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2014 Fantasy Football: You Need to Know TE Levine Toilolo

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By @SicEm18

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Every year — it seems — there’s a player who no one knows about who makes a big splash in fantasy football. Last year, that player came in the form of tight end Julius Thomas. Now he’s a second tier TE fetching third-round value in mock drafts. Four years ago, it was running back Peyton Hillis who took the NFL by storm and found his way onto the Madden 12 cover.

My candidate for breakout player of the year may not be making these impressions, but he certainly fits the bill considering not many people know him and he’s going completely undrafted. That player is Atlanta Falcons TE Levine Toilolo.

Why do I love this tight end so much? As I was researching Matt Ryan‘s potential for a rebound season, I remembered that Tony Gonzalez is no longer active and will be replaced this season. He leaves behind a great gap in the offensive powerhouse the Falcons have been in the past, but Toilolo is no small man.

He stands at a towering 6-foot-8 and packs 265 pounds at the line, and should be an imposing threat to defenses. To say he’s a mismatch for defenders is an understatement. He has a total catch range of 12 feet vertically and 18 feet horizontally — it’ll be hard to miss that kind of target.

His inexperience is a concern, as he’s only a year removed from being a fourth-round pick. But I would find it hard to believe he didn’t learn something from the great mentorship of Gonzalez. While he’s not as athletically imposing has his mentor, he must have at least learned some mechanics and know-how along the way during his quiet rookie season.

Though it was quiet, it was certainly not unimpressive. Taking in a single touchdown in the NFL is feat, and Toilolo did it twice last season … on 11 receptions. Over the past five seasons, Gonzalez had never seen less than 70 catches from Ryan — consistently seeing over 110 targets. To boot, Ryan had also become more comfortable throwing balls to his ends in the end zone — increasing Gonzalez’s TD total progressively each season (seeing eight in each of the last two seasons).

While Toilolo won’t be seeing 35 TDs this season — keeping up his rate from last year — but I’m confident he will at least attract consistent attention from his quarterback this season in the end zone. He could easily match those eight touchdowns Gonzalez showed capable. At his time at Stanford, he caught a touchdown every five receptions and averaged 15 yards per reception. Though he won’t be seeing that high of an average, he should be seeing roughly 9-10 yards per catch this season.

Assuming Ryan keeps liking his replacement TE, a 600-yard season with eight TDs is certainly a possibility — and that could go even higher. That’s near 110 points, and is certainly a worthy pick, yet he’s never drafted because no one really knows about him (or recognizes his potential, at least). If you’re roster is all set by the end round, don’t hold back on him. What are you going to lose with a 16th-round pick? Not much. At that point in the draft, it’s safe to draft on potential and he certainly has a bounty of it. You can take the risk of losing him in waivers early this season, or you can look like the genius that picked him in the draft. And if he doesn’t pan out, someone else can easily replace him on your squad because of how little you paid for his service — you’d never look the wiser.

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