Today's Instant Debate question is a simple one. Who ya got? Gronk or Graham?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm all in on the Saints during the postseason, thus, I'm all in on Graham. He scored the second-most fantasy points among tight ends during the season, behind only Gronkowski. What's more, Graham would have finished in the top five in points at wide receiver, which is a telling stat. But the real reason I like Graham ahead of Gronkowski is that I'm afraid of the Patriots defense, which finished 31st in the league and could cause the P-Men and Gronk to be knocked out of the postseason - and out of the NFL Fantasy Playoff Challenge, too.
I'd go with Gronkowski. For me, the Playoff Challenge is all about identifying which teams you think will get to the Super Bowl, then filling your lineup with players from those teams. The flux-capacitated DeLorean Adam Rank and I jump into each week tells us the Packers and Patriots have a better shot at going deep than the Saints; ergo, I would take Gronk over Graham...except that I already took Jermichael Finley.
I got Jimmy Graham. Give me the extra playoff round (Wild Card) and no threat of an Aaron Hernandez eating into his production. Not that Hernandez affected Gronk too much this season, but there's little standing in the way of Graham putting up big numbers in the playoffs. With Lance Moore dinged up, an extra ball or two might be going his way. Not to mention, I like New Orleans' chances to make it to the Super Bowl as much as New England's, so given that Graham will get the extra game in the Wild Card round, he seems to be a slam dunk choice...for the Playoff Challenge anyway.
Don't sleep on Jimmy Graham. Yes, Rob Gronkowski had a season for the ages, but Graham was right there, too. He finished second among tight ends and also outscored a ton of big-name receivers. I understand that allure of getting double the points from Gronk, but you're likely to get double the points from Graham, plus first-round points. Expect the Saints to play more games in the playoffs, too, so this makes Graham an easy choice.
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- Jason SmithNFL.com
Stay the course with Gronk
Even though there are three great TEs playing now, this wasn't a hard choice to make. The big question: Are teams going to try to take away Rob Gronkowski and make Brady use Aaron Hernandez or others to beat them? While that does scare me, bottom line is I'm not going against someone who just set tight end records for yardage and TDs in a single season. If no one has stopped Gronkowski now, I'm all right with riding him, since this is his season. It never occurred to me to take Jimmy Graham because as I've said all week, I have greater confidence in the Patriots getting to Indianapolis (and quadruple points) than I do the Saints.
Gronk or Graham? Graham or Gronk? It's been one of the bigger questions this year. While we rode Rob Gronkowski to plenty of fantasy success during the regular season, the time has come to thank him for his services and pass the torch to Jimmy Graham - for several reasons. First, never forget that Bill Belichick hates your fantasy team. Second, later in the season Gronk became more of a decoy for Aaron Hernandez, who is an equally viable TE. Finally, with New Orleans being short-handed at WR, Graham becomes that much more important in the Saints passing game. Give the big redhead the ball!