4 Must-Have Tight Ends for Fantasy Football
Every year the tight end position is one of the hardest to navigate in fantasy football. After Travis Kelce outscored the tight end two by over 93 points last year, it’s caused many to rethink their strategy. Kelce is now a consensus round-one pick, which raises the question of where these other elite tight ends should go.
There’s a fine line between paying up for an elite tight end and wasting a pick because you drafted a mediocre player way too early. Keep in mind that, for the most part, there isn’t much difference outside the top seven tight ends, so getting your sleeper pick right is crucial.
As tricky as it is to find good value at the tight end position, there are still a few players I’m extremely high on this year. With that being said, I’m not leaving my fantasy football drafts without one of these four tight ends.
TJ Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
To start things off, TJ Hockenson is not only my number one must-have tight end but my favorite player in all of fantasy football. In my first year of Fantasy Pros rankings, Hockenson is the most notable name that I’m way higher than the consensus on. Although Hockenson is a little pricey, with an average draft position (ADP) of 40 on ESPN, he’s a massive positional advantage.
To give you a quick understanding of how high I am on Hockenson, he’s currently above Mark Andrews in my rankings this year. Even though it usually takes tight ends a long time to adjust to a new offensive scheme, Hockenson was dominant with the Vikings right away, averaging 14.5 points per game (PPG).
My issue with Andrews is that since his TE1 season in 2021, he hasn’t averaged more than 14 PPG. Andrews was so good because he had 154 targets, but he’s never had more than 113 since then.
Now he’s facing the most target competition of his career with rookie Zay Flowers, Odell Beckham, and Rashod Bateman. Since you can get Hockenson at a cheaper price than Andrews this year, I’m all in.
I’m expecting a massive year out of Hockenson now that he’s had an entire off-season to adjust and work with the Vikings. Heading into the 2023 season, Hockenson will be the number two option on a team that finished third in the NFL in pass attempts per game with 39.6. Hockenson is an elite tight end who can win you your league this year
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
After Hockenson, I’m avoiding the tight end dead zone and waiting until round nine to grab Pat Freiermuth. After the NFL Draft, I was slightly concerned because the Steelers drafted Darnell Washington in the third round, but upon further research, he won’t hurt Freiermuth at all in year one. Washington is 6′ 7″ and 265 pounds which makes him a much bigger threat as a blocker than a pass catcher.
So far in his career, Freiermuth has exceeded expectations for a young tight end putting up a 9.5 and 9.3 PPG season. Freiermuth showed a ton of improvement in year two, increasing his targets from 79 to 98 and his receiving yards from 497 to 732.
Although Kenny Picket hasn’t been great, he’s still a former first-round pick and has a lot of positive buzz heading into year two. Freiermuth is a talented player who will benefit if Pickett improves in year two.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
If you need a late-round tight end, Tyler Higbee is your guy. While he isn’t as talented as Freiermuth, Higbee has averaged 9.8 and 8.9 PPG over the past two seasons. Keep in mind that the Rams’ offense was a dumpster fire last year without Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp.
Now that both are back, Higbee is in a much better situation. The Rams threw the ball at an above-average rate last season, and I expect this to improve in 2023. Despite Stafford missing half the season, the Rams finished 13th in passing attempts with 34.5 per game.
According to BetMGM, the Rams have a win total of 6.5 which means they won’t be the worst team in the league, but they should trail in a lot of games. This will keep Higbee and the Rams playing catch up, giving him more opportunities.
One of the main reasons I’m drafting Higbee is opportunity. The Rams have no other proven receivers besides Kupp, and it seems like a lock that Higbee will be the number two target. Last season Higbee had 108 targets, and I could see this number going up in 2023.
Despite having 108 targets, Higbee only had three touchdowns. This is partially due to how bad the offense was, but also just luck. If Higbee can see a slight increase in touchdowns and volume, he can be a massive hit for your fantasy team.
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
The last late-round tight end I’m targeting is Gerald Everett. Right now, I have Everett ranked one spot behind Higbee, but you can get Everett almost 32 picks later on ESPN. Even though I like Higbee, I’m targeting Everett a ton at this price point.
Although Everett has never been dominant in his career, I’m making a bet on the Chargers offense this year. Just last season, the Chargers finished second in the NFL with 41.9 passing attempts per game. Now the team has Kellen Moore taking over as the offensive coordinator, who is notorious for pushing the pace of play.
Everett has one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Justin Herbert throwing him the ball. After a down year from Herbert, he should get back on track and continue dominating. These two factors help boost Everett’s touchdown upside, which is massive for tight ends.
Although your situation is very important in fantasy football, you won’t see results if the player isn’t talented. Everett has shown improvement in his past two seasons, averaging 7.9 and 8.7 PPG. From year one to two, Everett went from 63 to 87 targets, 48 to 58 receptions, and 478 receiving yards to 555.
Injuries to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams might have propped these numbers up slightly, and the addition of rookie Quentin Johnston doesn’t help, either. With that being said, Everett only had four touchdowns in his last two seasons, and I expect this number to go up with the improvement of the overall offense.
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