Call me crazy, and you would not be the first, but I miss the TV commercials where the confident, bearded fellow used to tell everyone, and I am paraphrasing, that he did not always drink beer, but when he did, he knew exactly which beer he wanted. I feel that way about Chicago Bears tight end Trey Burton this fantasy season. I mean, I know I have to draft a tight end in each fantasy league, and will at some point, but I do not do it early in drafts or invest significant money in the position in auctions. I wait a while and ... Burton is so often the one I choose to secure, an outstanding 10th-round selection.
One of the themes I believe in is that rookie quarterbacks are going to make mistakes and drive their coaches and fantasy managers wild, but when they get to that second season, good things tend to happen if the organization has made proper decisions. Like with Oakland's Derek Carr and the Rams' Jared Goff, good things happened when the level of talent around them vastly improved, and they had a chance to succeed. Year 1 was about seeing the pace of the pro game, getting reps and, of course, mistakes would happen. Year 2 went considerably better.
I have been preaching about Kansas City Chiefs sophomore Patrick Mahomes but also believe Bears passer Mitchell Trubisky, now that the organization has upgraded the offensive line, the skill positions and especially the coaching, will thrive. Offensive-minded Matt Nagy comes over from the Chiefs to run things, and while it does not make me want to view Trubisky as quite a top-12 QB yet, I think Burton immediately inherits the Travis Kelce role that Nagy established. Look at that Chicago offense, and it makes sense to me.
After all, Burton did play a key role at times for loaded Philadelphia, catching five touchdown passes during the regular season and throwing a brilliant passing one in the Super Bowl, and he can absolutely handle a large role in Chicago. In fact, he will.
Burton boasts good hands and showed in several games last season he can get open, whether it is at the goal line or not. He can block, but I doubt the Bears want him doing a ton of it. The team has wide receivers of varying skills, health and career achievement, but Burton should be one of the most targeted options. I see Evan Engram numbers ahead, with something like 70 catches for 750-plus yards and at least six scores.
Anyway, Burton has already found his merry way onto a bunch of my teams. I will not draft a tight end in the first few rounds, and Burton's ADP is 12th round. Works for me! Here are others, listed by position, whom I seem to be choosing in my myriad drafts.