Tennessee Titans fantasy focus: Delanie Walker

By Dale Lolley | Jul 8, 2017

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 29: Delanie Walker #82 of the Tennessee Titans argues with a defender after a play against the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Tight end Delanie Walker is an integral part of the Tennessee Titans offense, but what will his fantasy football impact be in 2017?

By Delanie Walker‘s lofty standards, 2016 was a down year. But a down season for the Tennessee Titans star tight end was still good enough to rank among the best in the league.

Coming off a career-best season in 2015, when he snagged 94 passes for 1,088 yards and six scores, some fall-off was expected. After all, how many players have their best season at 31? Walker turns 33 in August but he doesn’t appear to be slowing down just yet despite his catch total falling to 65 last year.

A big reason for that dropoff was the fact his targets fell from a career-best 133 in 2015 to 102 in 2016. Those 102 targets were Walker’s fewest since he had just 83 in his first season with the Titans in 2013.

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With the Titans having added a bunch of new weapons, it’s unlikely Walker will get anything approaching 133 targets this season. But those added targets also will take some defensive pressure off the big tight end, perhaps increasing his catch percentage. The continued maturation of quarterback Marcus Mariota also should help.

Walker had 11 games last season with six or more targets. But in seven of those games, he had five or fewer catches. With that kind of workload, Walker should is a strong No. 1 tight end in all fantasy formats.

Young Jonnu Smith, drafted this year perhaps as Walker’s eventual replacement, could make in impact. But he’s not ready to take on anything close to a full workload.

According to 4for4.com, the schedule sets up nicely for Walker as well. Of the Titans’ 16 opponents this season, only five ranked in the top 10 last year defending opposing tight ends.

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Walker doesn’t have the upside of Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski or Greg Olsen, but he’s as steady as they come. He’s also played at least 15 games in each of the past six seasons. You can feel pretty safe taking him in the fifth or sixth round as your starting tight end.

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