Our love affair with late-round tight ends is real. It’s a guilty pleasure. A delectable sin that we can’t help to indulge in because the payoff can be huge. We have seen players like Darren Waller (TE – LV), Logan Thomas (TE – WAS), and company become top-five options.
Today I implore you. Join the dark side. Light a candle. Draw a bath and enjoy this scintillating tale of tight ends outside the top 12 in our ECR with top-five potential in fantasy football.
If you’re looking for secret sauce ingredients for a breakout tight end, athleticism and opportunity are consistent themes that’ll I’ll discuss in this article. David Njoku is the first athletic dynamo with big-time target upside we’ll discuss. Last year (minimum 20 targets, per PFF) among tight ends, Njoku finished 11th in yards per route run and fifth in yards after the catch per reception. Ranking 25th (53) in targets among the position was criminal, but the Browns have used their get out of jail free card as they’ve seen the light. Austin Hooper (TE – TEN) has been jettisoned, and there are rumors that Njoku is close to a long-term deal with Cleveland. With only Amari Cooper (WR – CLE) above in the pecking order for targets, Njoku could be the late-round tight end to target in every format.
Albert Okwuegbunam (TE – DEN): TE24
Albert Okwuegbunam is an easy candidate to mention with his Greek god-like athletic status. Okwuegbunam stands at 6’6″, carrying 258 lbs with a 98th percentile 40 time and 100th percentile speed score. Injuries (ACL tear in 2020) and Noah Fant (TE – SEA) were previous roadblocks to his ascension, but both of those have been cleared entering 2022. Okwuegbunam has already proven he can produce outlandish efficiency numbers. Last year (minimum 20 targets, per PFF), he finished fifth in yards per route run (immediately behind Kyle Pits) and third in yards after the catch per reception. The opportunity portion of this math equation is more difficult to parse through since Jerry Jeudy (WR – DEN), Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN), and Tim Patrick (WR – DEN) are all on the depth chart. This is still a home run swing worth taking in drafts because, at the very least, he could be the third option in what could be one of the best passing attacks in the NFL.
The first argument many will concoct after seeing Dan Arnold mentioned here is, what about Evan Engram (TE – JAC)? Ok. What about Evan Engram. Over the last four years, he’s been a wretchedly inefficient player, with his yards per route run and yards after the catch per reception declining every season. Last year he bottomed out in both categories, ranking 54th and 41st among tight ends (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). If we truly believe targets are earned (we should), then Dan Arnold has proven he possesses this skill while Engram doesn’t. In Weeks 5-11 last year, he played 62% or higher snaps in every game and was ninth in targets among tight ends (17% target share, 6.3 targets per game). In 2021, he was seventh in targets per snap and tenth in yards per route run immediately behind Darren Waller (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). Doug Pederson has shown a willingness to hyper-target tight ends, ranking second in tight end target share in each of his final two seasons with Philadelphia. While people worry about Engram or fawn over his athleticism, don’t let Arnold’s efficiency and own gym rat chops get lost in the mix. Arnold has a 98th percentile burst score (per Playerprofiler.com) and 93rd percentile agility.
More from DBro:
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Looking for advice tailored to your team? Check out our awarding-winning My Playbook tool. My Playbook allows you to sync your team for free in seconds. It offers personalized advice for fantasy owners, including a Start/Sit Assistant, Waiver Wire Assistant, and Trade Analyzer. My Playbook will also send you news and alerts specific to your fantasy players. Join over 1 million teams that have been synched for custom advice, rankings, and analysis!