Each season, new players become household names with their play on the gridiron. And with that, they become household names within the fantasy football community as well. Identifying potential diamonds in the rough, and ultimately hitting on those longshot picks, is one of the best feelings a fantasy manager can experience. Here are four tight ends our experts believe could elevate their game in 2022 and become forces to be reckoned with in fantasy:
Beyond our fantasy football content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football draft season.
4 Breakout Tight End Candidates
You may argue that Dalton Schultz already had a breakout in 2021. To that I respond: I think he has elite TE potential in 2022. With Michael Gallup likely to start the year on the PUP, Schultz could become the #2 option in the Dallas passing game and never let that go.
– Joe Pisapia
Cole Kmet has already established himself as an important contributor to the Bears’ offense, but his lousy TD luck has kept him from becoming a useful fantasy contributor. The young TE had 60 catches for 612 yards in his second NFL season but failed to score a single touchdown. He’s bound to have better fortune in the TD department this season, and Kmet should see plenty of targets with the Bears being so thin at wide receiver.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
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David Njoku is a former first-round pick entering his sixth NFL season. Does it even count as a breakout if he finishes, say, TE10 in fantasy scoring? But what if Harrison Bryant is the more productive Browns tight end? A fourth-round pick in 2020, Bryant was a prolific pass catcher at Florida A&M, where he had 1,004 yards and seven TDs as a senior. He’s managed to establish a foothold in the Cleveland offense the last two years despite having to compete with Njoku and Austin Hooper for TE targets. Hooper is gone, and Njoku … well, he’s been teasing us for five years.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Miami product Brevin Jordan enjoyed a decent rookie season, finishing with a 19% target rate per route run and four top-12 weekly finishes over his last nine games.
– Andrew Erickson
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to 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 Trade Analyzer – which allows you to instantly find out if a trade offer benefits you or your opponent – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.