Finding value in the later rounds of your fantasy football draft can be the key to a championship-winning team. While elite tight ends are often off the board early, savvy managers can uncover hidden gems in the later rounds that provide excellent return on investment.
In this article, we’ll highlight five late-round tight ends who have the potential to outplay their draft positions in the 2024 fantasy football season. From emerging talents to undervalued veterans, these tight ends could be the difference-makers that give your fantasy team the edge. Dive in to discover which late-round tight ends you should target to maximize your draft strategy and gain an advantage over your competition.
Top 5 Late-Round Tight Ends to Target in 2024 Fantasy Football Drafts
Fantasy football draft season is approaching fast. As always, getting some names on your queue list before your draft day comes is a good idea. Some positions have several highly coveted names at the top of the ranks, like the tight end position. After the big names come off the board, some fantasy managers will “punt” the position. In other words, they’ll wait until later in the draft to address the position.
In this article, we’re going to focus on and identify some tight ends that you can scoop up in the last few rounds of drafts. These are players who project to see consistent usage in their team’s passing games and could become weekly starters for your fantasy football squads.
As you might guess, tight ends can be a tough position to handle over the course of an entire season. If you don’t land one of the top-tier players like Travis Kelce or Sam LaPorta, you may think that you’ll have to resort to another tight end every other week. Just like every position in fantasy, there are always a couple of guys that break through their projections and become a very valuable asset. Now, let’s dive into five tight ends who may provide monstrous potential at tight end.
*ADP and rankings in this article are from FantasyPros latest average draft position (ADP)
Cade Otton – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ADP: 169 – TE21)
Fantasy managers love the potential for a third-year pass catcher. Enter Cade Otton, tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former standout from Washington University enters his age-25 season ready to expand his resume and help the Buccaneers win another division title. Nearly all of his numbers from 2023 eclipsed his rookie campaign, including receiving yards (455), touchdowns (4), and catch rate (70.1%). He did all that with Baker Mayfield under center as opposed to Tom Brady in the season prior.
Furthermore, Otton has proven himself a reliable pass catcher and will continue to do so in 2024. In eight games of last season, he notched a touchdown or surpassed 40 receiving yards, including six catches for 70 yards. Notably, he put up two scores in Week 9 against the Texans. In three career Tampa Bay playoff games, he totaled 58, 89, and 65 receiving yards. Playing in an offense with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans also opens up the field for Otton, as teams will undoubtedly focus on those two, leading to more than enough chances for the team’s third option to produce.
Overall, I’ve been a fan of Otton since before he was drafted, and I really think this is the year he will pay off. With a couple of seasons under his belt, consistency, and reliability, he is a tight end who could pay huge dividends for fantasy football purposes in 2024.
Jonnu Smith – Miami Dolphins (ADP: 184 – TE23)
For years, Jonnu Smith has been getting attention from fantasy football players and not quite delivering on his initial potential. He’s a big, athletic player who gets usage in a variety of manners, from pass catching, blocking, and even the occasional handoff out of the backfield. Smith finds himself with another new team in 2024: the Miami Dolphins.
Joining up with the team that tallied the second most passing yards in 2023 (just two yards less than Minnesota’s 4700 yards) will put Smith in the position to see a significant role in a powerful offense. That season, Miami tight ends saw 52 targets, catching 41 of them for 414 yards. Not a ton of opportunity, but what do you expect behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combining for 191 catches and 2813 yards? Smith is Miami’s most gifted player at the position in years.
Furthermore, last year’s primary tight end in Miami, Durham Smythe was the next leading receiver with 366 yards. Smith should easily out-perform that mark as he notched 582 yards on 50 receptions as the second banana tight end with Atlanta last year. Some may insinuate that Odell Beckham could also siphon some targets. Based on what we’ve seen of him in the last couple of years, his best days are behind him.
All in all, with all his natural talent, size, and willingness to play wherever he is asked, Smith has the potential to be a year-long option at tight end for those looking for a dart throw in the final rounds. He certainly won’t be this year’s LaPorta, but he’ll get the opportunity to be a great bargain for your fantasy squads.
Noah Fant – Seattle Seahawks (ADP: 197 – TE27)
Another tight end with tons of supporters each year, Noah Fant checks all the boxes to become a star at the position. For both the NFL and fantasy football purposes. Clocking in at 6’4 and 249 pounds, he’s built to do everything the position requires. He missed just one game in five pro seasons and caught 252 passes at 11.1 yards per catch. In his previous three seasons, he has hauled in a staggering 76.5% of his targets.
Unfortunately, the biggest issue for Fant has been playing time. With Seattle, he’s had to split opportunities with Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, who combined for 128 targets against Fant’s 106 targets. However, they’re both gone now. Getting just half of those targets would propel him over 100 for the season and make him a serious threat to being a top-five fantasy option at tight end. On top of that, Tyler Lockett seems to be fading from the spotlight, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba can’t get all of those vacated targets.
Not only is Fant an incredible value so late in drafts, but he has the talent, the perceived opportunity, and a capable quarterback to get him the ball. It’s absolutely possible that he could be a league-winning pick in the 2024 fantasy season.
Zach Ertz – Washington Commanders (ADP: 234 – TE34)
Zach Ertz has had an awesome career with 7434 receiving yards, 46 touchdowns, and three Pro Bowl appearances across his 11-year tenure. He now finds employment with Washington and a rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, selected with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Young NFL quarterbacks often lean on tight ends, and when that tight end has the pedigree of Ertz, any young signal-caller will take notice.
Washington quarterbacks threw to their tight ends 121 times in 2023, with 78 of those targets vacated by the departure of Logan Thomas. Ertz becomes the primary pass catcher at the position with at least 81 targets in eight of his eleven seasons and 4.7 receptions per game across his storied career. Washington did bring in a new head coach for this season, Dan Quinn. In his last full season coaching Atlanta, Austin Hooper earned a 2019 Pro Bowl appearance with 97 targets, 75 receptions, 787 receiving yards, and six touchdowns.
Finally, if Ertz can still perform like he has in the past, this is the year he will do it. He’ll have the opportunity to do so while rookie Ben Sinnott gets to learn from one of the best. In an offense that is built to utilize the tight end position and provide fantasy results that will make managers happy that they took a late-round chance on him.
Colby Parkinson – Los Angeles Rams (ADP: 271 – TE39)
Being drafted by Seattle in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Colby Parkinson had a ways to go before he’d finally start getting meaningful chances on the gridiron. His patience paid off as he tallied 50 receptions at 11.4 yards per catch and four scores in his last two seasons with Seattle. Over the offseason, he signed with the Rams for three years and $22.5 million with a guaranteed $10.25 million. That money alone tells us that the Rams plan to give him a significant role in the offense.
Furthermore, Parkinson’s size at 6’7 and 265 pounds, as well as athleticism, give him an immediate advantage out of the gate. His biggest competition in Los Angeles is Davis Allen, another big target with solid hands. Either of these players could emerge at the top of the depth chart. However, my money is on Parkinson and his superior experience at the pro level. With 88 targets going to the Rams’ tight ends in 2023 and Tyler Higbee still on the mend, there’s much work to be had.
My personal favorite on this list, Parkinson, could be a draft pick that you brag about to your league mates for years. If you’re looking to snag a second tight end or just full-on punt the position, this Stanford alum should be on your radar.
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