7 Bold Fantasy Football Predictions About the Upcoming 2016 Season

Austin Seferian-Jenkins Will Be a Top-12 Tight End

By Austan Kas

This offseason has been anything but simple for Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Entering the summer with a chance to step into a nice role with an ascending Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense, Seferian-Jenkins didn't make things easy on himself. He was kicked out of practice by new coach Dirk Koetter, and ASJ was passed on the depth chart by Cameron Brate.

Things appear to be turning around for Seferian-Jenkins. Koetter praised his work ethic, and ASJ regained ground on the depth chart, pulling even with Brate. Seferian-Jenkins, a former second-round pick, started Tampa Bay's third preseason game, so it looks like he's recovered from his earlier troubles.

With playing time no longer a huge issue, we can shift our focus to what Seferian-Jenkins can do with said snaps, and things look pretty promising. ASJ is the kind of athlete you'd expect for a tight end taken in the second round with an enticing comparable, per PlayerProfiler.com

He has struggled with injuries, but ASJ flashed when he was on the field a year ago. Among tight ends to see at least 35 targets, he ranked first in Reception NEP per target.

The only thing standing between Seferian-Jenkins and a big year may be his ability to stay on the field. We could've said something similar about Jordan Reed 12 months ago, and that worked out pretty well.

Mike Evans figures to be the alpha male in the passing game, but the second option, Vincent Jackson, is 33. Tampa Bay has the third-worst odds to win the NFC, so they should see a fair amount of negative game scripts. Jameis Winston had a good rookie campaign, ranking 16th in Passing NEP per drop back among signal-callers with at least 100 drop backs.

This is like picking up an unscratched lottery ticket off the sidewalk. ASJ doesn't even have an ADP, according to Fantasy Football Calculator, so there is no downside. The upside, though, is pretty big.