If you’re reading this article from FantasyPros with the word, “Primer” in the headline, you might automatically assume that Mike Tagliere is writing this piece. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Tags is currently in the hospital recovering from COVID (you can read more about that here), so I’ve stepped in to highlight one of the more important articles you’ll read heading into your draft season.
Everything you need to know about the TE position this season can be found here. There are player notes for every single TE that is either fantasy relevant – or has the potential to be – in 2021 with the hopes of educating you before you head into your upcoming draft.
If you haven’t been following fantasy football in-depth throughout the off-season, that’s alright! It’s hard to keep up with all the moving pieces in the NFL off-season and how that could impact a player that you’ve loved drafting to your roster in years past. This article will serve as a quick guide for you to determine whether or not it’s still a wise investment or if there’s someone else you should pivot to in your draft!
It’s so crucial to nail the TE position in those leagues and to understand who’s worth selecting as the cornerstone of your fantasy football roster. My hope is that this article helps you develop your own thoughts on these players as you head into your draft!
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Let’s dive in.
Arizona Cardinals
Maxx Williams (ECR – TE54): Williams now has this TE room essentially to himself, but the position isn’t integral enough to Kliff Kingsbury’s offense to warrant any fantasy consideration. Williams will have some weeks where you can plug him into your lineup as a desperation streamer, but that’s about it.
Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Pitts (ECR – TE6): Find me a more hyped up player this season than Pitts. Go ahead, I’ll wait. It’s near impossible to talk about the top-5 TEs this season and keep Pitts out of the conversation due to the opportunity that’s now in front of him. It would be the definition of an outlier if he finished as a top-5 option in his rookie season, but the ball has to go somewhere in this offense and the Falcons are going to be committed to getting the ball in his hands. You’re going to have to pay up to get him on your team, but the opportunity that he has in Atlanta this season might make it worth the investment.
Hayden Hurst (ECR – TE27): Hurst was essentially written off completely when Kyle Pitts was drafted at No. 4 overall. While it’s highly unlikely that Hurst ever provides consistent weekly fantasy production, he should be involved enough in this off-season to still be on the redraft radar. Arthur Smith will deploy a heavy amount of 2TE sets and there’s the strong possibility that we see Kyle Pitts flexed out wide frequently this season. This means that Hurst will be on the field quite a bit this season and someone else in this offense will need to step up outside of Calvin Ridley and Pitts. He’s not worth drafting over some of the other players at the TE position that have a more clear and defined role in their offenses, but simply monitor Hurst and his involvement as we move into the season.
Baltimore Ravens
Mark Andrews (ECR – TE4): Andrews certainly didn’t have as productive of a season last year as he did in 2019, but he still finished within the top-5 at the TE position. The overall offense took a step backwards and this dramatically affected the numbers that Andrews was able to put up. Heading into 2021, the Ravens have addressed some key needs at the WR position, which should only help Andrews and open things up for this offense. He still should be the number one target for this offense and he’s worth drafting as a top-5 option yet again.
Buffalo Bills
Dawson Knox (ECR – TE28): Knox has shown flashes of what he could be for fantasy football the past couple of seasons, but he’s never been able to put together consistent enough performances to warrant redraft consideration. Heading into 2021, it’s most likely going to be more of the same. We could see some blow-up games here or there, but trying to predict when they’ll be is going to be a headache.
Carolina Panthers
Dan Arnold (ECR – TE30): Arnold impressed in his opportunity last season in Arizona and he parlayed that into a decent contract with the Carolina Panthers. While the Panthers have an obvious need at TE, which Arnold could step right into and be the main option, there is some other competition here that Arnold will have to beat out first. He seems to have the inside track on the starting job, but he’s someone that we need to see produce on the field in Carolina before we add him to our starting lineups in fantasy football. Keep an eye on him on your waiver wire.
Chicago Bears
Cole Kmet (ECR – TE19): While it took a little bit for Kmet to become an integral part of the offense in Chicago, he stood out towards the end of last season and actually became a weekly contributor for your fantasy lineups. With Jimmy Graham still on this roster, it’s hard to find the path for targets that would allow Kmet to crack the top-12 at the position, but he showed enough last year to at least warrant fantasy football consideration. Even if Graham is still a Chicago Bear for Week 1, Kmet should have enough involvement to at least be considered as a streaming candidate. However, if the Bears move on from Graham and his salary cap hit, Kmet’s ADP would go skyrocketing. We could be talking about a top-10 TE at that point.
Jimmy Graham (ECR – TE31): Last time I checked, Graham is still a member of the Chicago Bears. While he’s going to have some games where he scores multiple touchdowns, he’s going to take a clear backseat to Cole Kmet this season from a snaps perspective. Graham will come onto the field as a Red Zone option, but nothing more. If you end up playing Graham, you’re going to be closing your eyes the entire time and just praying that he finds the end zone. I’d recommend looking elsewhere at TE this season.
Cincinnati Bengals
Drew Sample (ECR – TE46): Sample has had his moments of relevancy over the past year, but it’s simply too unpredictable to use for fantasy purposes. He’ll be on the streaming radar here or there depending on the matchups, but we shouldn’t be looking to draft Sample in our redraft leagues this season.
Cleveland Browns
Austin Hooper (ECR – TE22): Hooper was hyped up as someone that could potentially be a top-5 TE last season, but he fell well short of expectations and only finished as the TE21. While missing three games was certainly a large reason for that, Hooper simply wasn’t involved in this Cleveland offense enough to warrant weekly consideration. For 2021, it’s probably best to view Hooper as a low-end streaming option versus a locked-in weekly starter.
Dallas Cowboys
Blake Jarwin (ECR – TE21): Last season, Jarwin was hyped up as a potential breakout candidate. Unfortunately, his injury early on in the season prevented us from getting to see what he could be in this offense. With that being said, he does have the contract to his name that should ensure him the starting role and this team is going to put points up on the board. If you wait on TE this season and want to double down with a couple of dart throws later on, Jarwin’s a perfect player to take a shot on and see what he can become.
Dalton Schultz (ECR – TE35): Schultz was a waiver wire standout from last season after stepping in for Jarwin after he sustained his injury. While Schultz did play well in his starting opportunity, all signs point to Jarwin being handed back the starting job once he’s healthy. Schultz is most likely going to be moved back to a backup role and therefore not someone that we should be targeting in our fantasy drafts this off-season.
Denver Broncos
Noah Fant (ECR – TE7): Fant’s had sky high expectations since he came into the league, but he has yet to deliver the consistent production that fantasy managers were hoping for from him. The QB play has certainly hurt him and now he has several other receiving weapons to worry about this year. With Sutton, Jeudy, Hamler, Okwuegbunam, Gordon, and Williams all vying for targets, it’s difficult to find a path for how Fant returns value on his current ADP. He has the talent – we can all acknowledge this – but if he doesn’t get the targets necessary to be a viable fantasy asset, it doesn’t much matter. Unless Fant’s ADP falls outside of the top-12 this year, I’m unlikely to have many shares.
Detroit Lions
TJ Hockenson (ECR – TE5): Is Hockenson incredibly talented? Yes. Is there a case to be made that he can lead this Lions offense in targets? Absolutely. However, the expectations for Hockenson right now are sky high and it’s hard to see how he returns value. The scoring opportunities are going to be essentially non-existent for this team and we could see them at the bottom of the league in overall plays ran. Hockenson can soak up targets this season, but if he doesn’t score plenty of touchdowns, he’s going to disappoint fantasy managers that drafted him as a top-5 TE. He’s being drafted at his absolute ceiling right now and that’s something I simply can’t get on board with, unfortunately. I’m avoiding Hockenson this season if his ADP remains around where it is right now.
Green Bay Packers
Robert Tonyan (ECR – TE9): Tonyan was a true league winner last season with his emergence off of the waiver wire. He posted an absurd 88% catch rate and reeled in 11 receiving touchdowns! With Rodgers still being the starting QB for Green Bay this upcoming season, Tonyan’s going to be a steal in every fantasy draft he’s selected. We cannot expect that high of a catch rate again and we’re likely to see his touchdown rate come back to average, but he’s got as good of a shot as anyone of returning value week after week. We know he’s got the chemistry with Rodgers to make it happen.
Houston Texans
Jordan Akins (ECR – TE40): We’ve seen what Akins can be for fantasy on multiple occasions over the past couple of seasons, but that was with Watson at QB. If Watson does not suit up for this team in 2021, Akins will have some weeks of fantasy relevance simply due to the TE landscape, but he shouldn’t be drafted as a reliable starter. He’s worth monitoring on the waiver wire to see if Tyrod develops chemistry with him, but otherwise I’d recommend focusing your attention elsewhere.
Indianapolis Colts
Jack Doyle (ECR – TE32): We all know how much Wentz has favored targeting his TEs over his NFL career and Doyle could be in line for a huge workload this upcoming season. While Doyle’s a tier down from Zach Ertz from a talent perspective, he certainly stands as good of a chance as any other TE to crack the top-12 at the position. Health is a question mark with the veteran TE, but when he’s on the field, he should give you a safe floor week in and week out.
Mo Alie-Cox (ECR – TE38): Alie-Cox has progressed nicely since moving away from basketball to football and he’s shown flashes of what he can be from time to time. With Doyle above him on the depth chart, it’s unlikely that we see Alie-Cox take that massive step forward to being a weekly fantasy contributor, but he’s worth monitoring to start the season to see if he can take this job away from Doyle. If he does, we could be looking at the next big breakout TE.
Jacksonville Jaguars
James O’Shaughnessy (ECR – TE53): O’Shaughnessy’s not on the redraft radar.
Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce (ECR – TE1): Did you know that Kelce has finished as a top-2 fantasy TE every year since 2016? It’s simply remarkable what he’s been able to do for so long and he’s one of the most safe picks you can make in fantasy football. While there’s a conversation to be had about when we can expect Kelce’s age to start to show up, it’s not worth having that until we see some sort of decline on the football field. If you prefer to go TE early, Kelce’s worth the price of a premium pick.
Los Angeles Chargers
Jared Cook (ECR – TE20): Cook has exceeded my expectations each of the past two seasons and he’s still producing at 34 years old! He now steps into an offense that has a huge hole at the TE position following Hunter Henry‘s departure and a QB that is only going to grow from here on out. Cook’s age is going to play a huge factor in his ADP, but if you want to wait on TE and grab Cook with one of your last picks, he’s got an excellent chance of returning that value in this situation.
Donald Parham (ECR – TE39): Parham currently has Cook above him on the depth chart, but there’s enough buzz surrounding the athletic TE that we could see him eventually take over the starting role in this offense. He’s not worth drafting this year, but simply keep him on your radar heading into the season.
Los Angeles Rams
Tyler Higbee (ECR – TE11): Higbee’s certainly had his moments of relevancy in the past, but this was mostly occurring when Gerald Everett was out of the lineup. With Everett now completely out of the picture in Seattle, and no other proven commodities next to Higbee at the TE position in LA, there’s the potential that we see Higbee move back to being an integral part of this offense again this season. Matthew Stafford‘s now in town and this offense could be on the verge of going nuclear with Stafford’s ability combined with Sean McVay’s play-calling. At the TE position in fantasy football, you’re simply looking for opportunity that can lead to upside. It’s going to be hard to find a player who has more upside later on in your drafts than Higbee in this dynamic offense.
Las Vegas Raiders
Darren Waller (ECR – TE2): If you’re looking to secure one of the top-tier TEs, Waller’s obviously one of the safest choices you can make this season. With his guaranteed workload, plus his chemistry with Carr, it’s hard to see how Waller finishes outside of the top-3 at the position outside of an injury.
Miami Dolphins
Mike Gesicki (ECR – TE12): Gesicki certainly hasn’t lived up to the hype over the past couple of seasons, but he’s constantly in the top-12 conversation at the TE position due to his opportunity and athleticism. While there are certainly more targets in town now, Gesicki can settle into a secondary role where he doesn’t have to command the attention of the defense. I don’t believe he has top-5 upside in this offense, but he certainly can be a reliable starter for you that should give you a safe floor each week.
Minnesota Vikings
Irv Smith (ECR – TE16): Smith underwent surgery on September 1st to repair his meniscus and is likely done for the season. He can be dropped in all redraft formats.
Chris Herndon (ECR – TE33): The Vikings acquired Herndon recently and he seemed destined for a depth role in this offense with Irv Smith likely coming back into the lineup at some point during the season. However, Smith is now set to miss the entire year, which does make Smith an intriguing add in deep Dynasty leagues. However, for redraft purposes, this might just be a position group that you might want to avoid altogether in Minnesota. We could see a full on rotation here versus a true standout player.
Tyler Conklin (ECR – TE45): With Irv Smith set to miss the season, Conklin gets a bump up in redraft formats. However, we could see a true rotation here at this position group in Minnesota versus having one true standout player. It’s likely best to just avoid this situation if you can.
New England Patriots
Jonnu Smith (ECR – TE13): That’s right, folks! It’s Jonnu time yet again! After hyping up Smith all last off-season, it’s time to hop back on the Hype Train and talk about Jonnu’s potential for fantasy yet again. Once Smith signed with the New England Patriots for a massive deal in free agency, it seemed like the hopes of Smith finishing as a top-5 option at the TE position were all but locked in. Unfortunately, Hunter Henry‘s signing a day later put a damper on those dreams, but we still shouldn’t be scared off of Smith and his potential in this offense. With a revamped – but honestly still lackluster – WR corps, there’s a strong possibility that Smith leads this entire team in targets. The Patriots will be committed to getting him the ball in creative ways near the line of scrimmage and letting him create after the catch, which he does better than nearly every other TE in the league. Smith finishing as a top-5 option at the position now that the passing volume has increased with Mac Jones under center isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. His ADP is laughably low right now, so take advantage and draft him every single chance you can get.
Hunter Henry (ECR – TE17): Henry was brought in on a big contract during free agency, but that doesn’t exactly mean that he’s going to be force fed targets in this offense. Henry fills a critical role for this team as the second TE, but Smith is clearly who the Patriots envision being their number one target at the position. With that in mind, it’s highly unlikely that we see Henry finish within the top-12 TEs when it’s all said and done. He’ll certainly be in the streaming conversation here or there, but we need to temper our expectations with the veteran TE.
New Orleans Saints
Adam Trautman (ECR – TE25): If you’re looking for a sleeper TE that could absolutely breakout this season, it’s easy to get excited about Trautman in New Orleans. Trautman needed some time to adjust to the NFL level after coming out of Dayton, but he’s got some big time talent that flashed in his limited opportunities last season. With Jared Cook now out of the picture, plus a very top-heavy receiving corps, Trautman’s staring a massive opportunity in the face. It’ll be up to him to see if he can rise to the challenge – and there are currently some questions about his true role in this offense – but someone else in this offense will need to step up. Why not Trautman? He can be viewed as a mid-range TE2.
New York Giants
Evan Engram (ECR – TE14): I was fading Engram all last season and it certainly paid off. While I didn’t expect him to finish with eight drops on the season, there was enough going against him to be concerned about his fantasy outlook. In 2021, there’s absolutely no way that Engram can return fantasy value at his current ADP. With all the other competition for targets on this roster, plus the presence of Rudolph at the same position group, all upside for Engram is out the window. This isn’t even taking into account his injury history, which has popped up on several different occasions before. I recommend looking elsewhere at the TE position this season.
Kyle Rudolph (ECR – TE34): Rudolph was brought in to this Giants offense to play a very specific role in the red zone. With his size, he can still be a factor in this area of the field and Jones will need all the help he can get. Rudolph might have some appeal as a streaming option here or there, but it’s unlikely to ever be consistent enough to feel comfortable starting him any given week. He can remain on your waiver wire.
New York Jets
Tyler Kroft (ECR – TE48): Kroft is the last man standing in New York, but that doesn’t necessarily vault him into TE1 consideration for fantasy football. He’s someone worth monitoring as a waiver wire pickup, but that’s about it.
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert (ECR – TE10): Does Goedert have the talent to be a top-5 TE in fantasy football? Absolutely. Will he finish around that range if Ertz is still on this roster? Almost certainly not. Even if Ertz doesn’t bounce back to his former self, his presence on this roster puts a cap on what Goedert can do from a fantasy perspective. Until we see Ertz traded or released from the Eagles, it’s best to view Goedert as a high-end TE2.
Zach Ertz (ECR – TE23): Ertz’s fantasy value fell off an absolute cliff last season. After being valued highly in drafts all off-season, Ertz went on to finish as the overall TE32. With Wentz now in Indianapolis, who was largely responsible for Ertz’s success, it’s hard to even talk about Ertz as a fantasy relevant option in 2021. While he’s surrounded in trade chatter, he’s still on this Eagles roster for the time being, which hurts Goedert more than anything. Ertz isn’t worth drafting in 2021.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Eric Ebron (ECR – TE26): Ebron certainly had his moments of relevancy in 2020 and he would’ve been a decent late-round target for 2021 if the Steelers hadn’t invested a 2nd-round pick in Pat Freiermuth. While Ebron is still likely to be the TE1 for this team this season, Freiermuth’s presence certainly muddies the waters. Additionally, Najee Harris also is going to command some targets out of the backfield, which makes Ebron a mid-range TE2 option that you could feel good rolling out in plus matchups. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that we see him finish as a top-10 option when it’s all said and done.
Pat Freiermuth (ECR – TE36): While I love Freiermuth’s long-term projection in the NFL, he’s unlikely to return weekly fantasy value as the second TE option in this offense this season. He’s worth monitoring on the waiver wire to see if he can take over the TE1 role in Pittsburgh, but not necessarily someone you should consider drafting.
San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle (ECR – TE3): Kittle hasn’t exactly been the complete model of health the past two seasons, but he’s still one of the most dominant players at the position when he’s on the field. While he has to clean up an issue with drops – he had 8 in 2020 on only 63 targets – he’s still worth selecting as a top-3 TE off the board. You’re simply not going to find many other players at the position who have the opportunity in their respective offenses that Kittle does in San Francisco.
Seattle Seahawks
Gerald Everett (ECR – TE18): We’ve seen flashes from Everett when he’s been the lone option at the TE position in LA previously, but those instances were few and far between. He’s now moved over into Seattle and is reuniting with Shane Waldron, who was with the Rams last season and is now the Offensive Coordinator for the Seahawks. Everett knows this scheme and he should easily take the lead role on this depth chart. He’ll obviously take a clear backseat to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, but there could be some games where Everett is on the streaming radar. He’s most likely not worth drafting in your typical redraft leagues, but he’s someone worth watching if you’re planning on streaming the position.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rob Gronkowski (ECR – TE15): Gronk got off to a slow start last year as he was working his way back into football shape and he finished the entire season as the TE8. With his involvement in this offense, plus chemistry with Brady, Gronk’s a solid bet to return top-10 production for as long as he’s still playing. While Howard’s return to the lineup might hurt Gronk slightly, it won’t be enough to push him outside of the top-15 at the position. You can draft Gronk with confidence again in 2021 as a high-end TE2.
OJ Howard (ECR – TE29): Howard started out the 2020 season playing really well, but the injury derailed his entire year. Now, with Rob Gronkowski back and at full strength, it’s difficult to see how Howard has any sort of significant fantasy relevance in 2021 outside of an injury to Gronk.
Tennessee Titans
Anthony Firkser (ECR – TE24): While Firkser isn’t necessarily as exciting of a name for fantasy purposes as he was before the Julio Jones trade, he still has some appeal as a streaming option this season. Firkser’s shown that he can be a reliable receiving option over the middle of the field and this receiving corps is still lacking proven depth. Someone else will have to step up besides Julio and AJ Brown. Firkser might not come with tantalizing upside, but he should see enough work each week that he won’t hurt your lineup as a mid-range TE2.
Washington Football Team
Logan Thomas (ECR – TE8): Every single year, there’s a player or two who come out of nowhere to be a weekly viable fantasy option. Last year, Thomas was the waiver wire pickup of the year at the TE position. He went on a tear to finish the season and ended up as the TE6 in all of fantasy football. Did you know that he was the league leader in routes run at the TE position and that it wasn’t even close? He finished with 609 routes run, according to PFF, and second on that list was Travis Kelce with 568! The opportunity for Thomas in this offense is massive. Heading into 2021, Thomas certainly has a bit more competition for targets this time around, but he’s proven that he can get the job done for fantasy. We can’t view him as a top-tier option due to the additions Washington has made at the receiver spots this off-season, but he still should have weekly viability as a low-end TE1.
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Kyle Yates is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @KyleYNFL.