It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the tight ends. Today, we take a look at Zach Ertz, who dominated the fantasy football landscape for years out in Philadelphia. The Eagles traded him to Arizona partway through 2021, and he will be back in the desert in 2022. But, what can we expect from Zach Ertz this season?
Zach Ertz ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: TE10, 93 overall
Average Auction Value: $2.1
Zach Ertz Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Rec% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec |
| 2021 | 17 | 14 | 112 | 74 | 763 | 5 | 6.59 | 4.35 | 66.1% | 6.81 | 10.31 |
| 2020 | 11 | 11 | 72 | 36 | 335 | 1 | 6.55 | 3.27 | 50.0% | 4.65 | 9.31 |
| 2019 | 15 | 15 | 135 | 88 | 916 | 6 | 9.00 | 5.87 | 65.2% | 6.79 | 10.41 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tgt | HPPR Pts/Tgt | PPR Pts/Tgt |
| 2021 | 106.7 | 143.7 | 180.7 | 6.3 | 8.5 | 10.6 | 0.95 | 1.28 | 1.61 |
| 2020 | 41.5 | 59.5 | 77.5 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 0.58 | 0.83 | 1.08 |
| 2019 | 127.6 | 171.6 | 215.6 | 8.5 | 11.4 | 14.4 | 0.95 | 1.27 | 1.60 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | YAC | YAC/Tgt | YAC/Rec | AYMS | Tgt MS |
| 2021 | 852 | 7.61 | 340 | 3.04 | 4.59 | 21% | 19% |
| 2020 | 536 | 7.44 | 88 | 1.22 | 2.44 | 15% | 19% |
| 2019 | 1167 | 8.6 | 255 | 1.89 | 2.90 | 25% | 24% |
2022 Zach Ertz Fantasy Football Overview:
Zach Ertz got in 12 games with the Cardinals last season, and he notched 12.1 fantasy points per game in those contests, on 7 targets, 5 catches, and 50 yards (with 0.2 touchdowns per game). While you can’t just one-to-one this onto 2022, he did have a step forward with the Cardinals last season, as he was down to just 3 catches for 32 yards in Philly. I do, however, expect Zach Ertz to get off to a very hot start this year in Arizona.
Since we last saw the Cardinals, they replaced Christian Kirk with Marquise Brown, and DeAndre Hopkins was served with a six-game suspension. Hopkins missed seven games last year with an injury, and Zach Ertz feasted in those games. In the four games they played together prior to Hopkins’ injury, Ertz had 8.8 PPR points per game, on 4.5 targets, 3 catches, and 40 yards. Without Nuk, Ertz took it to a whole new level, averaging 9 targets, 6 catches, and 59 yards per game. His 0.3 touchdowns per contest made that all 13.8 fantasy points per game. If he had 13.8 PPR fantasy points all season long, that would have been good for TE5 (the 2021 TE5, Dalton Schultz, averaged 12.28 PPR points).
2022 Zach Ertz Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Zach Ertz Salary Cap Value: $2
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
The fantasy football Illuminati aren’t quite sure what to make of Zach Ertz, so he settles in as TE10, at pick 93 overall ($2.2 in salary cap drafts). He is in the “we are sure he’s good, but not sure how good” camp at tight end, as one of the hedge picks. That’s making him a great value, and he’s shown that he will produce in the exact same scenario he faces at the beginning of 2022 since he faced it at the end of 2021 and produced as a top-five tight end.
So, go get Zach Ertz. He should start incredibly hot with no DeAndre Hopkins. But, from there you have two choices: ride it into the ground, or get a second tight end to swap in for Ertz just in case Nuk struggles. Personally, I’m targeting a Cole Kmet or Mike Gesicki, but I can understand wanting to skip out on getting a tight end and seeing where the chips fall come week seven. You could be staring a Gerald Everett or Austin Hooper breakout campaign staring you right in the face at that point.
Best Case Scenario:
Zach Ertz starts off hot as a top-five tight end without DeAndre Hopkins and the Cardinals keep his foot to the gas, and he finishes as a top-five tight end.
Worst Case Scenario:
Zach Ertz gets traded to the Bears since the universe can only be in balance if he’s blocking a young and talented tight end in a subpar passing offense.
Check out all our 2022 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
[Image Source: Zach Ertz on Twitter]
