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Delanie Walker’s first season with the Tennessee Titans was a success, as he set career-highs across the board with 60 receptions for 571 yards and six touchdowns. His fantasy value also reached a new high, with Walker finishing as the 12th-highest scoring tight end in ESPN standard leagues (87 points). He is in line for a big role again this year, and this time fantasy owners will have Walker on their radar from the start.
Positives
Walker was targeted 17 times in the red zone last year, which was tied for third-most among tight ends, and five of his touchdowns came in that area of the field. His role as a primary target when the Titans get close to the end zone should not go away this year.
Walker got compared to Antonio Gates by new Titans’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt, so it’s possible his role will actually expand this year. Outside of Kendall Wright the Titans have a lot of question marks at wide receiver, so Walker should again see plenty of targets (5.7 per game last year) regardless.
Negatives
Ryan Fitzpatrick started nine games for the Titans last year, and Walker had 38 receptions for 326 yards in the seven games they played together the most in surrounding a concussion that kept Walker out of essentially two games. Walker caught three of his touchdowns from Fitzpatrick as well, so the veteran quarterback’s departure looks like bad news for him.
If Jake Locker has another injury plagued season, Charlie Whitehurst is now his primary backup and rookie Zach Mettenberger may not be ready to go until later in the season as he works his way back from a torn ACL. That is obviously not an ideal situation for any of Tennessee’s pass catchers.
Walker averaged just 9.5 yards per catch last year and 6.6 yards per target last year, which is the same territory occupied by Brandon Pettigrew and Anthony Fasano in those categories. So it’s possible Walker does not have any more upside.
Final Verdict
Last year looks likely to stand out as Walker’s career year, so fantasy owners that expect similar production this year will be left disappointed. But he is worth drafting in 12 and 14-team leagues as a TE2 with minimal downside, and Walker will do just enough to maintain a roster spot in most fantasy leagues all season.
Projected Round: 12th Round
Auction Value: $3 (Fantasy Pros.com)
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
