All Spotlights • Owen Daniels Player Page • HOU Projections • TE Projections • TE Rankings • HOU Team Report

Spotlight - TE Owen Daniels, Houston Texans

Posted on 6/23, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Will Grant's Thoughts

Owen Daniels was a big surprise to many fantasy owners as he had a solid break out year and finished in the top 10 for fantasy Tight Ends. After a solid rookie season, Daniels finished 2007 with 94 targets, 63 receptions, 768 yards and 3 TDS. He was a big part of the Houston offense last year and he was excellent value from a TE prospective given that most people drafted him as a backup. You can expect another solid season from him this year as well.

Daniels was the most consistent part of Houston's offense in 2007. QB Matt Schaub only started 11 games before Sage Rosenfels took over in week 13 and finished out the season as the starter. At RB Ron Dayne lead the team with almost 900 yards from scrimmage, but he only started eight games last year as well. Ahman Green started the season strong, but sustained a knee injury in the third game of the season and never really regained his form. Andre Johnson led the team in receiving yards and TDS yet he only played in nine games, and Kevin Walter lead the team with 65 receptions for 800 yards. Meanwhile Daniels turned in an all-around solid performance, including a reception in at least every game, and nine games with four or more receptions.

Change in focus? The Tail of Two QBS. The Houston offense is very different depending on who is running the show. With Schaub as the QB for the first 11 games of the season, Daniels averaged 4.6 receptions per game(6.2 targets), including seven games with five or more. However, it was week 12 before he finally reached the end zone. From the time Sage Rosenfels took over at QB in week 13 until the end of the season, Daniels averaged only 2.4 receptions per game(5.2 targets), but reached the end zone twice as much. Three TDS is nothing to write home about, and given the number of targets that Daniels had, it isn't a very high TD/Target ratio (94/3).

Other Odds and Ends. There are a couple other interesting stats to note for Daniels from last season. He had only nine targets within the redzone (less than 10% of his total targets). However, of the nine targets that he had, three of them went for TDS (6,4 and 2 yards away). As a TE, he had an amazing number of receptions (18) for 15 yards or more, including eight of 20 or more. Daniels has solid 'possession receiver' type numbers, with 44 of his 63 receptions (70%) going for first downs.

The 2008 Houston offense remains largely the same as it was in 2007. Schaub returns as the Houston starting QB, but he will have to beat our Rosenfels in training camp to secure his position. Green returns as the starting RB, but former Titan Chris Brown replaces Dayne as the backup RB for Houston. Andre Johnson is the undisputed WR#1 in Houston but will miss much of the summer training camps as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Kevin Walter is the #2 WR, but will receive pressure from Andre Davis and second year man Jacoby Jones. All of these question marks add up to another season with heavy reliance on Daniels to keep the team moving.

However, drafting Daniels is not without risks. Andre Johnson was injured for a significant portion of the season. It was during that time (week 3 -- week 10) that Daniels put up some of his best games. Johnson was on fire for the second half of the season, and that contributed to the dip in Daniels' stats. Assuming that Johnson is healthy for the entire 2008 season, it could cut into Daniels' chances to post another solid season. Add in Jacoby Jones entering his second season and looking to prove himself, and Daniels could be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Houston offense.

Positives

• Solid, consistent performance at TE -- a bonus for any fantasy owner looking for a guy that you can count on from week to week
• A big part of an offense filled with question marks. This translates to lots of targets, and many red-zone opportunities
• Young, healthy and improving. He's entering his third full season in the NFL and his third full season with the Texans and head coach Gary Kubiak. That experience and consistence will translate into solid performance

Negatives

• It's Houston. They had a franchise best 8-8 season last year. Their offense was ranked 14th in total yards and 11th in total passing. (YAWN)
• Competition is pretty high for receptions. Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, and Jacoby Jones will all be vying for the ball week after week
• QB Matters -- Daniels' receptions per game was 4.6 under Matt Schaub but only 2.4 per game under Sage Rosenfels

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I really like Daniels this season. I think tight ends with his size and ability can be a big weapon in the NFL. He definitely has the potential to be a top 5 type of guy. However, what's killing him from a fantasy prospective is the team that he's on. Houston is a much better team than they have been for the past couple of seasons, but they are still very much the middle of the road. Their offense is not a 'light it up' type of team, and Owens is not a break away kind of guy. You can see that in his long gains but lack of long TDs. He gets dragged down from behind on these type of plays, and that hurts him from a fantasy prospective. Add in a healthy Andre Johnson, and a young supporting cast of wide receivers and you can see how Daniels is a potential let-down when it comes to this season. In the end, I think it is the stability that Daniels brings that makes him a smart play from a fantasy prospective. Matt Schaub is comfortable with Daniels and Schaub looks to Daniels when he needs a first down. 70% of Daniels' receptions went for first downs last season. He's a guy who moves the rock. He catches balls week after week. He's young and healthy. He's on an offense that has a poor running game and will need to throw a lot. He's a great option for leagues that require a TE, and you should absolutely take him if you are looking for a TE in the middle rounds. He may not be a 'top tier' TE like Jason Witten or Tony Gonzalez, but he will bring you points week after week. The best part about Daniels is his price. He's going to be a guy that you can land as the 7th or 8th TE off the board, and that's great from your prospective because you can focus on your other skill positions and grab him down the line. If he can repeat last season's performance, and reach the end zone a few more times, he'll pay off huge dividends to your fantasy team this season.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

rzrback77:
I like Schaub and Owen Daniels in 08. Daniels made great strides in his second season and I see his improvement continuing. I think that his targets creep up above 100 for the first time in his third year. I think that he presents very nice value currently being drafted as TE #11 and around tenth round in a twelve team league.

Ministry of Pain:
This guy went from 34/352/5 TD as a rookie...to 63/768/3 TD in his 2nd year. he has all the tools, and an offense that likes the TE for him to start posting Chris Cooley numbers...heck he's almost there and you have to think he will improve as he gets even better.

Iwannabeacowboybaby!:
If value falls apart early at the TE position, this guy is my ace up my sleeve. Owen Daniels was drafted as a TE 2 last year and he more than likely outplayed the TE drafted ahead of him on most fantasy teams. This guy may be one of the key players I focus many of my drafts around as I don't like to go TE in the first few rounds unless the scoring system forces you to and there's value there. Daniels proved last year he's ready to make a push to one of the upper tiers at TE and I'm going to draft him confidently.

Owen Daniels Projections