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Craig Rondinone analyzes why Seattle Seahawks TE Gerald Everett is a sleeper for fantasy football in 2021.
Gerald Everett was stuck in a tight end timeshare as part of an offense whose passing attack rarely focused on its tight ends. Not anymore.
Everett took his talents to the Seattle Seahawks as soon as he could leave the Los Angeles Rams this offseason. He is now a multimillionaire member of Russell Wilson’s receiving corps and will have more opportunities to rack up yardage and touchdowns than he ever did when he was a supporting player in Sean McVay’s scripted passing offense.
Everett is currently ranked in the 16-19 range among tight ends depending on the fantasy format, yet he has plenty of things going on in his fantasy favor entering the 2021 campaign. You might draft Everett as a TE2 in September, but he could end up being a valuable TE1. Here is why Everett is a sleeper no fantasy manager should sleep on.
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Better Quarterback, Better Situation
Jared Goff has his moments, but many of those moments are him throwing scattershot passes 10 yards wide or 10 yards short of his intended targets. Goff is not a quarterback who makes the receivers and tight ends around him better. Russell Wilson is a different story.
Seattle’s franchise QB should be able to lift Everett’s fantasy value to another level. Wilson favors finding his tight ends inside the red zone and end zone, although after connecting with Jimmy Graham for 16 touchdowns between 2016 and 2017, he has not been able to find that same success with the mediocre crop of TEs he has been saddled with in recent seasons. There is no doubt, however, that Wilson will be more accurate with his passes and can create more opportunities for Everett by extending plays with his feet than Goff ever could.
McVay’s offenses only seemed to feature his tight ends when the rest of his receiving corps was banged up. Everett was targeted more than five times in only 11 of 61 regular-season games with the Rams, and several of those games were when tight end teammate Tyler Higbee was hurt, and/or Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks.
Everett and Higbee ruined each other’s fantasy values for the years they shared tight end snaps with the Rams. They almost had identical numbers in 2020 --- (Everett was 41-417-1 on 62 targets, Higbee was 44-521-5 on 60 targets). The only time either of them prospered during their time together was when the other one was injured. Now, hopefully they can both become fantasy favorites by being on different teams.
While Will Dissly is a serviceable tight end who has given Seattle solid work over his three years with the organization, he has a hard time staying healthy (22 missed games out of 48) and has never had 25 catches or 300 yards in a season. Higbee once had 500-plus yards in a five-game stretch. Dissly should be slotted in as the backup behind Everett with the Seahawks and should pose no threat to Everett’s target total unless Everett falls flatter than someone punched in the face by Francis Ngannou.
Seattle’s Offensive Coordinator is a Huge Fan
Seattle has a new offensive coordinator heading into the upcoming season, and he knows Everett very, very well. Shane Waldron was the passing-game coordinator under McVay while Everett was a Ram and should understand better than anyone how to utilize Everett’s tight end talents.
Everett has wide-receiver speed in the body of a tight end. He can be explosive when used on seam routes downfield and can break big plays when free in the secondary. Waldron will know how to create mismatches for Everett. While DK Metcalf is being doubled on the outside and Tyler Lockett is distracting defenders from the slot, Everett can take advantage of the slow linebackers or undersized defensive backs left watching him. It is always beneficial that your offensive coordinator is a huge fan, and that is what Everett has with Waldron in his corner.
There is no doubt that Everett is in a more prime position fantasy-wise this year than he was last year. He has a better quarterback throwing him the ball, he does not have to split time and targets with an above-average tight end teammate, and he has the greatest opportunity of his career to showcase his skill set. Take Everett in the late rounds of your standard or dynasty league draft and you might end up with the super sleeper of all tight ends in 2021.
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