Fantasy Football 2012 Rankings: Atlanta Falcons Tight End Tony Gonzalez

Whether he wins a Super Bowl this season or not with the Atlanta Falcons, Tony Gonzalez will go down as arguably the greatest tight end to ever play in the NFL when he decides to call it a career–which apparently will be after this season. Even at the age of 36, Gonzalez will be considered one of the top tight ends heading into the fantasy football 2012 season–which is why he ranks No. 9 on this list.

Believe it or not, there’s plenty of reason to believe Gonzalez still has some gas left in the old tank considering he’s coming off his best season with the Falcons in 2011 after recording 80 catches for 875 yards to go along with seven touchdowns. After reaching the playoffs in three of the last four seasons, Atlanta heads into 2012 as one of the top teams once again in the NFC and Gonzalez has the opportunity to help the team record their first postseason win during the Mike Smith era.

Fron a fantasy perspective, Gonzalez may be tempting to take in the mid-to-late rounds considering how many weapons the Falcons have on offense. With opponents focusing most of their attention on Roddy White and Julio Jones in the passing game, Gonzalez has the chance to receive more passes thrown his way from Matt Ryan if he can take advantage of the defense and find himself open more often.

Gonzalez has only missed two games during his 15-year career in the NFL and it’s obvious he’s going to do whatever it takes to finally win a Super Bowl. There’s a reason why Gonzalez is considered one of the best tight ends of all time–so he should put up impressive numbers once again in 2012.