2014 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 5 Reasons You Should Wait To Draft a TE

I'm stealing this one from ESPN's Matthew Berry, but being among the first to draft a tight end or one of the last is sound strategy. More on this as we go along.

It's fair to assume Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas went undrafted in a lot of leagues last year, but he became a popular waiver wire pickup after a big game in Week 1 and finished as the third-highest scoring tight end in ESPN leagues (65 receptions for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns). That's a unique case, but it also points what can be found on the waiver wire at tight end.

In ESPN standard scoring last year nine tight ends posted at least 100 points and a 10th, Martellus Bennett, came close (96 points). Not included in that group is Rob Gronkowski, Kyle Rudolph, Dennis Pitta and Jordan Reed, who all missed at least seven games in 2013 and could finish as top-10 fantasy tight ends this year.

New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham outscored second-place Vernon Davis by 55 points in ESPN standard leagues in 2013. The next nine tight ends, starting with Davis, were separated by 60 points. If you don't want to use a first-round pick or significant auction money on Graham, you're better off waiting awhile to draft a tight end.

Even with Graham's wide receiver-like production, I'd rather use a first-round pick on another position and add depth at those spots before drafting a tight end in most cases.