2016 Fantasy Football Draft Day Dilemmas: Austin Seferian-Jenkins ready to break out?

Looking for a breakout candidate at the tight end position? Chris Towers says look in Tampa Bay.

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The trendy thing to do in NFL circles these days is to try to find the Next Rob Gronkowski. Like the next Bob Dylan in music, this hunt will probably only end up disappointing those who search, saddling the bearer with the weight of unreasonable expectations. And yet, we search.

And the reason we search is because Gronk is such a tremendously valuable player in both the real NFL and obviously Fantasy. He isn't just the best tight end in the NFL; nobody is even in his neighborhood. Gronkowski outscored the next-best tight end by 25 Fantasy points in 2015, and had his next closest competition beat by 30 in 2014. If you can identify the next version of that before anyone else does, the benefits are obvious.

The truth is, nobody is going to be the Next Gronk. He is an outlier in NFL history; an unparalleled combination of size, strength, athleticism, who landed on a team with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Searching for someone who can replicate all of those factors is bound to leave you disappointed.

Still, we can identify players who share some of Gronk's qualities, even if they fail to check of every box. Travis Kelce might not have Tom Brady throwing to him, but he is just as big and athletic as Gronkowski. Greg Olsen might not be the physical specimen Gronk is, but having Cam Newton certainly helps.

One player who might have a chance to check off every box is currently going 207th on average in FantasyPros.com's average ADP right now, meaning he is available for free in just about every Fantasy league out there: Austin Seferian-Jenkins

Does Seferian-Jenkins have the physical tools? Undoubtedly. The No. 38 pick in the 2014 draft didn't participate in the pre-draft combine or pro day, so we don't have any official time for his 40-yard dash, but he has reportedly run in the high 4.5's range, which is more than enough speed for a tight end. Especially one who measures in at 6-foot-5, 262 pounds.

He doesn't have Brady throwing him the ball, exactly, but Jameis Winston has every tool he needs to develop into an elite passer, and he showed a real willingness to lean on his big tight end last season. Winston looked Seferian-Jenkins' way 39 times in the seven games he played, a pace that would have put him at 90 targets over a full season, a healthy number for a tight end.

Of course, Seferian-Jenkins has yet to be healthy in his NFL career, which may the biggest reason Fantasy players are forgetting about him. He missed time as a rookie with ankle injuries, and ultimately missed nine games with a serious shoulder injury a year ago. Toss in some concerns about his readiness -- which surfaced when he was tossed from an offseason workout by coach Dirk Koetter because, "he didn't know what he was doing" -- and it's easy to see why Fantasy players aren't exactly rushing out to snag Seferian-Jenkins.

However, Seferian-Jenkins was productive when he was healthy enough to play last season, finishing with 21 catches for 338 yards and four touchdowns in just seven games. Just doubling those numbers would have given him 102 Fantasy points, good for an eighth-place finish among tight ends. And that isn't even his full 16-game pace.

Seferian-Jenkins was exceptionally efficient last season, picking up 2.35 yards per route run, good for second in the NFL behind Jordan Reed and just ahead of Gronkowski, per ProFootballFocus.com. He probably can't keep up that kind of pace -- he was significantly worse as a rookie -- but Seferian Jenkins has the right combination of physical tools, role in his offense, and quarterback combination to really break out.

If you can't get Gronkowski, Olsen, or Reed, waiting on a tight end until the last few rounds of the draft makes a ton of sense. Seferian-Jenkins is currently the 20th tight end off the board across the injury, meaning you might even be able to snag him off waivers. However, given the upside he showed last season, you might not want to wait. He won't be on waivers long.