Troy Niklas may be on the verge of becoming the Arizona Cardinals’ starting tight end. On Tuesday, head coach Bruce Arians said Niklas would be running with the first-team offense in practice.
Troy Niklas getting first-team reps as fantasy value rising
We break down the fantasy implications of Troy Niklas continuing to rise up the Cardinals’ depth chart.
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This is the latest part of a great training camp for Niklas, who was the selected No. 52 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. However, injuries and poor play have led to Niklas rarely seeing the field over his first two seasons.
He has caught just seven passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns in 23 career games. Last year, Niklas was a backup behind Jermaine Gresham, who is dealing with a back injury suffered in the first preseason game.
If Niklas does well with these first-team reps, he should be in contention for the starting job when the regular season opens.
Fantasy Spin: Whoever the No. 1 tight end in Arizona’s pass-happy offense is will be a viable fantasy option. However, with Darren Fells also vying for targets at tight end, it’s too early to be drafting Niklas in your fantasy leagues.
This is easily one of the hardest teams to find good value at tight end with between Niklas, Gresham, and Fells. Niklas still has enough upside in this offense to keep an eye on for the remainder of the preseason.
Fells and Gresham are aging veterans who have shown they won’t be viable fantasy options in this offense.
