When healthy and mentally into the game there aren’t many tight end’s better than Winslow. The problem of course is he’s had issues with both in his career. If the Buccaneers can find a quality quarterback, I expect Winslow to return to his 2006 and 2007 form.
('09 Proj: 83 rec, 917 yds, 6 touchdowns) ~Robb Perkins
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This is what I like to call a “Training Camp Special”. Tampa has an entirely new regime, Winslow has to learn an entirely new offense, Tampa doesn’t have a definitive starting quarterback for 2009 and no one has any idea what the regime is thinking. None of the above will become clear until Training Camp begins. The prediction below is tentative, and subject to change…often.
('09 Proj: 65 rec, 850 yds, 7 touchdowns) ~Jeremy Fischer
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Winslow is headed to a new team but I am not necessarily convinced it is a better situation from a fantasy perspective. Tampa Bay had better figure out quickly how to use a tight end because they certainly haven’t done it in recent years. Winslow had a leg injury in ’04, motorcycle accident in ’05 and a staph infection in ’08. I am afraid to know what could be next! Tons of upside here but too risky to move into the elite category.
('09 Proj: 70 rec, 750 yds, 7 touchdowns) ~Steve Cavanagh
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Winslow found himself derailed by injury yet again last season, a disturbing trend in his still-young career. He finally escaped from Cleveland, but he doesn’t find himself in that much better of a situation in Tampa Bay. He’ll still be one of the first TE’s taken off the board, but the uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position with the Bucs makes it hard to predict an amazing bounce-back year here.
('09 Proj: 50 rec, 525 yds, 4 touchdowns) ~Frank Mazzola
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Winslow is hands down one of the most talented tight ends in the game. Competitiveness can not be questioned either, but his history of injuries have kept him from being a fixture on the tier 1 hierarchy. Still young enough that upside is apparent, and I think he takes advantage of his fresh start in Tampa, regardless of who is throwing to him.
('09 Proj: 950 yds, 6 touchdowns) ~Jon Rascon
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Winslow sank like a stone with the rest of the Browns’ offense last season. One thing is clear: Tampa Bay doesn’t want to go through another season of anemic offense, but do the Buccaneers have the firepower at quarterback to keep Winslow, wide receiver Antonio Bryant and crew happy? Needless to say, with a group full of talent and characters, Tampa’s offense development will have the attention of every fantasy owner.
('09 Proj: 60 rec, 800 yds, 5 touchdowns) ~Stan Feldman
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Two words “health issues” did we mention he always seems to have health issues? Kellen has all of the skills to be the number 1 Tight end in the league and most of the time he is drafted as such, only to end up on the trainers table as much as the field. So take him in round 5 or 6 and hope to get rounds 3 or 4 numbers of:
('09 Proj: 80 rec, 900 yds, 7 touchdowns) ~Dave Fosdick
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I think it's (at minimum) a wash from a pure fantasy perspective. To anybody concerned about who the Bucs will be trotting out at QB this year, may I present the collective stiffs of Derek Anderson, Ken Dorsey and Brady Quinn; none of whom had a QB rating over 66.6...seriously. Winslow started 8 of 16 games last year and, when you prorate his stats, puts him very close to his career highs of 89 rec, 875 yds and 6 scores. Therein lies the rub. It seems with Winslow, too often you need to prorate something to figure out what might have been. Regarding his injury history, I think you also need to factor in that he's moved out of a division featuring two psycho-assassin defenses (Baltimore/Pittsburgh). His fantasy points per game have been fairly steady over the last 3 years and the numbers below slot him for a healthy 13 games.
('09 Proj: 65 rec, 750 yds, 6 touchdowns) ~Rick Perkins.
