Positional Overview and Philosophy

Go big or go home.

Wait, no, that’s not right. Go big or go cheap. That’s a better way of describing the optimal approach to the TE position in best-ball drafts.

Get your top tight end from either Neiman Marcus or Dollar Tree. Don’t shop for tight ends at a mid-range retailer like Target or Nordstrom.

Pat Fitzmaurice’s Best Ball Tight End Rankings & Tiers

The Merits of Spending Up

Getting a top-tier tight end can give you a big positional advantage. Travis Kelce routinely averages 16 to 20 points per game in PPR formats. Since 2017, only six tight ends other than Kelce have averaged more than 15 fantasy points per game over a full season. George Kittle is the only tight end to have done it twice during that stretch. The other TEs who did it: Mark Andrews, Darren Waller, Zach Ertz, and Rob Gronkowski.

Kelce and Andrews are the first two tight ends coming off the board in 2022 best-ball drafts. Both are undeniably attractive. Kelce has finished as the top tight end in PPR scoring in five of the last six years, and the Chiefs traded away WR Tyreek Hill. Andrews finished as the top-scoring tight end in PPR scoring last year, and the Ravens traded away WR Marquise Brown.

Opportunity Cost

It’s great to have an edge at tight end, but there’s an opportunity cost. Kelce’s overall ADP in Fanball leagues is 16.2, and Andrews’ is 21.8. (Obviously, both will go earlier in TE-premium best-ball leagues.) If you spend a second-round pick on a tight end, you’re going to fall behind at either WR or RB and will spend the rest of the draft chasing at whichever of those positions you sacrifice.

The alternative is to load up at WR and RB early and not pay up at TE. But then what’s the plan at TE?

Why Go Cheap?

The good news is that the middle class of tight ends has expanded in recent years. If you miss out on Kelce and Andrews, you at least have a decent chance of landing a tight end who averages 10 or more points per game. But the TE middle class in any given season is full of the previous season’s lower-class TEs. In other words, it’s difficult to predict who exactly the denizens of the TE middle class will be.

In 2020, Robert Tonyan and Logan Thomas finished third and fourth respectively in PPR scoring among tight ends. Tonyan had a preseason ADP of TE42 in best-ball leagues, 307th overall. Thomas had an ADP of TE36.

Last year, Dalton Schultz finished TE4 in fantasy scoring, and Dawson Knox was TE10. Schultz’s preseason best ball ADP was TE32, 257th overall, and Knox was TE34, 263rd overall. Pat Freiermuth and Tyler Conklin were other low-priced bargains.

We’ve seen some TE land mines in the first 10 rounds of best-ball drafts. Logan Thomas and Robert Tonyan didn’t work out in 2021 due to injuries. Tyler Higbee and Jonnu Smith had ADPs inside the first 10 rounds of best ball drafts but were disappointments.

In 2020, Zach Ertz, Evan Engram, Jared Cook, Austin Hooper, and Higbee were middle-class tight ends who had ADPs inside the first 10 rounds and let down their investors.

Wait Until After Round 10

There are a lot of good wide receivers and intriguing running backs available in Rounds 6-10. I’d rather be fishing in those ponds than drafting a tight end who, if things work out, might average 11 PPR points a game. After Round 10, the wide receivers and running backs become less appealing, and the value proposition of TE hunting becomes more favorable.

Generally, I’m drafting only two tight ends in best ball no matter what; the only time I’ll draft three is if I’m really dumpster-diving at the position and feel great about my depth at RB and WR. But those instances are rare.

Avoids

Darren Waller (TE – LV)

Waller is the TE5 in best ball drafts, and he’s the TE5 in my best ball rankings, but I have no interest in him at his early-fifth-round ADP. He’s entering his age-30 season after missing four games with knee issues last year. Waller’s days as the Raiders’ target king are over now that Davante Adams has arrived, and Hunter Renfrow has become a major player in the Las Vegas passing game, too.

Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)

He no longer has to share TE targets with Zach Ertz, who was traded to Arizona last year, but A.J. Brown‘s arrival in Philadelphia is going to shrink Goedert’s target volume — and the Eagles were one of the run-heaviest teams in the league last year. At an eighth-round ADP, Goedert is being drafted at his ceiling.

Pat Freiermuth (TE – PIT)

This is a perfect example of the sort of middle-class tight end you should avoid in best ball. Freiermuth is a good player but looks like a fantasy trap this year as the TE10 in best-ball leagues. He had seven TD catches as a rookie, scoring on 11.7% of his 60 receptions. Touchdowns accounted for 27.7% of Freiermuth’s fantasy scoring, so he’s an obvious candidate for TD regression. There’s ample target competition from RB Najee Harris and WRs Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and George Pickens; Pittsburgh’s QB situation is shaky with Mitchell Trubisky and rookie Kenny Pickett; and the Steelers play a murderous schedule.

Targets

George Kittle (TE – SF)

There are four TEs in whom I’m willing to invest an early pick this year — Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, and Kittle. I suppose it’s fair to be concerned about Kittle being injury-prone, although he’s played at least 14 games in three of the last four seasons. I think the other reason Kittle’s ADP lands him at the fourth-round/fifth-round turn in Fanball drafts is that people seem concerned about whether rookie QB Trey Lance will be able to adequately feed Kittle and WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. I think those concerns are overblown, particularly when those three soak up such a huge percentage of team targets (60.2% last year). Kittle is a remarkably efficient pass catcher who’s averaged 76.4 receiving yards per game and 9.9 yards per target over the last four years. To put those numbers into perspective, Travis Kelce has averaged 70.9 yards per game and 9.1 yards per target over his career. Kittle is a value at his current cost.

Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)

The young tight end has had terrible TD luck, scoring two touchdowns on 88 career receptions. Chicago’s offense was awful in 2021, but Kmet finished with a respectable 60 catches for 612 yards in his second season. He simply didn’t offer much fantasy help in 2021 because he scored zero touchdowns. The Bears’ offense figures to be bad again, but Kmet is likely to be QB Justin Fields‘ No. 2 target behind only WR Darnell Mooney. Kmet has a 12th-round ADP in Fanball drafts — a great value proposition.

Adam Trautman (TE – NO)

A sneaky late-round target, Trautman had 27 catches over a four-week stretch from Week 7 to Week 10 before a sprained MCL in Week 11 derailed his second NFL season. He’s the clear No. 1 TE for a Saints offense that should be more potent with Jameis Winston back under center. Trautman was getting some buzz at this time a year ago, but there’s little buzz now. He’s an intriguing post-hype sleeper with a 17th-round ADP.

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Pat Fitzmaurice is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Pat, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter at @Fitz_FF.