“A good tight end is hard to find,” Hugh Hefner once said….  Actually, I’m not sure he said that at all with the over abundance of solid tight ends at the Playboy Mansion, but maybe that was his initial thought before he started his empire.  With tight ends in mind, the 2007 NFL football season should have enough solid play at the TE position to go around when it comes to drafting your fantasy squad this year.  Only problem is, their stats will read something like 75-800-6 instead of 34C.  No TE in 2006 had over 1,000 yards receiving, or even more than 10 TD’s, so it seems like all the buzz around tight ends taking over the sport went right down the tubes, so don’t rush too quickly trying to pick one up in your draft this year.  Here are the top 10 tight ends (sadly, there will be no mention of Jessica Biel ☹ ):

1.    Antonio Gates – TE San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates enjoyed himself another solid season in 2006 and solidified his spot as the top TE in the NFL.  He put up 71 catches for 924 yards and 9 TD’s during the ’06 season, even though all the attention went to LT in the San Diego offense.  Having a more mature Rivers at QB should bode well for Gates, as I would expect his numbers to be very similar if not better in 2007.

2.    Tony Gonzalez – TE Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez is a sure fire hall of famer, but his fire isn’t out just yet.  After posting 73 catches and 900 yards with 5 TD’s in 2006, he should do much of the same as the #1 pass catching option in KC.  Even though Green was sent packing to Miami, Huard should find Gonzo plenty of times to keep fantasy owners happy.  After all, their #1 WR is Samie Parker….

3.    Todd Heap – TE Baltimore Ravens
Todd Heap had a very solid 2006 campaign with 73 catches, 765 yards and 6 TD’s.  He is one of the more consistent TE’s week by week, and should be thought of as such during your draft this year.  Even though Baltimore has Clayton and Mason at WR, Heap seems to be the most reliable and consistent, which plays right into the strategy of McNair.

4.    Jeremy Shockey – TE New York Giants
Jeremy Shockey had himself a nice little 2006 season, putting up 66 catches for 623 yards and 7 TD’s.  With Tiki Barber retiring, I would expect Eli to look for Shockey more frequently than in years past.  I would expect a catch total in the range of 75 and his yardage to be around 750, but look for his TD production to be around 8-9 TD’s this year.

5.    Chris Cooley – TE Washington Redskins
Chris Cooley had a decent year in ’06 putting up 57 receptions for 734 yards and 6 TD’s.  With the maturation of Jason Campbell, I would expect more out of Cooley this year.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see his reception total around 65 and his yardage output near 750 in 2007.

6.    Kellen Winslow – TE Cleveland Browns
Kellen Winslow had a great 2006 season, leading all TE’s with 89 catches and put up 875 yards and 3 TD’s.  Sadly, he might be the only offense weapon in Cleveland besides Travis Hafner.  Unfortunately, Hafner plays baseball, so that does zero good for the Brownies.  Look for lots of catches, but not the same production in the end zone for Winslow in 2007.

7.    Jason Witten – TE Dallas Cowboys
Jason Witten put up a solid 2006 season, catching 64 balls for 754 yards and 1 TD.  He seemed to play better once they inserted Tony Romo as the starting QB, and I would look for more solid production out of Witten again this year.  With Owens and Glenn taking the secondary down the field with them, Witten had the middle of the field all to himself.

8.    L.J. Smith – TE Philadelphia Eagles
L.J. Smith put up 50 catches for 611 yards and 5 TD’s in 2006.  Not one of the more reliable TE’s when it comes to fantasy production; I would look for solid stats from Smith in 2007 being as it is a contract year for him.  If McNabb can stay healthy, he can definitely go above and beyond all of his stats from 2006.