Drew Loftis
The recent heyday of tight ends may not be over, but it is taking a sabbatical for a season. Though Jimmy Graham remains as a symbol of the way things were way back in 2012, he is the last remaining dominant force in the TE galaxy.
Injuries, age, changing offenses and a deep talent pool have provided an expanded list of fantasy draft options — prompting the Tracker to wait until the last third of the draft to address this position, often just before turning our attention to defense/special teams, and, finally, kickers.
ONE-STAR SYSTEM
The gap between Jimmy Graham and the next best TE may be larger than even the one between Adrian Peterson and the second-best running back. But that is not enough to make us spend a second- or third-round pick on the Saints star. We would rather have a strong second RB or premier No. 1 wide receiver.
AP
Jared Cook
BRIGHT, BUT FADING
The second wave of TEs has some solid picks in Rounds 6-8. Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Vernon Davis are nice to have, nevertheless we will continue to wait in favor of building depth at the primary spots — RB, WR, QB.
In this vicinity, you might also find Rob Gronkowski. When healthy, he is on the level with Graham, but coming off back surgery and with his availability to start the season in question, we're not willing to gamble on him with a fifth-round pick.
TARGET LOCK
Barring a surprising slip of one of the aforementioned stars, the first guy we have realistic aspirations to nab is Greg Olsen in Round 10. A landmark for Olsen is Owen Daniels. Once Daniels is selected, Olsen is not far behind.
Though Olsen is our initial TE of interest, he is not our favorite. For value, we like Jared Cook in the 11th round. With a crop of young WRs and RBs in St. Louis, it is easy to envision QB Sam Bradford leaning on his newly acquired TE, particularly near the goal line.
Still searching? New Giants
TE Brandon Myers is a nice find in Rounds 10-11. The trick is, he often goes in front of Cook. So if you bypass Myers, make sure you nab Cook.
Let someone else take Antonio Gates around this time. Despite Danario Alexander's injury, Gates and his QB, Philip Rivers, have seen better days.
TIGHT SPOT
Still looking in late, late rounds, steer your attention toward Tyler Eifert and Jordan Cameron.
DEFEND YOUR HONOR
You don't need a top defense/special teams to win your league. You can add/drop from the waivers each week and survive. But that's not ideal. While you don't want to waste an early or middle pick on DEF/ST,
landing a weekly starting unit is preferable.
Figure you are not going to get the Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos or Bears. And that's fine. And we often miss on the Bengals, Patriots and Steelers ... still comfortable.
We're going to wait until our final three or four picks to address this spot, and take the best remaining, often among the Rams, Ravens, Dolphins, Cowboys or Cardinals.
Of these, the Ravens are our favorite.
THE LAST PICK YOU MAKE ...
... should be a kicker. Only in the rarest of circumstances should this rule be avoided.
Kickers are wildly inconsistent from year to year, and the difference between the best kicker and, say, the 14th best last season was 2.2 points per game. If you know who the best kicker is going to be this season (Hint: you don't), it still would not be worth 2.2 points a week to select him any higher.
Next week in Episode VI: A late sleeper pick can ignite your fantasy season, almost as much as an early bust can ruin one.
dloftis@nypost.com
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