Fantasy season is right around the corner and we, as avid fans of the game, are looking for any advantage for success in our leagues. We know the old motto “great or go late” when it pertains to tight end, which leads to “punting” the position when you don’t land a player of Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews or Kyle Pitts caliber. What if we told you that we have identified some players in the TE2 range that have a chance to bring top-five potential to your team? Wouldn’t you be interested in finding out these players and allowing your teams to have substantial depth elsewhere while you take the CORRECT dart throws on a tight end in 2022?
Consensus ADP 126 (13th TE overall)
Cole Kmet in 2022 gives us Zach Ertz while in Philadelphia vibes, a ton of receptions leading to a higher fantasy total. The Chicago Bears lack pass-catching options. Everyone else is an average NFL player at best outside of Darnell Mooney. Fellow FantasyPros analyst Derek Brown broke down Cole Kmet, explaining that “Cole Kmet ranked inside the top 12 amongst tight ends in targets (93, eighth), target share (17.7%, 11th) receiving yards (612, 12th) and air yard share (17.6% 11th).”
There are not many tight ends who can rattle off those types of accomplishments in the NFL and since the Bears are devoid of options, we should see a similar presence if not a greater one, this upcoming season. Don’t forget Kmet scored zero touchdowns last season. Touchdown regression is more than likely coming. Kmet is a high-floor option on a Bears team that will have a lot of garbage time to pad the stats.
Consensus ADP 167 (18th TE overall)
Cleveland is a scary place to draft from right now. We have no idea of Deshaun Watson‘s suspension length. This lack of news leads us to look at the team with Jacoby Brissett under center. So why am I still excited about David Njoku?
Well, Njoku just signed a new contract. This contract spans four years and hands him over $54M, with $28M guaranteed. This contract shows me the Cleveland Browns want to feature him within this offense. With only Amari Cooper moving the needle regarding high-end talent, Njoku could see more than enough targets this season to warrant this late-round dart throw.
We also have the Browns leading the pack with tight end usage regarding the personnel packages they use in their game script. No team used 13 personnel ( 1WR, 3 TE, 2 RB) more than the Browns, who used it at 17%. This percentage led the NFL in 2021. The Browns are committed to the run and passing through their tight-end core.
Finally, we look at Brissett as a quarterback. In 2019 when he was the QB for the Indianapolis Colts, he had two TE in the top five for targets on his team (shown below). With the Browns playing with two or fewer wide receivers 54% of the time, Brissett will continue to look to his safety value to get the ball out early and often on passing plays.
In 2019, when Jacoby Brissett was the QB for the Colts. He had two TE in the top 5 for targets on the Colts. I’m not saying I haven’t cooled a little on David Njoku… but maybe he isn’t a complete “fade” yet due to how the Browns love to play with 2 or less WR 54% of the time pic.twitter.com/toycJJGjN6
— Joe Pepe (@jpep20) June 28, 2022
Consensus ADP 178 (21st TE overall)
Gerald Everett was solid on a struggling Seattle Seahawks team during stretches last season. Now, Everett is catching balls from one of the strongest young arms in the NFL with Justin Herbert. He also joins a team that goes for it on fourth down at a top-five percentage in the NFL allowing for more opportunities to score points.
This offense is poised to be potent while having to keep pace with three other dominant offenses in their division. With Everett’s strength of schedule (SOS) being eighth overall in the NFL, he has a chance to have a career year in Los Angeles with the Chargers.
As we said earlier, tight end is a position that allows you to punt when it comes to your team. Most leagues format their fantasy leagues with 2-3 RB, 2-3 WR, one TE and one FLEX. This format behooves you to build at the positions needing more quantity and taking shots with upside players outside the top 12, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
The good news with this strategy is that even if you miss on a player, you can most likely stream another one of these players and play the waiver wire to your advantage. Now that you know the upside TE2 within your draft, you’ll be able to sit back, let other managers draft those mid-round tight ends and build a more well-rounded team around these upside dart throws.
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
