There are plenty of successful ways to approach the tight-end position. Whether you like to take the top TE overall and grab an advantage at the position, draft a value player in the middle, or take a few shots on sleepers late, this article is for you.
You know Travis Kelce will likely be a stud, and Trey McBride and Sam LaPorta are also expected to have excellent sophomore seasons, but who are the best tight ends at all different stages of your draft?
When taking a tight end, targets and touchdowns are the most important things to consider.
You want to avoid drafting a tight end that will spend most of his time blocking.Instead, we are looking for tight ends who will run routes and should find their way to the end zone.
Targets are more predictable than touchdowns, so prioritize pass-catching opportunities when breaking a tie between two players.
But enough about how to choose a fantasy tight end, let's get to the list!
Here are my Top 5. Read until the end for honorable mentions if you miss these featured players.
Best Overall: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Andrews is a stud. He's Lamar Jackson's favorite target, and that should continue to pay dividends in this Todd Monken offense without a lot of target competition.Despite missing seven games last year, Andrews tied for second among tight ends with six touchdowns, and his 544 receiving yards would have been 925 over 17 games, which would have ranked fifth at the position. He's 28- six years younger than Travis Kelce, and he only blocked 7% of the time when on the field in 2023.
Andrews is the third TE off the board and going in the third or fourth round. I like that value, as it's two rounds after Kelce and LaPorta. LaPorta is due for some regression, and I would rather not pay the price for his freshman season. Kelce is fighting with Father Time and will have more target competition.
The best part about Andrews is that he is the only high-end tight end with an obvious handcuff. If you take Andrews in the fourth, you can get Isaiah Likely in the last round of your draft and be certain you will have a good piece of the Ravens offense.
Best Value Pick: Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
No tight end saw more targets than Engram in 2023, who tallied 143 for the season.
Engram saw 98 targets in 2022; last season, those increased to a league-leading 143, for an average of 8.3 per game. Engram finished as the TE2 in PPR leagues in 2023.
For reference, that was more targets than Chris Olave, Mike Evans, and teammate Calvin Ridley. Now Ridley is out of the picture.
Engram ran a route 69.2% of the time last season, leading the position with 606 routes, and he blocked only 7.4% of the time.
Engram had a reputation for dropping passes in the past, but he had a team-best 79.7% catch rate in 2023. It's worth noting that Engram has never had a season with more than four touchdowns. However, Engram caught all four of his targets for 28 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars' 31-0 win over the Falcons in the last preseason game for the Jaguars. He will be a significant part of this offense and some positive touchdown regression could be coming.
Trevor Lawrence was injured for the last six games of the season, so with a healthy Lawrence, there should be improvement, and Engram will remain an important part of this offense.
Engram is coming off the board in the sixth round and has the chance to finish Top-3 at the position.
Best Sleeper Pick: Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Okay, Gesicki probably doesn't have the chance to be Cincinnati's number two target, but then again, Ja'Marr Chase showed up late to practice this week in street clothes, so you never know.
What Gesicki should have to his advantage this year 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 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.
Best Deep Sleeper Pick: Hayden Hurst, Los Angeles Chargers
Mark Andrews finished as the TE1 in 2019 in Greg Roman's system, and who is in that system now with the Chargers? Hayden Hurst. In fact, Roman originally 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.
Hurst has always been more of a pass-catcher than a blocker. Despite a down 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.
With nearly 200 targets up for grabs in Los Angeles and plenty of positive news out of camp about the chemistry between Hurst and Herbert, this is a great late dart in your fantasy drafts.
Best Breakout Pick: Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo BIlls
There are 240 targets up for grabs in Buffalo, and the only competition for Kincaid is Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman. Expect Kincaid to be a primary target for Josh Allen.
Once Joe Brady took over the offense in Week 11, Kincaid averaged nearly eight targets per game. He finished his rookie season with the second-most targets for the Bulls.
Kincaid ran a route 70% of the time he was on the field and blocked only 6%. His 91 targets and 467 routes were the eight-most at the position.
Kincaid has the opportunity to make a significant leap in 2024.
Honorable mention value targets: Jake Ferguson, Tyler Conklin/TJ Hockenson (consider drafting these guys as a tandem- one to start strong and the other to finish), Hunter Henry, and Greg Dulcich.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top 5 Best Tight Ends to Draft in 2024 Fantasy Football.
