Must be a Stud No. 3 – Owen Daniels
The storyline following the offseason acquisition of tight end Owen Daniels was that he was entering an offense that would likely see him post big touchdown numbers for the first time in his career. Fantasy owners who expected him to pick up where the departed Julius Thomas left off in the double-digit TD department were sorely disappointed. Peyton Manning himself didn’t even post double-digit touchdowns this year, let alone his new tight end.
In the early parts of the season it appeared that Daniels was a poor replacement for Thomas, as he had only two touchdowns and one game of even five receptions through Denver’s first eight games. He has only found the end zone one time since Week 9, but Daniels’ value has showed up in other critical areas.
Late in the season he became a late-game first down machine. Third and ten? Whether it was Manning or Brock Osweiler at the helm, Daniels was pulling in long conversions in the toughest situations. The ten-year veteran absorbed some crushing blows along the way, but always came up smiling and helped seal two critical wins in the closing weeks of the season. He’s been the definition of clutch down the stretch and will need to continue to have sticky hands in the playoffs.
The biggest area that Daniels needs to improve is on his run and pass blocking. Daniels has historically graded out very well in the run game and acceptably well in the pass game, but he’s having one of his worst years as a pro in that department this year. With several frightening edge rushes still to come, and the questionable protection at either tackle position, Daniels has to get his body on somebody or it could be devastating to Manning and the Broncos’ playoff hopes. At this point, Denver can’t expect the combination of Michael Schofield, Ryan Harris and Tyler Polumbus to contain the edges; Daniels has to help.
