Colts 2021 Fantasy Preview: TE Kylen Granson

There's not always a reason to get excited about fourth-round draft picks, but that's not the case with Indianapolis Colts rookie tight end Kylen Granson.

From the moment the team began studying him leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft, they knew what they could do with his skill set.

"We are very excited about Kylen and what he brings, the dimensions he brings," Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters after the draft. "When you watch the tape, you see he is explosive. He has explosive speed, he has quickness, foot and body quickness. He’s also dynamic with the football in his hand as a tight end, which that can be a great element for our offense.

"We like to think we know what we’re doing when we’re using that position," Reich continued. "But I think he’ll complement the other guys well. Very versatile, we can put him in the backfield. This is a highly intelligent player. That room is a very productive room and they need to complement each other and I think he adds an important piece to our offense."

Tight ends can often take a little while to acclimate to the NFL, but Granson and how he's used could still be valuable to fantasy football rosters in 2021. Let's dig in.

Average draft position and positional rankings from FantasyPros . Projections are based on traditional lineups with PPR scoring.

TE Kylen Granson

Current ADP — 408.0
Current Positional Rank — TE54
2021 Strength of Schedule — 11th easiest

I'll admit that I'm a bit skeptical of rookie tight ends in fantasy. However, I made sure to grab Granson in a couple of the dynasty leagues I'm a part of.

Tight ends have to know and understand quite a bit in order to get playing time, but Granson is, by all accounts, a bright guy.

Not only that, but the Colts likely aren't going to throw the kitchen sink at him right away either. They don't need him to be Travis Kelce or George Kittle; they just need him to fill his role.

“Just giving him the plays that we feel like that are going to be comfortable with him," Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady said about getting Granson involved. "But at the same time, he’s a sharp kid. He’s picked up the offense very well. You can see that he transitioned, even today he made some plays, you can see that he can be involved with the offense. He’s very mature, so we’re going to try and get him involved with the many weapons that we have.”

Granson came out and had a strong start to training camp despite missing a handful of days with a knee injury. He was heavily involved in the passing game, and it seemed like he clicked with each quarterback who was on the field.

Little known fact:@theKCG18 can fly. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/00bBgIOvN4
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 12, 2021

The preseason wasn't as glowing for him, as he was credited with two drops on 11 targets and an overall reception percentage of 45.5%. The passing game wasn't always accurate, so it wasn't all on him, but the preseason certainly wasn't a shining example of what he can do.

The Colts did, however, tip their hand to how they may use Granson. According to Pro Football Focus, in 59 snaps, he lined up in the slot 28 times, inline 26 times, out wide three times, and in the backfield twice. He also had 13 snaps on special teams on the kickoff return (10) and punt coverage (3) teams.

Initially, it appears Granson will operate as the Colts' TE3, or what Trey Burton occupied last year. TE3 doesn't sound very glamorous, but Burton was actually the Colts' top fantasy tight end in 2020.

Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox are the unquestioned starters, but Doyle's statistics have begun to dip, and Alie-Cox has really never been fully unleashed.

Despite starting 12-of-14 regular-season games in 2020, the 31-year-old Doyle finished third among Colts tight ends in fantasy points, scoring 52.6 and finishing as fantasy's TE38 while Burton was TE24 with 69.3 points and Alie-Cox was directly behind as TE25 with 65.9.

At a position as shallow as tight end is in fantasy, those numbers aren't inspiring.

The Colts lost wide receiver T.Y. Hilton to a neck injury for a good chunk of the season, so especially with him out we may see the Colts rely even heavier on big lineups featuring multiple tight ends, which of course opens up more opportunities for Granson to be on the field.

Fans are aching for a Colts tight end to finally be worth a regular start in fantasy, and Granson could potentially be that guy by season's end.

Are you planning on targeting Granson in your fantasy drafts? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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