Tight end is the most enjoyable and easiest position to analyze in fantasy football… said no one ever.

Combing through relevant tight ends is a daunting and risky task that can make or break your season. If you strike gold and find that late-draft sleeper, you are on your way to a championship.

Looking at some of the trends of last season and early indications of this offseason, some guys can give you that chance.

You can go the easy route and grab a premium guy in the first couple of rounds, but here are the must-have tight ends to think about late in your draft.

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Must Have Tight Ends 2023

Darren Waller (ADP: 76th POS RK: 6th)

Injuries have diminished Waller’s value the last couple of seasons, but you can get a great return on his value. In 2019 and 2020, he finished in the top five among tight ends and was an early fantasy draft pick.

The trade to the Giants could bring him back to that status. With what we’ve seen Brian Daboll do in his first year, this offense has a lot of optimism.

Waller and Daniel Jones have spent a lot of time together in the offseason building chemistry, and he could potentially lead the team in the passing game.

Daniel Jones and Darren Waller getting some work in ?pic.twitter.com/UMwXFU53C3

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) April 12, 2023

Evan Engram (ADP: 97th POS RK: 8th)

Rising from the ashes was Engram in his first season with the Jaguars, where he had career highs in catches, receiving yards, and first downs. The tight end finished in the top five for the first time since his rookie season.

Engram is a great value because he’s more of a glorified slot receiver than a tight end. Last season he led the league in snaps from the slot and was fifth in routes run.

If you can get that type of production from someone with an ADP in the 90s, that’s an incredible value.

Chigoziem Okonkwo (ADP: 132nd POS RK: 11th)

Okonkwo had a slow start to his rookie season, but the trends show he is poised for a second-year breakout. His production saw a huge bump in the second half of the season- In his first nine games, he had zero with three or more targets. In his final seven, he had six with three top-10 finishes.

His large frame makes him difficult to take down, and he finished with the fifth-most yards after contact among tight ends on just 32 receptions; the other four had 60 or more.

Dalton Schultz (ADP: 133rd POS RK: 12th)

The Texans welcome a new era by hiring a new head DeMeco Ryans and drafting their potential franchise quarterback CJ Stroud.

They’ve also brought in new additions, including Schultz. He was the Cowboys leading tight end the last three seasons, and his 17 touchdowns are the fourth-most at the position in that time frame.

Texans finally have a talented TightEnd since Owen Daniels with Dalton Schultz ??
Dude about to go OFF pic.twitter.com/au6lS0frqa

— CJ Anderson SzN ? (@AyooTexanNation) June 23, 2023

He could become a valuable target for CJ Stroud, especially in the red zone. He had at least 12 red zone targets the last three seasons and finished third among tight ends with 15 last year.

Dalton Kincaid (ADP: 136th POS RK: 13th)

This is another rookie to be high on for this upcoming season. He was an absolute monster the last two years in Utah, with 106 catches for 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Pass-catching is the strongest part of his game. Like Engram, you saw him line up in the slot as another receiver, and he was even doing that during Bills camp. They have been looking for someone in the passing game that can complement Stefon Diggs, and Kincaid is an early candidate.

Greg Dulcich (ADP: 137th POS RK: 14th)

The Broncos’ offense was an absolute mess in 2022, ranking last in points scored per game, but Dulcich was someone that the fantasy community noticed. Last season he finished third on the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and yards per reception while playing just ten games. In that time, he had five games with double-digit PPR points and finished in the top seven at TE three times.

Sean Payton has the offensive knowledge to fix this team. When you remember some of the past tight ends he’s had, Jimmy Graham and Jared Cook, for example, Dulcich should see the ball from Russell Wilson, who likes to throw to tight ends.

Broncos TE Greg Dulcich should play a big role in Sean Payton's offense as a deep threat off of play action. Crafty route runner, regularly beats man coverage (see below), impressive ball tracking ability.

From weeks 7-18, led all TEs in AY/target. pic.twitter.com/UTFeUW9J2z

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 19, 2023

Gerald Everett (ADP: 155th POS RK: 17th)

Everett had his best season with the Chargers thanks to a career-high in catches and receiving yards. The 29-year-old is always someone you can be confident in when he gets the ball, and he had the second-most missed tackles last season with no fumbles.

Everett also was a favorite Herberts in the red zone, finishing with 16 targets and 10 catches.

Sam LaPorta (ADP: 166th POS RK: 19th)

You might be unfamiliar with LaPorta this season, but he should be on your radar. He played on one of the worse offenses in the FBS during his time at Iowa, but he still proved to be an incredible pass catcher with 111 catches for 1,327 yards in his final two seasons.

There has been a lot of positive talk about him during the Lions’ minicamp, with he and Goff building chemistry early on. We saw how much TJ Hockenson contributed early in the season, and LaPorta should fill in and get that same workload.

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