2011 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Lance Kendricks Could Provide Late Tight End Value

The St. Louis Rams’ rookie tight end, Lance Kendricks, could be a fantastic fantasy draft sleeper in 2011. Or he could be Joe Klopfenstein.

Dear 2011 fantasy football sleeper-hunters: I want you to do your best to forget about Joe Klopfenstein. I was like you—in 2006 I took the Sleeper Mag advice and drafted a St. Louis Rams rookie tight end under the impression that the offensive coordinator was going to utilize him heavily. He ended up catching 20 balls for one touchdown. But forget about that—it’s 2011, and the new tight end who’s going to be utilized heavily by the Rams’ mad scientist offensive coordinator is Lance Kendricks!

Kendricks caught 11 balls for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the preseason! He was Sam Bradford‘s favorite target! He’s a big, mobile tight end in a Josh McDaniels offense, and the other man in the two-tight-end set, Michael Hoomanawanui, is always injured!

Don’t let it bother you that the guy who was second in receptions, Mardy Gilyard, has been cut, or that the guy who was third in yards, Donnie Avery, was also cut, or that Fendi Onobun, the second most-popular tight end, was also cut. Don’t let that bother you at all. Just draft Lance Kendricks, so I won’t be alone in reliving my Joe Klopfenstein nightmares forevermore.