While the 2024 fantasy football redraft season is months away, it’s never too early to look ahead. Much will change between now and August, when most redraft fantasy leagues start back up. Despite that, let’s look at three tight ends on my early must-have draft list for 2024.
- Early Must-Have Running Backs
- Early Must-Have Wide Receivers
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
2024 Must-Have Tight Ends
Trey McBride (ARI): ADP 61.9 | TE4
Most of the hype heading into next year’s redraft season will be on Sam LaPorta after the former Iowa star defied the notion that tight ends can’t be fantasy stars as rookies. However, the young tight end I want on my team is McBride. The second-year player was the TE9 in 2023, averaging 8.3 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. While he had the same yearly points per game average as Jake Ferguson, McBride is already a superstar tight end.
After struggling to get on the field, McBride averaged 2.64 yards per route run and had 20.5 fantasy points in his first career start against an elite Baltimore Ravens defense despite catching passes from Joshua Dobbs. More importantly, the former Colorado State star averaged 2.17 yards per route run, a 29.8 first-read target share, and 0.37 fantasy points per route run with Kyler Murray under center (per Fantasy Points Data). McBride should be in the mix as the first tight end selected in 2024 drafts.
Kyle Pitts (ATL): ADP 97.6 | TE12
Many have given up on Pitts after having back-to-back disappointing seasons. While I understand the frustration, better days are ahead for the talented tight end. Pitts joined Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight end with over 1,000 receiving yards. By comparison, Sam LaPorta had 889 receiving yards on 120 targets as a rookie despite being a focal point in one of the NFL’s best passing offenses. Meanwhile, Pitts has played the past two years hurt. He suffered a knee injury in 2022 that ended his season after 10 games.
Unfortunately, the knee injury limited his this past year. Yet, the former Florida star still finished the season just outside the TE1 range. Arthur Smith is gone, meaning Pitts won’t have a lower red zone target share (15.5% vs. 8.6%) than Jonnu Smith again (per Fantasy Points Data). New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will know how to utilize the talented tight end. Unless he is still dealing with the knee injury in training camp, fantasy players should jump at the opportunity to draft Pitts as a low-end TE1.
Pat Freiermuth (PIT): ADP 143.5 | TE17
Last year was one to forget for Freiermuth and fantasy players with him on their team. The third-year player was a popular mid-round tight end draft pick. However, he missed five games and struggled when playing. Freiermuth averaged only 5.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, a career low. The tight end saw his targets (36.1%) and receiving yards per game (43.9%) significantly drop from 2022 to last season. Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to get the passing game going regardless of who called the plays.
While many hate seeing Arthur Smith get another chance in the NFL, his hiring is excellent news for Freiermuth. Fantasy players have seen the tight end be productive when given the target volume and red zone opportunities. Last year, the Atlanta Falcons tight ends averaged a 31.7% overall target share and a 29.3% red zone target share. Fantasy players just have to hope that Smith doesn’t try to make Darnell Washington a thing and builds the passing attack around Freiermuth.
More Early 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Prep
- Erickson’s Early Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Notes: QB | WR
- Early Must-Have Running Backs: Feb
- Early Must-Have Wide Receivers: Feb
- 3 Early Breakout Candidates
- 6 Early Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.