Shane Vereen Benefits From Patriots Loss of Hernandez, Not Tim Tebow
Dorian “The Trashman” Colbert, Rosterwatch.com

Photo via Shane Vereen Twitter

There has been much prognostication in fantasy circles in regards to who will fill the void left by tight end Aaron Hernandez in New England. It’s a void bigger than just Hernandez, too. Wes Welker is gone and Rob Gronkowski’s health remains a serious mystery. Brandon Lloyd was a bust in New England and is still on the street. Tom Brady will most certainly need to get production out of new offensive players in 2013.

Many believe Tim Tebow could compete for some sort of role, as he’s a capable all-around athlete. To be honest he may be a more capable tight end than quarterback, but Tebow is intent on playing under center, and that’s the position he is being tried out for. No, it’s not likely Tebow will move to tight end. He would be destroyed by the first decent outside linebacker he tried to block.

It is running back Shane Vereen, according to ESPN Boston, who will help to replace Hernandez in the Patriots offense.

Already slated to replace Danny Woodhead (who has also skedaddled) as the passing-down back, Vereen gets an even bigger fantasy boost with added tight end duties. He would have already hovered around RB2 status, but this news firmly entrenches him there. And the sky is the limit for anyone catching passes from Tom Brady.

Sure there are other tight ends on the team such as Daniel Fells, Jake Ballard, and Mike Hoomanawanui, but they don’t create the type of matchup problems that a player of Vereen’s ilk can. In fantasy drafts, it would be wise to overvalue Vereen just a bit. He’s currently being drafted in the seventh round.