Fantasy Football: 5 Late-Round Tight Ends With Huge Touchdown Potential

Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions

Average Draft Position: 11.06 (TE13)

Kyle Rudolph finished his 2016 season with 24 red-zone targets. Eric Ebron has 22 in his entire three-year career.

So why exactly are we talking about Ebron in a discussion of late-round tight ends with touchdown upside? After all, even though not all touchdowns occur in the red zone (spoiler alert!), it sure is a heck of a lot easier.

It turns out one roster move can make all the difference in the world.

Of the 84 targets for the Detroit Lions' offense in the red zone last year, 22 of them (26.19%) went to the same player. That guy was Anquan Boldin, who is no longer with the team. That's a hefty piece of the pie that's up for grabs, and Ebron's certainly capable of snagging a slice or two.

It also helps that Ebron is just generally involved in the offense. In the 13 games he played last year, he commanded a 17.28% target market share, well beyond what you'll find for most guys in this range. Even if the odds of scoring outside the red zone are lower, it's even harder to score if the quarterback doesn't look your way. That's why Ebron's touchdown potential could be a bit larger than his track record suggests.

Ebron's not perfect, and his past red-zone usage illustrates that. But this will be just his age-24 season, and there are high-leverage targets to be had. That's enough to pull the trigger on him in the middle of the 11th.