Free agency and new coaching combinations have had an impact on the tight end rankings. Even if it is still too early for redraft leagues it’s never too early to plan your draft.<\/p>\n
Yes, he\u2019ll be 35 in October, but come one. He also averaged 14.6 fantasy points in 2023. And that was a down season for the veteran tight end, he only (only!) averaged 10.6 yards per touch. That was the lowest average of his career and his 984 yards from the line of scrimmage was his fewest since 2015!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Chiefs have signed Irv Smith Jr. and Marquise Brown so Kelce shouldn\u2019t be seeing as many double teams this season. He caught 32 of 37 targets and averaged 88.8 yards per game during the playoffs. He certainly isn\u2019t showing any signs of slowing down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Andrews’s cracked fibula and damaged ligaments were the driving force in banning the hip drop tackle. They also caused him to miss seven games in the regular season. But he still scored 135.4 fantasy points, averaging 13.5 points per game. That was the same as Evan Engram and ranked them both fourth last season.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Veteran tight end Andrews averaged 11.8 yards per touch and caught a career-high 73.8% of his targets.<\/span><\/p>\n Rookie tight end LaPorta has drafted nine picks after Dalton Kincaid but scored 89 more fantasy points than him in 2023. The Lions tight end led all tight ends with 239.3 fantasy points! He\u2019s bound to have a tougher time this season now that defenses know what to expect. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But he will still be a serious weapon For the Lions. LaPorta caught 71.1% of his targets in 2023 and averaged 10.3 yards per touch. He also hauled in 10 touchdowns and Ben Johnson stayed in Detroit as the offensive coordinator. So LaPorta won\u2019t have to learn a new offense and the coaches understand how to use his skill set.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kittle will either have a very good season in 2024 or he\u2019ll be the 49ers most important receiver. It all depends on Brandon Aiyuk\u2019s future. If Aiyuk stays in San Francisco, then Kittle will be an important part of a very effective but compact offense. If Aiyuk leaves, then Kittle will be behind just McCaffrey and Samuel when Purdy is looking for a target.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kittle was the fifth-highest scoring tight end in fantasy football last season, but he saw the fewest targets of the top nine! He only caught six touchdown passes last year, but his 1,022 total yards from scrimmage was his most since 2019. The 49ers would benefit from expanding their offense somewhat, but Shanahan shows no desire to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n Engram carried the Jaguars offense on his shoulders in 2023. He caught 28% of the Jaguars\u2019 total receptions and was responsible for 17% of their total yards! It seems unlikely he\u2019ll be as successful this time around.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What does seem likely is that they will still rely on him and Travis Etienne, especially with no Calvin Ridley. They have replaced Ridley with Gabe Davis which should have been a positive for the run blocking, but Davis only caught 45 balls last season. Only LaPorta scored more fantasy points than Engram last season, but Engram\u2019s 963 receiving yards was 197 than he\u2019d even managed before. It seems like that\u2019s more of a blip than a trend. If they can\u2019t get him more involved in the red zone, he\u2019ll struggle to reach last year\u2019s high.<\/span><\/p>\n Not only is Njoku one of Kyle Brandt\u2019s favorite angry runners, but he\u2019s also a really good football player. He was ranked sixth for fantasy points in 2023 despite having five different quarterbacks throwing him passes. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n His six touchdowns were a career-high, and his 81 receptions were 23 more than he\u2019d had before. His trajectory may not continue at such a pace, but he will have a very good 2024. Especially if the Browns can keep one quarterback healthy all seasons!<\/span><\/p>\n The Cowboys’ tight end was the ninth-highest fantasy scorer in 2023. Largely because he was one of the biggest red zone targets in the league. Ferguson saw four more red zone targets than Kelce did last year, his 23 was the same number Amon-Ra St. Brown saw. The only thing that could alter that is the return of <\/span>Ezekiel Elliott<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 25-year-old Ferguson only caught 69.6% of his targets last season, a 16.5% fall from 2022. If he can get close to his rookie season catch rate in 2024, he\u2019ll definitely be a top-10 tight end again, whatever the Cowboys offense looks like. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Cardinals’ tight end was finally allowed to demonstrate the talent he has. <\/span>Mina Kimes<\/span><\/a> was a big supporter of the former Colorado State tight end as a rookie, maybe even more than the Cardinals were. And they drafted him! The Cardinals were so pleased with McBride in 2023 they released Zach Ertz. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n2. Mark Andrews<\/h3>\n
3. Sam LaPorta<\/h3>\n
4. George Kittle<\/h3>\n
5. Evan Engram<\/h3>\n
6. David Njoku<\/h3>\n
7. Jake Ferguson<\/h3>\n
8. Trey McBride<\/h3>\n