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Face Off - Is Tony Gonzalez worth selecting considering the high pick it will take to draft him?



Yes by Cathy Fazio
Tony Gonzalez is definitely worth the high draft pick that will be required to get him on any fantasy league team. Sure you may have to forego your third running back a round, but if you end up with Gonzalez on your team, you will be very thankful that you did.

Any time that you can shore up the best of the best at any position on your team you will have a distinct advantage over your opponents. And Tony Gonzalez is definitely the best of the best. Just take a look at his stats last year compared to the other top tight ends:

Tight End
Recs
Yards
TDs
Tony Gonzalez
71
916
10
Todd Heap
57
693
3
Jeremy Shockey
48
535
2
Alge Crumpler
44
552
3
Boo Williams
41
436
4
Randy McMichael
49
498
2
Bubba Franks
30
241
5
Freddie Jones
55
517
3

Now granted Shockey only started 9 games and Gonzalez started 16. But still Gonzalez was far and above the other top fantasy tight ends. His receiving numbers were also enough to put him in the top 20 of all receivers last season in total receptions and yards. And his 10 touchdowns were enough to put him in the top 10 for receiving touchdowns. He is not just the elite at his position; his numbers put him among the top wide receivers in the league as well.

Gonzalez is also valuable simply because of his consistency. Since 1998, his second year in the NFL, he has only missed 1 game. That is just incredible.

So if you use a high draft pick to acquire Gonzalez for your team, you will be acquiring the best of the best tight ends as well as a top receiver. And you won't be disappointed.


No by Michael Brown
In past years, Gonzalez was thought to have returned to the pack a little bit based partly on his own slowly dwindling stats and partly on the rise of other top options (Jeremy Shockey, Todd Heap, Randy McMichael, Alge Crumpler). But this year is slightly different, in that Gonzalez is not only coming off an injury, but is currently fighting one.

There are always rumors around the league that Player X has the same injury as (insert player's name who suffered devastating injury). More often than not, it's just not true. Or more is made of it than need be. But in the case of Tony Gonzalez, the opinions that his injury is the same one suffered by Michael Bennett last year scare me off - quick.

Sure, Gonzalez posted more incredible totals last year. He is the number one receiving option on arguably the best offense in football. And it could be a case where he is able to make it through the season unscathed. But Gonzalez has already acknowledged that he will undergo surgery after the season to repair the damage, and he has resigned himself to the fact that he will play all season with lingering pain in his foot. Now I know, ALL NFL players play with pain. But playing in pain is quite different from playing with an injury that is causing pain. There is no telling if it will get worse at any moment.

In this year's drafts, the third round should be about taking the sure thing at WR1; Joe Horn, Santana Moss, Derrick Mason, Steve Smith. Those are the guys you should look to. The gap between the "big 3" tight ends and the rest of the pack isn't that much different, statistically speaking. But the gap in average draft position is enormous. You can spend a third round pick on Tony Gonzalez or an eighth round pick on Boo Williams. Doesn't seem like a difficult decision to get the sure thing at wideout and go for a value play at tight end considering the many question marks surrounding Gonzalez.

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