Highest Ranking #3 by Tony Holm
Although I have Sharpe ranked third, I want to stress it is a distant third to Tony Gonzalez and Marcus Pollard. After those two the drop off is steep to the next few TEs like Sharpe and Bubba Franks. Shannon Sharpe is coming home to the system that made him the most prolific pass catching TE to ever play the game. Shannon Sharpe, whether you like him or not, is an automatic shoe in to Canton and in the history of the game, the best TE to ever play and still be playing today. The reason Sharpe is as successful as he has been is because he is a player like Jerry Rice or Tim Brown or even Emmitt Smith. Guys that don't hit the wall hard but rather, lose just a fraction each season. Ben Coates was a monster at the TE position for years but is an example of a player that hit the wall hard. On top of the world one day, gone the next. Shannon Sharpe still has the desire and skill to play this game. As this will likely be his final year he is not in this for the paycheck or the statistics as he already has those. He is in this for himself and that will shine through. The Shanahan offense is an ultra TE friendly system as evidenced by his prolific usage of the position particularly in the red zone. Dwayne Carswell and Desmond Clark were very active in this offense last year and before that, Shannon Sharpe ruled the flat. If Brian Griese can stay on the field, Shannon Sharpe should be up around 800-1000 yards and 6-9 TDs, if not he will still get around 700 yards and 5-7 TDs placing him near the top of the TE class no matter what happens. I ranked Sharpe third because of the system he is in, his talent, his QB and because Bubba Franks is over rated. Ole' hands of stone Bubba won't be on any of my fantasy teams this season.

Lowest Ranking #12 by Chris Smith
Sharpe has had an awesome career but I believe he went back to Denver as much for his leadership qualities than for his receiving. I still have him catching 50 passes for 560 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns for the Broncos but he will not be the top five tight end most are calling him this year. He has a terrific teammate in Desmond Clark who will get his turns catching the ball from the tight end position (I have Clark with 35 receptions) and has lots of competition for touches at wide receiver with Rod Smith, Ed McCaffrey and hotshot rookie Ashley Lelie. I have Sharpe ranked at #12 and I believe that is the perfect place for him to be taken. I like the potential of players like Shockey, and Heap more than him this year.