Daniel Graham

With a $5 million cap figure this season, the Broncos released Graham, who has always been used as a blocking tight end in Denver. The veteran signed a three-year deal with the Titans for $8.5 million, but his role will likely stay the same, limiting his fantasy value.

The departure of Tony Scheffler means Graham will be the main tight end used in Denver this season. His value, though, lies in his blocking, and while he’s likely to receive more targets sans Scheffler, it probably won’t vault him too far up the tight-end rankings. If Week 17 from last year is any indication, it won’t budge him at all. In the final week of the season, Denver was without Scheffler, Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. Yet Graham finished with just four receptions for 29 yards (this despite 56 attempts by Kyle Orton).

Graham begins the 2009 season as the starting tight end, however, he has always been used primarily as a blocker. While he may be good for a random touchdown here and there, Graham should not be considered a viable fantasy tight end.

Graham, who has seven touchdowns over the past three seasons combined, is technically the starter at tight end, but he is used primarily as a blocker, leaving Tony Scheffler to catch passes from the tight end position.

Under coach Mike Shanahan, the Broncos have traditionally been a team that uses its tight ends, however that wasn’t the case in 2006. Graham joins second-year man Tony Scheffler to give Jay Cutler two players capable of catching the ball from the position. Graham, who took a backseat to Ben Watson in New England last year, is an excellent blocker and will probably start, but we expect both to see enough snaps to have value. Graham’s value could come in the red zone where he had a league-average nine targets last year in a secondary role.

While the Patriots don’t frequently target their tight ends up and down the field, they are a big part of the red-zone offense. That is where Graham, also considered an outstanding blocker, gets much of his value. So even with the emerging Ben Watson, Graham, who has excellent speed for a big man, will get his looks and touchdowns.

Graham continues to be a red-zone threat for the Patriots, catching seven touchdown passes in 2004 after scoring four times in 2003. That’s where the value is, as Graham averaged a pedestrian 26 yards per game in 2004 (league average for starting tight ends was 27.4). But those numbers could fall, as there will more competition from last year’s No. 1 draft pick Ben Watson. Watson went down with a knee injury in Week 1, but was getting snaps before the injury. The two could see time on the field together as Watson can play wide. Graham could still be a factor, but fantasy owners may be disappointed on a week-to-week basis.

The fact that the Patriots selected a tight end with their second pick (32nd overall) in the first round is somewhat disconcerting, but Graham should retain the starting spot. He caught 23 more passes for 259 more yards in 2003 than in his rookie year and added three more touchdowns. Of some concern is that Graham showed a penchant for dropped balls in 2003, but he’s passed Christian Fauria on QB Tom Brady’s target meter. And because Brady likes to spread the touchdowns around, Graham has five-touchdown potential in 2004.

Graham was starting to make an impact midway through his rookie year when a shoulder injury hit and knocked him out for a month. Nonetheless, he was a first-round draft choice for a reason, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he tripled his stats from his rookie year (15 catches, 150 yards). Graham may not be drafted in a lot of leagues, but he's a high-upside player who needs to be accounted for - keep an eye on him.