Dynasty Fantasy Football Trading Post: George Kittle

People will argue over pretty much anything these days. Do you like pizza? Well, I hate pizza! Do you breathe air? Air is terrible! Recently, I was unfortunately part of an argument over grown-up onesie pajamas. “Onesies are comfortable, convenient, and since they are one piece you always match!” was one side of the argument. “Why have one outfit when you can mix and match pajama pants and shirts or take one off if you are too hot?” was the other side. As with most arguments, this is a matter of opinion. There is no right answer. Of course people will still yell as if they are correct and anyone who says otherwise is insane. In case you were curious, I am on the second side. I want to like onesies but I get way too warm in them.

While you need to change a few of the words around, this same argument is constantly had in fantasy football over onesie positions: tight ends and quarterbacks (in 1QB leagues). “I like having a stud at a onesie position, I feel comfortable with my starter every week, it is convenient not to have to make a start/sit decision every week, and I know what to expect every week”, versus, “streaming multiple players at onesie positions is the way to go. You have multiple players you can choose from allowing you to play the best matchup. At the end of the season the separate players score, on average, end close to your onesie players, and you can add/drop players as needed”. Again, if you are curious, as long as the price is worth it I would prefer to have a stud in a onesie position rather than having to stream. When it comes down to it I would rather not have to make that weekly decision. I want to plug in a player I feel safe starting every week and not have to think about it.

There are a few tight ends I think give you that positional advantage where you feel safe starting them every week and you feel comfortable starting them no matter who they are playing. If it were up to me I would have Travis Kelce on every team but that clearly isn’t a reality for a few reasons. There are a few other tight ends I would be more than happy to have on my team but given the price and production, I have one player I have been trying to acquire more. After a rocky, injury-filled start to last season, my new favorite tight end to have on my competing teams (if I can’t get Kelce) is…

George Kittle, TE SF

Since 2018, Kittle has finished as TE3, 2, 3, 3, and 4 in points per game (with a .75 TE premium). Unfortunately we need to use points per game here because there was only one season where Kittle played every game. The question you have to ask yourself is: will my tight end missing three games this season be enough of a negative that I would miss out on that aforementioned studly output whenever he is healthy? The positive here is that injury risk is baked into his price.

It is now time for my favorite part: time to dive into the DLF Trade Finder and Trade Analyzer to see how we feel about his real-life value.

12-team, superflex, tight end premium, that is my sweet spot for leagues. The 1.09 is also pretty close to the sweet spot of what I would be willing to send as a one-for-one draft pick trade for my new fave. According to DLF Superflex Rookie ADP, by the time you reach the 1.09 you missed out on the four first-round quarterbacks, top two running backs, and top two wide receivers. In my opinion, those eight players make up the tier of players I would feel strongly about wanting on my fantasy teams. There are definitely some players I like and believe will be good in the NFL after those eight but if you are telling me I can trade that pick for Kittle on a competing team I would most likely do it every time.

Even with no premium scoring, I think the analyzer is showing some major disrespect to the step that Evan Engram took last season on the Jaguars. Of course, Calvin Ridley is joining the offense this year so he will soak up an easy 60% target share but even still I think Engram showed enough by the end of last season that he can be trusted as a fantasy tight end. Though I believe his value should be higher in the analyzer, I don’t believe that Elijah Moore comes anywhere close to bridging the gap between the two tight ends. I would send these two players all day for Kittle.

I chose to write this article because I do believe that adding Kittle to any competing team is a smart move. I also thought it would be fun to show a trade where I think trading away that player would still be worth it. This happens to be a trade I made. Last year my team was in a hard rebuild so I changed the team name from Dynasty Outhouse to Outhouse Fire. I am hilarious. I had started turning my rebuild around in the past few months and grabbed my guy to be my anchor at tight end. But in the non-point scoring season you don’t have a “need” at any position. You still have five months before you need to set a lineup. So if an offer comes along in April that leaves me without a starting tight end, I just don’t care. That was the situation here. I am a big believer in Garrett Wilson and will start feeling even stronger if the Aaron Rodgers deal goes through. This felt like an easy price to pay even though it was very sad seeing Mr. Kittle pack his bags and head out of the building.

Clearly, your feelings on adult pajamas don’t correlate directly to how you play fantasy football. Though it would be super interesting if they did… If you are like me in the way you play onesie positions in fantasy football, then slip in those feeties and zip up those warm and comfy feelings every week by going out and getting George Kittle to help you win those championships.