The tight end landscape is more interesting this season.
In past seasons, fantasy players often chose between drafting an elite player at the position (Kelce, Andrews) or just waiting until the final rounds and taking a shot on a few upside-tight ends. The advantage of taking one of the top players was that there was a big tier dropoff, and you could capitalize on that positional scarcity. This year, more tight ends are being drafted earlier as there are more viable fantasy options. Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews are joined at the top by one of my favorite sleepers from last year, Sam LaPorta, who finished as the TE1. Add to that Dalton Kincaid, George Kittle, Trey McBride, Evan Engram, Kyle Pitts, Jake Ferguson, and David Njoku, and you can see that the options look much more promising this season.
But, with everyone else taking a tight end earlier this season, could there be an advantage to drafting a couple of late fliers and hope they pay off instead? People who drafted Sam LaPorta and Trey Mcbride last season might say so.
Here's what we know about the tight end position for fantasy. There are two ways to gain fantasy relevance at the position.
First: targets.
If a player sees a lot of targets, they are more likely to produce results. We want to look for players who have the opportunity to be the second target on their team. Think Jake Ferguson and Trey Mcbride. Of course, catchable targets are also a big help. Players like Pat Freiermuth should be back on our radar because of these two things. Freiermuth has the opportunity to be a top target in the Steelers offense, and he should have more catchable targets from Russell Wilson than in the past.
Second: touchdowns.
This one is much harder to predict. Though touchdowns can be flukey, some players have more of a nose for the end zone than others. This category has rewarded those who drafted Cole Kmet in the last two seasons.
Now, let's get to some tight ends who could have that upside in the very late rounds of your draft. I've listed them in order of average draft position (per FantasyData), with the deepest sleeper at the end.
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
- TE 19
- ADP 177
Henry falls into both the targets and touchdown categories. We don't know exactly what Jared Mayo's offense is going to look like, but we do know that there is no definitive WR1 in New England, and we know that new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called the second-most tight end screens for the Browns in 2023 (think David Njoku). The Patriots drafted Ja'Lynn Polk, who should see opportunity but has yet to prove himself at the NFL level. DeMario Douglas flashed last season and could ascend, but there is no guarantee. Kendrick Bourne is on the PUP list. KJ Osborne came over from Minnesota and could be in the mix, but there are a lot of unknowns and a new rookie QB in New England.
Speaking of rookie QBs, a tight end could be Drake Maye's best friend, though Jacoby Brissett will likely start the season.
Henry has been dependable in the touchdown category throughout his career because of his ability in man-to-man coverage. He had six last season despite playing in only 14 games, and in 2021, he logged nine touchdowns in 17 games played.
Henry had four Top-4 finishes in his 14 games last season, including finishing as TE1 and TE2 in the first two games of last season.
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
- TE 20
- ADP 179
The argument for Conklin is that Aaron Rodgers is a far better quarterback than Zach Wilson, and he could find chemistry with the tight end. Mike Williams may not be ready to start the season and will at least need to be eased back in. That leaves an opportunity for Conklin behind Garrett Wilson. Breece Hall will get some targets, too, but I like Conklin's chances of being a red-zone threat. Don't forget Robert Tonyan's season in 2020 when he caught 11 touchdowns from Aaron Rodgers in Nathaniel Hackett's system. Rodgers has a career 6.2% touchdown rate- that's higher than Mahomes, Prescott, and even Tom Brady. If you're planning to draft Hockenson late, Conklin could be an excellent early-season bridge.
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
- TE 26
- ADP 236
Gesicki probably doesn't have the chance to be the number two target in Cincinnati. He will undoubtedly be behind Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but what he should have is catchable targets. Gesicki had over 700 receiving yards for two seasons in Miami before Mike McDaniel, and then he had a down year in New England. However, Gesicki is a talented pass catcher and early reports from camp show that he and Joe Burrow have shown strong chemistry. He's not a great blocker, which could limit his playing time a little, but with Tyler Boyd now out of the picture, there's no reason to think Gesicki can't also line up in the slot.
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
- TE 35
- ADP 269
Unfortunately, we did not see much of Dulcich in 2023 as his season was cut short with hamstring and foot issues. However, the very little we did see of Dulcich could offer some clues. Dulcich played just 32 snaps last season- in half of them, he lined up at wide receiver. Fantasy players may recall another tight end in Sean Peyton's system that filled a hybrid role: Jimmy Graham. With Jerry Jeudy now gone to Cleveland, there is room for another receiver to step up behind Courtland Sutton. Early reports from camp are positive, too. Last week at camp, Dulcich had a 15-yard catch from Bo Nix in 7-on-7 drills. After that, he exploded downfield on a catch from Jarrett Stidham.
Hayden Hurst, Los Angeles Chargers
- TE 38
- ADP 294
Hurst is the ultimate dart. We have been wondering who will fill Keenan Allen and Mike Williams' shoes for the Chargers. Is there any reason to think it can't be Hayden Hurst?
Hurst is intimately acquainted with offensive coordinator Greg Roman's system. After all, Roman drafted Hurst for the Ravens. Roman likes to work from a strong offensive line and run game. He also likes to feature the tight end (see Mark Andrews) and a deep-threat receiver (sorry, Ladd McConkey, I'm looking at someone else in my WR sleepers article).
I had the pleasure of interviewing Hayden Hurst last weekend at the Scott Fish Bowl in LA. He expressed that the tight end role would still be important in this Chargers offense and raved about Justin Herbert's ability. Just a few days later, we got the report from camp that he had caught six passes in one practice from Justin Herbert.
Hurst has always been more of a pass-catcher than a blocker. Despite a down 2023 fantasy season in Carolina, where he had a struggling rookie quarterback, Hurst ran a route 71% of the time while blocking 7.2%. In the previous season, Hurst set a career-high in receiving yards with Joe Burrow and the Bengals. It's worth noting that Hurst compared Herbert to Burrow in our interview, saying they were both on an elite and special level.
Hurst has the opportunity to be a top target and has the advantage of elite quarterback talent. I have a feeling his ADP will rise closer to draft day, but for now, he is my favorite deep sleeper at the position.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2024 Fantasy Football Tight End Sleepers Who Should Outperform Their Draft Position .
