Fantasy Football: One Breakout Candidate From Every NFL Team

Hunter Henry, TE, Los Angeles Chargers

We're so accustomed to rookie tight ends having a rough go of it, that when a rookie at the position has a solid first year, we have to take notice.

Hunter Henry was better than solid -- he was really good.

Henry finished 2016 with 36 catches, 478 yards and 8 touchdowns. Our metrics loved him, as he ranked second in Reception NEP per target and sixth in Reception Success Rate among tight ends to see at least 40 targets.

Antonio Gates is still around, but the 37-year-old could pass the baton to Henry this season. Gates and Henry combined for 89 catches, 1,026 yards and 15 scores last season. That's significant, and it tells us what kind of upside Henry could have when Gates is out of the picture for good, albeit that's unlikely to be the case in 2017.

Even last year, while playing second fiddle to Gates, Henry registered five TE1 weeks (as in, he finished in the top-12 at the position). Going a step further, he was a top-five player at the position three times, which is exactly how many times Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham and Jordan Reed were top-five tight ends.

Again, this was on just 53 targets -- or 7 fewer than what Trey Burton had for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Henry has big-time weekly upside, and if he jumps Gates on the depth chart, he could rank among fantasy's elite tight ends this year.