There are probably only three truly elite tight ends in the league at the moment. But there are plenty who could flourish in new surroundings, or with new coaches. And that’s where we are in the tight end rankings.
Way Too Early Fantasy Tight End Rankings – Part 2
13. Tucker Kraft
The Packers’ third-round pick in 2023 ended the season with more receiving yards than their second-round pick Luke Musgrave. And may have inadvertently been the reason the Packers offense kicked into gear late in the season. Their two tight-end sets seemed to really open up Matt LaFleur’s playbook.
Kraft only scored 78.5 fantasy points in 2023. But he only saw two targets in the first 8 weeks of the season. In the next 9 weeks, he racked up 350 receiving yards from 29 receptions. He is a key part of Green Bay’s offense for the entirety of the 2024 season he could cross the 700-yard mark.
14. Dallas Goedert
The Eagles offense started the 2023 season but it took a bit of a turn for the worse. And Goedert suffered a broken arm in November. That resulted in him missing three games. He averaged 9.7 fantasy points per game though.
With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and no unfortunate injuries, Goedert should be back to his best in 2024.
15. Kyle Pitts
Finally, Atlanta has given up on the Arthur Smith experiment. The Falcons’ new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was the passing game coordinator for the Rams last season. And the Rams threw the ball on 53% of their downs last season compared to the Falcons’ 49%. That has to be good news for all the Falcons pass catchers.
Pitts scored 137.3 fantasy points last season. And even though that was an improvement on his sophomore year you get the feeling he still has untapped potential waiting to be fulfilled.
16. Cade Otton
Talking of untapped potential, Otton was the fantasy experts’ tight end last year because his “usage” was through the roof. He ran routes on 89% of the Buccaneers snaps. But he only caught 47 passes.
New Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen is a former Rams’ offensive coordinator and quarterback. So he might be able to persuade the Bucs signal caller to look for the hard-working tight end a bit more.
17. Hunter Henry
Henry is a free agent after being one of the only effective players on a very clunky Bill O’Brien Patriots offense. Henry scored 119.9 fantasy points in 2023. That was mostly because the tight end scored 24% of the Patriots touchdowns.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Henry re-signed with the Patriots now Alex Van Pelt has taken over the play-calling job. But even if he moves away he’s bound to improve on his 2023 stats.
18. Noah Fant
Fant is one of the most enigmatic players in the NFL. The tight end seems to have all the talent in the world, but he rarely displays it. He ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at the 2019 combine. And he was featured on NextGen’s fastest carries list in Week 13. But that seems to be more of an outlier than a trend.
Fant will hit free agency in March, so he could wind up with a team that gets the most out of him. He caught 74.4% of his targets in 2023 and averaged 12.9 yards per touch. So it shouldn’t be difficult to get the best out of him.
19. Tanner Hudson
You can’t mention Hudson without adding that he used to play quarterback in high school. But that’s only important if the Bengals decide to use trick plays as a mainstay going forward.
As a tight end he scored 80.2 fantasy points in 2023. He only started one game, but he appeared in 12, a career high. He also caught 78% of his targets which is impressive, but it’s even more impressive when you remember the Bengals backup quarterback started seven games.
20. Michael Mayer
The Raiders are in a transition phase (again). But this time they seem to have settled on the right head coach for the job. But they have a new offensive coordinator in Luke Getsy. And Getsy didn’t exactly set the world ablaze in Chicago. But the Bears tight ends have caught 150 passes in the last 2 seasons. So Mayer should see plenty of targets in 2024.
He saw 40 targets in 12 games in 2023 and scored 71.4 fantasy points.
21. Jonnu Smith
Smith seems like he’s been around forever after stints at Tennessee, the Patriots, and now a Falcon, but he won’t be 29 until August. And 2023 was the best season of his career. The tight end caught 50 passes for 582 yards and hauled in 3 touchdowns. With rumors around of Justin Fields becoming a Falcon 12 personnel with both Pitts and Smith featuring would be difficult to defend.
22. Chigozien Okonkwo
Okonkwo was engulfed by the inconsistent and constantly evolving Titans offense last season. Okonkwo started more games in 2023 than in 2022, but caught fewer touchdowns. He did catch 70.1% of his targets though.
He ended the season with 113.4 fantasy points. If Will Levis can stay healthy for the full 2024 season the new Titans coaches should use the dynamic tight end as the cornerstone of their offense.
23. Kylen Granson
Granson only averaged 4.9 fantasy points per game in 2023. But in the first four games of the season, when Anthony Richardson was healthy he saw 19 targets. In his next 11 games, he averaged fewer than 3 targets per game.
Granson did miss two games himself after suffering a concussion in Week 6. So, if the Colts can avoid bad luck with injuries Granson should catch a lot of passes in 2024.
Main Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
24. Isaiah Likely
With Mark Andrews back in the saddle Likely won’t see as much game time as he did in 2023. But there’s no reason the Ravens shouldn’t play with 12 personnel, especially when Likely averaged 13.7 yards per touch last season. And 17% of his catches ended in touchdowns!
