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. Two seasons ago, Robert Tonyan was on top of the world: he had a ton of touchdowns and everyone had him inside of their top-ten tight ends. Then, he sort of face-planted and tore his ACL, and now he’s buried in the rankings. Has the hate gone too far for Robert Tonyan? Let’s take a look at his 2022 fantasy football player profile!
Robert Tonyan ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: TE22, 160 overall
Average Auction Value: $1.1
Robert Tonyan Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Rec% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec |
| 2021 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 18 | 204 | 2 | 3.63 | 2.25 | 62.1% | 7.03 | 11.33 |
| 2020 | 16 | 8 | 59 | 52 | 586 | 11 | 3.69 | 3.25 | 88.1% | 9.93 | 11.27 |
| 2019 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 100 | 1 | 1.36 | 0.91 | 66.7% | 6.67 | 10.00 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tgt | HPPR Pts/Tgt | PPR Pts/Tgt |
| 2021 | 32.4 | 41.4 | 50.4 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 1.12 | 1.43 | 1.74 |
| 2020 | 124.6 | 150.6 | 176.6 | 7.8 | 9.4 | 11.0 | 2.11 | 2.55 | 2.99 |
| 2019 | 16 | 21 | 26 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.07 | 1.40 | 1.73 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | YAC | YAC/Tgt | YAC/Rec | AYMS | Tgt MS |
| 2021 | 256 | 8.83 | 110 | 3.79 | 6.11 | 15% | 12% |
| 2020 | 446 | 7.56 | 234 | 3.97 | 4.50 | 13% | 13% |
| 2019 | 158 | 10.5 | 26 | 1.73 | 2.60 | 5% | 5% |
2022 Robert Tonyan Overview:
I was a big fan of fading Robert Tonyan headed into the 2021 season, after his completely unsustainable 2020 campaign. He was TE8 by ADP, going as pick 91 overall. History redeemed my position, as Tonyan had two games inside the top-12, and six outside the top-12, including five games with ten or fewer receiving yards. He was swallowed up, as predicted, by the Packers’ passing game, after posting unsustainable catch rates and touchdown rates.
But, in 2022, he seems to be a forgotten man. Sure, he failed to live up to expectations last year and then got hurt, but you shouldn’t abandon your Bob Tonyan-related convictions come 2022, especially not since we are trying to figure out if it’s Sammy Watkins or Christian Watson who has Aaron Rodgers’ eye. Why not Tonyan, who, again, had eleven touchdowns two years ago? He’s only 28, so he’s nowhere near the tight end death drop age, and he has some upside in an offense without any solid weapons except for two running backs. It’s possible that he bursts to the front of the line and ends up with eight targets per game in 2022.
It’s also possible that there isn’t much of a difference, talent-wise, between Robert Tonyan and Randall Cobb or Amari Rodgers or Romeo Doubs. Luckily, the buy-in to see if Robert Tonyan is actually #goodatfootball or is just a one-year wonder is so ridiculously low that there’s almost no downside in taking a shot on him.
2022 Robert Tonyan Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Robert Tonyan Salary Cap Value: $0
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
Robert Tonyan should be your second tight end, taken at the end of your draft, in ten teams or bigger leagues. He certainly should not make his way onto your roster in a ten-team league. That’s a ludicrous proposition, as his upside is scraping the top-ten. But, scraping the top-ten is a useful player in a 12-team or 14-team league, so that’s why he goes in round 13 of a twelve-teamer and his ADP is outside the top-15 rounds in a ten-team league.
This is entirely appropriate for Robert Tonyan, as his upside does not merit snagging in smaller leagues. Yes, I know he had 11 touchdowns two years ago, but he had literally, by a massive margin, historic touchdown and catch rates that year. His salary cap draft average value and roster rate are also very appropriate. He’s just $1.2 in salary cap drafts, which means, mathematically, that one out of every five people who throw him out don’t get a counterbid, at worst. That’s a fair shot at getting him for a buck. He’s also only 28% drafted, which means that for most leagues, you don’t even have to worry about drafting him.
His ultimate upside is a fall-back guy, so spend your dollar on Gerald Everett, whose upside is firmly inside the top-eight.
Best Case Scenario:
Tonyan and Rodgers get back to it from 2020, and he finishes, somehow, with 16 receiving touchdowns on 14 targets. He did not break the system, he is the system. He is The One, Neo.
Worst Case Scenario:
Robert Tonyan’s five games at ten or fewer yards in 2021 will be looked back on as a fond memory.
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: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Robert_Tonyan.jpg, under CC BY SA 2.0]
