receiver to come back from -- still very much an unknown.
Seattle acquired Jacob Hollister from the Patriots in the offseason. I'm familiar with Hollister because I kept him around in dynasty for more than a season, hopeful he'd be the heir apparent to Rob Gronkowski. Obviously, that was a waste of time. Hollister got some early praise from Pete Carroll at OTAs, but now he's sitting out with a groin injury.
Nick Vannett is the team's other option at the position -- along with the returning Dissly, their only currently healthy one. So maybe he can come into some value. But maybe it's better not to bother pursuing any of these players, even in deep, TE-friendly formats.
Last season, all Seattle tight ends averaged just over 37 yards per game. That was better than only six other teams.
| TIGHT END YARDS PER GAME, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | No | Yards | TD | YPG |
| Philadelphia | 155 | 1571 | 12 | 98.2 |
| Kansas City | 115 | 1500 | 13 | 93.8 |
| San Francisco | 95 | 1481 | 7 | 92.6 |
| Indianapolis | 108 | 1216 | 21 | 76.0 |
| Pittsburgh | 86 | 1119 | 6 | 69.9 |
| Oakland | 91 | 1111 | 10 | 69.4 |
| Baltimore | 86 | 1071 | 5 | 66.9 |
| Washington | 84 | 966 | 5 | 60.4 |
| NY Giants | 79 | 935 | 5 | 58.4 |
| Green Bay | 81 | 922 | 4 | 57.6 |
| Tampa Bay | 73 | 911 | 11 | 56.9 |
| Cleveland | 75 | 853 | 8 | 53.3 |
| Tennessee | 67 | 802 | 7 | 50.1 |
| Atlanta | 85 | 799 | 5 | 49.9 |
| New England | 54 | 761 | 3 | 47.6 |
| Minnesota | 74 | 747 | 4 | 46.7 |
| Houston | 61 | 745 | 4 | 46.6 |
| New Orleans | 66 | 739 | 4 | 46.2 |
| NY Jets | 67 | 735 | 5 | 45.9 |
| Dallas | 68 | 710 | 4 | 44.4 |
| Cincinnati | 67 | 708 | 5 | 44.3 |
| Carolina | 65 | 676 | 7 | 42.3 |
| Chicago | 64 | 668 | 7 | 41.8 |
| Denver | 68 | 649 | 3 | 40.6 |
| LA Rams | 58 | 617 | 5 | 38.6 |
| Seattle | 51 | 600 | 8 | 37.5 |
| LA Chargers | 48 | 567 | 3 | 35.4 |
| Jacksonville | 59 | 530 | 1 | 33.1 |
| Buffalo | 56 | 525 | 1 | 32.8 |
| Arizona | 46 | 475 | 1 | 29.7 |
| Detroit | 45 | 461 | 4 | 28.8 |
| Miami | 39 | 386 | 2 | 24.1 |
Most of the teams who were worse than Seattle last year have more appeal at the spot for 2019. Miami has Mike Gesicki maybe ready to make an impact in year 2. Detroit used its top pick on T.J. Hockenson. The Chargers have Hunter Henry back healthy. Even the Bills (Dawson Knox) and Jaguars (Josh Oliver, though he's currently dealing with a hamstring injury) have youngsters who could develop into something.
Maybe a healthy Dissly changes that calculus. Maybe he'll be out there running routes and helping Seattle to improve on that 2019 production. But I think there are better fliers to chase; guys who aren't coming back from a severe knee injury.
I think everyone can steer clear of Seattle tight ends. Slot them slightly above Arizona, and move on.
--Andy Richardson