Each year, heading into draft season, we start settling upon players we love and those we hate, relative to ADP. This article will dive into the former portion, my fantasy football tight end targets. Every year there are players that outperform their ADP. Identifying these players can greatly help you win your leagues. Here are three tight ends to target in fantasy football for 2022.
READ MORE: Running Back Targets – Wide Receiver Targets
Fantasy Football Tight End Targets for 2022
Before we get into these fantasy football targets, I want to preface this by saying that all of these are relative to ADP. These are three guys that go later in drafts than they should and represent excellent values in fantasy football drafts right now. These are all based on Fantasypros PPR ADP data as of this writing.
1. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
One year after being my biggest tight end fade, Kyle Pitts is now one of the best fantasy football tight end targets in 2022. That’s what happens when he produced one of the best rookie seasons we’ve ever seen from a tight end. In 2021, Pitts saw 110 targets and caught 68 of them for 1,026 yards and one touchdown. The one touchdown was such a fluke for a player with that many targets but has almost become a blessing in disguise as it has kept his ADP this year lower than it should be. According to his Player Profiler page, Pitts had the sixth-highest target share, fifth-most targets, seventh-most receptions, fourth-most routes run, third-most receiving yards, and second-most air yards among all tight ends. He did this as a rookie at a position known to be one of the most difficult to learn in the NFL. Pitts finished as the TE6 in total points and the TE11 in points per game last year.
There have been 4 TEs with 100+ TGT, 1,000+ YDS, and 15+ Y/R:
Rob Gronkowski
George Kittle
Shannon Sharpe
Kyle PittsPitts did it as a 21-year old rookie.
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) August 8, 2022
Heading into 2022, it’s surprising that people aren’t more excited about Pitts. Despite being arguably the greatest tight end prospect we’ve ever seen and coming off one of the best rookie tight end seasons in history, his ADP is not too far above what it was last year. Pitts is the tight end equivalent of Calvin Johnson and a mismatch nightmare.
Matt Ryan is gone, but that might end up being a good thing. Ryan looked washed up last year and has had a history of Red-Zone inefficiency. Marcus Mariota is the new quarterback and is better than people give him credit for. He also enabled Delanie Walker to have a career year back in 2015. Pitts is currently being drafted as the TE3 which is also where he is in my ranks. However, he is going as the 34th overall player and sometimes even slips into the fourth round. Pitts is an auto-draft in the fourth round and I’m comfortable taking him as high as late in the second round if Andrews is already gone.
2. Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals
Zach Ertz looked to be left for dead in the first half of 2021. He was buried behind Dallas Goedert on the run-heavy Philadelphia Eagles. Ertz averaged just 8.2 fantasy points per game and was the TE21 through the first six weeks of the season. After that, something magical happened as Ertz was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. After only catching more than four passes once in those first six weeks, Ertz was able to do so six times with the Cardinals, including the final five games of the season. He looked completely rejuvenated and was the TE5 over the course of the rest of the season averaging 12 fantasy points per game.
Heading into 2022, Ertz’s fantasy outlook should be similar to what it was after he was traded to Arizona last year. The Cardinals traded for Marquise Brown but will also be without DeAndre Hopkins for the first six games of the season. During those six games, Ertz should be heavily targeted as an integral piece of the offense. After Hopkins comes back, things could get a little more crowded but a lot of things can happen before that time and this is still one of the fastest-paced and most high-powered offenses in the NFL. Ertz is currently being drafted 91st overall as the ninth tight end off the board. This is a great value as he’s in the same tier as T.J. Hockenson for me but he gets drafted more than two rounds later. This makes Ertz one of the best fantasy football tight end targets for 2022.
3. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
This recommendation might come as a bit spicy because most people feel as though they’ve been burned by Evan Engram over the past two years. This has led to most people (wrongfully) writing him off this season. Don’t be one of those people. Sure, Engram has been a bit disappointing the last two years but the entire New York Giants offense was a complete trainwreck during that time. It wasn’t too long ago that he had a three-year stretch as the TE4, TE7, and TE7 in fantasy points per game. The TE4 season was his rookie season, which was one of the best rookie seasons we’ve seen out of a tight end. In his five seasons in the league, Engram already has two with more than 100 targets and two others that were pacing that way if not for injuries.
Evan Engram is the same age, right now, that Travis Kelce was when he had his first 1,000 yard season
— Andrew Cooper (@CoopAFiasco) July 15, 2022
This year, Engram gets a fresh start after signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. Tight ends under Doug Pederson have been heavily featured in the past. This is especially encouraging on a Jaguars team with an ambiguous wide receiver room. After the elite tight ends, there are only a few tight ends with a realistic chance at leading their team in targets and Engram is one of them. He is practically free in most drafts right now as he’s being drafted 177th overall on average as the 21st tight end off the board. That is way too low for a tight end with his combination of athletic profile, history, and situational upside. There is no reason anyone should ever draft a kicker or defense before Engram. He is currently my TE12 making him one of the very best fantasy football tight end targets for 2022.
READ MORE: Running Back Targets – Wide Receiver Targets
