When Antonio Gates is on his game, he is ridiculous. The first half of last season, he was having one of the best seasons for a TE that I can remember. Unfortunately…. the second half was a different story.
After week 8, Gates played in just two games going for a bit over 100 yards and 1 TD total. He was battling plantar fasciitis last season and apparently still is. This stuff is chronic. I had a family member that fought it for a few years before getting it under control… and she wasn’t a huge man running around at full speed with other huge men trying to clobber her. Personally, I hate unpredictability like that, especially when there are several alternatives this year.
The TE class in this draft seems particularly deep, given several players that emerged last season and several returning from injury. If you think you want to go for a top TE, Jason Witten is going about a round or round and a half after Gates and has not missed a game in seven years… in spite of playing this tough.
[...] Should you Draft Antonio Gates at Tight End in 2011? [...]