It might still be February, but it will be August before you know it. And that’s when redraft fantasy drafts get serious, so it’s never too early to start planning who you will take. The tight end rankings are here to help you decide to pick in the seventh round of your fantasy draft.
Way Too Early Tight End Fantasy Rankings – Part 3
25. Brevin Jordan
He demonstrated his athleticism when the Texans absolutely destroyed the Browns in the playoffs. His 76-yard touchdown in the second quarter was the turning point for a Browns defense that had been talked up for large parts of the season. Despite that, he’s only seen 77 targets in his 3 seasons in the league. But if that wasn’t a breakout then who knows what is?
Jordan only scored 50.9 fantasy points last season, but an explosive tight end surely has to be a bigger part of the passing game going forward?
26. Theo Johnson
At the moment Johnson is the underrated rookie tight end of the class. But he’s 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs in at 260 lbs. And if you’re not impressed by that he averaged 12.2 yards per catch at Penn State. He’s also run a 4.54-second 40-yard dash and that’s faster than Treylon Burks. Abd Burks is 35lbs lighter than Johnson.
Johnson seems set to light up the combine. And wherever he lands he’s going to be a very powerful ball carrier.
27. Dawson Knox
The Bills offense is a mystery even to the Bills. They seem to leave it up to Josh Allen to figure it out as he goes along. The only thing we can say with any certainty is that two of the last four passes Knox caught were touchdown receptions. So that’s good, right?
Knox will be behind Dalton Kincaid on the tight end depth chart. Wether he should be is a different question.
28. Hayden Hurst
The Panthers paid Hurst $7.2 million last season, so only throwing to him 32 times seemed like a huge waste of money. But he’s contracted for another two seasons, so they presumably see him being involved more going forward. If the tight end can get back to his 2020 form, he could be a valuable fantasy tight end next season. When he was in Atlanta in 2020, he caught 56 passes, averaged 10.2 yards per touch, and scored six touchdowns.
Hurst only scored 42.4 fantasy points in 2023, but he must be in line for a bounce-back season under a new coaching team.
29. Darren Waller
The Giants’ tight end always flatters to deceive. But he’s 31 now and hasn’t played a full season since 2019, so if not now when? Granted the Giants’ passing offense isn’t exactly the place to demonstrate greatness. But he did catch 8 passes from Daniel Jones in Week 5. If Danny Dimes can stay healthy then Waller should be the Giants’ best player, even if the offense is still clunky.
30. Pat Freiermuth
On the plus side, the Steelers have a new offensive coordinator. But it’s Arthur Smith. And he couldn’t figure out how to use Kyle Pitts effectively in Atlanta. Nobody knows if Arthur Smith can fix Kenny Pickett. But even if he can’t Freiermuth will remain an important safety valve for the inconsistent quarterback. His volume of catches will score points even if the offense isn’t great.
The Steelers tight end only scored 76.8 fantasy points in 2023, but he only started 9 games as he battled a knee injury, a hamstring problem that landed him on IR, and an ankle issue.
31. Noah Gray
He’ll still be buried under Travis Kelce on the depth chart. But two tight end sets saw the Chiefs offense take a leap forward in 2023. Even if they draft Keon Coleman (which seems to be the consensus) Gray should be an important of the Chiefs offense.
Gray only scored 70.6 fantasy points in 2023. But the 10 games he started was a career-high. And he averaged 10.6 yards per touch, another career high.
32. Mike Gesicki
Gesicki is a free agent and has to sign somewhere his talents will be used. He’s a very good receiver but not a great blocker. Last season Gesicki was one of the major casualties of a dreadful Patriots offense. His 29 receptions were his fewest since his rookie season when he only started 7 games. And his average of 8.4 yards per reception was the lowest of his career.
He was the second-string tight end in Foxborough behind Hunter Henry and only scored 65.4 fantasy points. But if he finds himself on an offense not coached by Bill O’Brien, he will have a much better season.
33. Greg Dulcich
Dulcich only started one game in 2023 and only played in two due to a foot injury and a hamstring injury that never seemed to fully heal. But he’s one of the most exciting pass-catching tight ends when he’s healthy.
34. Braden Willis
Everyone knows the 49ers have one of the best (maybe the best?) tight ends in the NFL in George Kittle. But not many people remember they’ve also got a very impressive young tight end too.
Willis is 6 feet 4 inches tall and a muscular 240 lbs. And he estimated he would run a 4.6 second 40-yard time. He might not have caught a pass as a rookie, but the Super Bowl loss should have been Kyle Shanahan’s wake-up call. Any offense that relies on just 4 skill position players will struggle against strong defenses. And Willis is the perfect guy to help diversify the 49ers offense. He played fullback, running back, and tight end in college and he racked up 13 touchdowns on 87 touches in Oklahoma.
35. Juwan Johnson
The Saints’ tight end overcame having Derek Carr as his quarterback in 2023 to average 9.9 yards per reception and catch four touchdowns. Thankfully Pete Carmichael was finally given his marching orders (he’s in Denver now, poor Broncos fans). New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was the 49ers passing game coordinator in 2023. And 20.5% of the 49ers’ passes were caught by tight ends in 2023. Even Derek Carr should be able to follow the same game plan Brock Purdy did.
36. Lucas Krull
Krull is another Broncos tight end who only played in two games in 2023. And he’s also one of the most exciting pass catchers around. He only caught 8 passes in 2023, but he averaged 11.9 yards per touch and a touchdown. It looks like the Broncos are going to move on from Russell Wilson. And Sean Payton will be on the lookout for his new Jimmy Graham and at 6 feet 6 inches tall and 260 lbs. Krull is an ideal target in the red zone.
Main Photo Credit: Jessica Rapfogel-USA TODAY Sports
