Sleeper Alert
Drafted by the Cowboys with the 30th pick in 2008, Martellus Bennett has averaged 24-212-1 over the past four seasons. Due to nagging injuries and a future Hall of Famer named Jason Witten in front of him on the depth chart, Bennett didn’t get a whole lot of playing time in Dallas and only averaged 33 targets per season. With the expiration of his rookie contract in 2012, Bennett has found a new place to call home in the “Big Apple”.
The New York Giants lost both of their tight ends (Ballard & Beckum) in the Super Bowl and were in much need of a replacement, as neither tight end is projected to return for the 2012 season. Bennett suddenly finds himself in a fantasy relevant situation. He could be a solid sleeper tight end option with all the attention being directed towards Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Fred Davis and Jermichael Finley. Bennett’s current ADP puts him in the 11th or 12th rounds of a start-up draft, or about the 13th tight end off the board with the potential to produce 55-850-5.
Bennett was pretty disappointing in Dallas through his first four seasons, but the kid is 6’ 6”, 270 pounds and only 25 years young. Can you think of a better red zone target? He now has Eli Manning tossing him the rock and just as many weapons around him as he did in Dallas with Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle to open up those seam routes. With little to no competition for playing time at tight end, the sleeper potential is there and his fantasy outlook appears to be very promising.
Nice write-up, Whos_Ur_Doggie. I agree, Bennett has nice upside given the value. I always liked him in Dallas, I’m glad he is going to finally get a solid shot to perform like a team’s true TE1.
Good info Whos_Ur_Doggie. As soon as I saw the trade go I snagged him off the ww, I believe he has a shot to be very fantasy relevant as well.
Thanks Smitty and RBF. At his current ADP, he’s well worth the risk/reward IMO. Getting him off the WW is even better! He’ll finally get his shot to be a TE1 and his size makes him a nice red zone target for Eli.
Guys? Are you sure? Weren’t there commitment issues with him?
At the value, there isn’t much risk. If he didn’t have issues, he’d be getting drafted higher. Refresh my memory on any specifics you have, though, I’d be interested to hear for sure.
Hey Bubba – I’m not aware of any commitment issues either but please share what you know. At is current ADP, he’s not even close to the other TE1′s yet he’s the TE1 on the NYG roster who use their TE quite a bit. He’s definitely going to get his chance this year.