Tennessee Titans - Fantasy News

Delanie Walker 2017 Fantasy Projections

by Tom Joyce

8/11/17

NFL

Tennessee Titans

Delanie Walker

Delanie Walker earned a $14.7 million, two-year contract from the Tennessee Titans prior to the 2016 NFL season, and he has proven to be one of the most steady and consistent tight ends in the league.

This year, there is little reason to expect that to change since the Titans are light on the depth chart at his position, which makes him a higher-floor pick. However, there are a few obstacles in his way.

Why Delanie Walker Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Stud

Over the past few years, Walker has been one of the best tight ends in the league, which is evident by his two Pro Bowl selections (2015 and 2016).

In 15 games last season, he made 65 receptions for 800 yards and caught a career-high seven touchdown passes. And, once again, he was a rather efficient target catching 63.8 percent of the passes intended for him. Thanks to his success, he put up 10.44 Dober Fantasy Points per game last fall, which ranked eighth among NFL tight ends.

As a third-year quarterback, Marcus Mariota has the potential to step up and have a career campaign. If he is fully healthy and plays to the best of his ability, then each of his targets would be in line to benefit, as more completed passes and touchdowns would help everyone’s stat sheet—including Walker’s.

Why Delanie Walker Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Dud

Throughout the course of the offseason, the Titans have stayed committed to Walker at tight end, but they have gone out and made other moves in order to improve their offense. They signed a few young wide receivers, but most notably added Taywan Taylor in the third round of the NFL Draft. Certainly, the Titans will likely try to implement him into their offense, which could mean less touches for everyone else in the scheme.

Walker has an extensive, yet mild, injury history. He has missed a game in each of the last four seasons. One game per year over the last four isn’t considered injury prone, but it shows he has a propensity to get banged up, which is something to be concerned about as the wear and tear piles up. At 32 years of age, he is one of the older players in the league.

Last year represented a drop in passes intended for Walker (from 135 in 2015 to 102 in 2016) and the least amount of balls thrown to him since his first year with the Titans in 2013. With that in mind, one has to wonder if the team—which won a combined five games in 2014 and 2015—is moving in a different direction, especially with a potential opt-out in Walker’s contract after this season.

One other problem with picking Walker as an older player is he’s not bound for a breakout year. He has been in the league for a long enough time where people know what he is capable of doing. So if he repeats what he did last year and has another Pro Bowl season, he would be an asset. But he is probably not going to do anything more than expected.