Fantasy Upside
The undrafted TE from UCLA had quite a rookie season, catching seven TD passes. At 6’7”, Joseph Fauria is able to just out-leap defenders. While Fauria’s TD total declined as the season wore on, one third of his 18 grabs came in the final two contests. However, during the off-season Fauria worked on his route-running in an effort to expand his game to be more than just a red zone threat. He has also has improved on his run blocking ability, in hopes of getting more playing time.
Fantasy Downside
Even though he caught those seven TDs, he totaled only 18 grabs for 207 yards during the year. After shooting out of the gate as a scoring machine, Fauria found the end zone just twice during the last 10 games of the campaign. He will be battling veteran Brandon Pettigrew and rookie Eric Ebron for playing time.
Bottom Line
Detroit drafted Ebron in the first round and the plan is for him to eventually be the main TE. While Fauria is a huge target and great weapon around the goal line, he probably isn’t going to see enough consistent action to be taking up a valuable fantasy roster spot.
