Here are tight ends that I’m avoiding based on their current cost. You can see where I have them ranked, as well as all the other fantasy football tight ends approaching the 2023 NFL season. I have players ranked higher and lower than our Expert Consensus Rankings and Best Ball ADP. Here are tight ends I’m avoiding.
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Fantasy Football Draft Players to Avoid
Over the last two years, Dallas Goedert has averaged 56.7 yards per game and a wildly efficient 10.6 yards per target. He finished fifth in fantasy points per game in 2022, missing five late-season games with a shoulder injury. The athletic Goedert is a playmaking tight end who’s averaged 13.8 yards per catch over the last two years. His target upside may be limited, however, since the Eagles were the fourth run-heaviest team in the league last season, and since Goedert has to share targets with WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Goedert hasn’t scored more than five touchdowns in any of his five NFL seasons.
Evan Engram had a terrific rookie season for the Giants in 2017, then spent the next four years failing to live up to expectations. He signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars in 2022 and thrived in his new environment, catching 73 passes for 766 yards and four touchdowns. Engram also had 7-93-1 in the Jaguars epic come-from-behind playoff win vs. the Chargers. Back with the Jags after being franchise-tagged, Engram will likely be drafted as a midrange or low-end TE1 this summer. That might be a slight overpay now that the Jaguars have added WR Calvin Ridley and have ample pass-catching weaponry on the roster to make target competition fierce.
Dalton Schultz signed a one-year deal with Houston, where he should have ample target opportunity but will be paired with rookie QB C.J. Stroud. Schultz was TE3 in fantasy scoring in 2021, catching 78 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. But his production tapered off in 2022. He finished with 57-577-5 and dealt with an early-season knee injury that cost him a pair of games. Schultz isn’t particularly athletic, and he’s averaged just 6.5 yards per target last season, suggesting that his 2021 numbers aren’t likely to be repeated.
Zach Ertz was TE3 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring through the first 10 weeks of the 2022 season, but he tore his ACL and MCL on Nov. 13. It’s not clear whether Ertz will be ready for Week 1, but he should be back early in the season. The question is whether the 32-year-old Ertz will be fit enough to continue his late-career resurgence following a major knee injury. After seven strong seasons with the Eagles, Ertz had a nightmarish 2020 in which he had 36-335-1 in 11 games, missing five games with a high-ankle sprain. Ertz started the 2021 season sluggishly, but then a trade to the Cardinals seemed to rejuvenate him, and he produced useful numbers until he went down last year. Not only is Ertz coming off a major injury, but he may have to share snaps and targets with talented young Cardinals TE Trey McBride. If you’re thinking about investing in Ertz for 2023, insist on a discount.
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