Up next are the Tight Ends.  Here is a look at my projected Top 10 fantasy football performers for the 2009 season, well ahead of the Free Angency and Draft mania.

1.    Jason Witten / Dallas Cowboys
Witten had a solid 2008 NFL Season but not the spectacular campaign most were expecting.   Tony Romo and Marion Barber both battled injuries, The Boys shook things up by adding Roy E Williams at midseason, Terrell Owens continued to whine around the clock and the Cowboys' offense was generally out of synch.  But we’re looking for Jerra Jones to finally wake up, smell the White Rock Coffee and cut the cancerous TO from his football team.  With TO out of the mix, Romo and Witten would be free to connect with reckless abandon.  You know, that just doesn’t sound right…but draft Witten anyway.


2.    Tony Gonzalez / Kansas City Chiefs
Fantasy Football experts have been predicting the demise of Tony Gonzalez for about five years now.   And the aging future Hall-of-Famer is certainly inching closer to that crushing season where he suddenly looks like he’s 50 and just falls off a cliff statistically.  But his 2008 NFL campaign led all Tight End fantasy football scoring and new Quarterback Tyler Thigpen relies on him heavily.  So until proven otherwise, Gonzo will remain near the top of this list.


3.    Dallas Clark / Indianapolis Colts
Similar to what should go down in the Lone Star State, there’s a scenario brewing in Indy where it appears Marvin Harrison might be moving on.  If that happens, Dallas Clark becomes the default #2 receiving option behind Reggie Wayne.  You could argue he’s been that for the past couple seasons, but it will be more pronounced in 2009.   Like Jason Witten of the Cowboys, Clark is really just hitting the peak years of his NFL career.  And because he has the most reliable Tight End in football, he’s a very safe bet to produce consistently.


4.    Antonio Gates / San Diego Chargers
Gates has fallen off a bit the past couple of years and never seemed completely right in 2008.  Plus, Head Coach Norv Turner involves the wide receivers a bit more than his predecessor, Marty Schottenheimer.  But Gates is still a massive man with deceptive speed—making him a serious match-up problem for any NFL team without an Outside Linebacker or Strong Safety who can not only match him stride for stride, but also bring him down once he has the football.  There aren’t many NFL defenders who can keep this guy from getting his Fantasy numbers each week.


5.    Chris Cooley / Washington Redskins
The speedy Redskin H-Back gets the nod here for his extremely consistent production over the past few years.  There’s no reason to expect him to rise much above this level in 2009 but also no reason to expect him to decline at all.  And because he’s not the sexy, high-upside pick that John Carlson of the Seattle or the Texans' Owen Daniels might be, you can probably snag him a bit later in your draft.  Cooley is a dependable scorer who will have an occasional 2-TD game which will help you eke out a few games.


6.    Owen Daniels / Houston Texans
Talk about a sleeper pick in 2008 - - you probably could have picked this guy up as a free agent after your draft.  But Owen Daniels finished the NFL regular season around #5 overall and there’s room for him to take it a step further next season.  FantasyTIP likes Houston to make another leap in 2009 - - perhaps playing the role of next season’s Arizona Cardinals (if only they played in the same crap NFC West, they’d be golden).  And a stronger Texans team in 2009 should only improve Daniels’ numbers.


7.    John Carlson / Seattle Seahawks
It took Carlson a few NFL games to get rolling, but toward the end of the 2008 season, he was the #1 receiving option on a Seahawks team which was just decimated at Wide Receiver.  The Hawks will fix that this off-season but there will still be plenty of flying footballs to go around.  John Carlson has a good rapport with QB Matt Hasselbeck and their timing will only improve with a full off-season to get even more in synch.  Bigger names will come off the board earlier, so Carlson could prove to be a tremendous value.


8.    Kellen Winslow Jr / Cleveland Browns
I wonder how much this guy thinks about that day he was popping wheelies on his new cycle.   All the talent in the world with a 10 cent brain.  And now he’s just a never-ending string of injuries.  It’s strange how the body works—it just seems like one football injury begets another, then another, and another.  They don’t even need to be related - - but once they start, they’re hard to stop.  And as great as Winslow could be, he’s just not worth risking as a starting Tight End anymore.  The dude with the tude just can’t stay healthy.


9.    Heath Miller / Pittsburgh Steelers
Miller turned in another solid year but did regress a tad in 2008.  Much of the blame rests with the Steelers’ weak O-Line play for much of the season - - Big Ben just didn’t have time to throw.  Plus, having both Running Backs Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall go down to injuries certainly meant Miller was getting more attention from the Linebackers and Safeties.  Both areas should improve in 2009 for the Steelers, which should lift the numbers for Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh passing game.  Expect Heath Miller to rebound in 2009.


10.    Tony Scheffler / Denver Broncos
Finally, we round out our list with a wild-card, the one guy on this board with the potential to have dramatically better numbers than his draft position would indicate.  Of course, he could also continue to battle injuries and ruin your fantasy football season…but let’s stay positive here.  When he’s played, he’s been a favorite target of Quarterback Jay Cutler (they were roommates during their first season, and I understand they almost never kissed).  One of these seasons, he’s going to stay healthy for all 16 and make a dramatic difference in the plight of your fantasy football team.  Worth a later flyer for sure.


The One Notable Exception: Jeremy Shockey / New Orleans Saints
Meet the NFC’s version of Kellen Winslow Jr. - - tats and all.  Huge talent, questionable smarts and a body that’s taken too many beatings.  2009 will be a make or break year for Shockey and his sour attitude won’t make things any easier.  The Saints' offense seemed to do pretty well without him and Billy Miller is a serviceable replacement.  He could surprise us, but our money says Shockey’s best days as an NFL Tight End are behind him.