Richard Janvrin | Fri, Jun 14th 2024, 7:10am EDT

Tight Ends To Avoid (2024 Fantasy Football)

The tight end position in fantasy football tends to be one of those positions where if you don’t get a top guy, you’re better off simply punting on the position and figuring out a committee of players or streaming the position. Last year, we saw Trey McBride break onto the scene, but that doesn’t happen as often as you’d think.

Using FantasyPros ADP data, I’ve found three tight ends who are low-end TE1s that I’d recommend avoiding and using a seventh or eighth-round draft pick on. Let’s check out a few potential fantasy football tight end busts to avoid drafting.

Tight Ends To Avoid in Fantasy Football for 2024

David Njoku (TE – CLE)

David Njoku finally had a season in 2023 that we’ve been hoping for years after catching 81 passes on 123 targets for 882 yards and six touchdowns. Before that, he never topped 58 catches, 639 yards or four touchdowns in a single season. However, much of his production last year came with Joe Flacco under center.

If you look at the games he played with Deshaun Watson at quarterback, which were Weeks 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 (Watson played in Week 7 but attempted just five passes), you’ll find he had the following stat lines:

Week 1: 2 receptions, 24 yards, 0 TDs
Week 2: 4 receptions, 48 yards, 0 TDs
Week 3: 4 receptions, 20 yards, 0 TDs
Week 8: 4 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD
Week 9: 4 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD

So, there was certainly some hope in the final two starts, especially Week 8 with high yardage and a score. Besides that, it was pretty poor numbers compared to what Njoku accomplished the rest of the season with a different quarterback.

With that in mind and with the team bringing in Jerry Jeudy and running back Nick Chubb, we could see Njoku return to a stat line of around 600 yards and a few touchdowns, which isn’t something I’d be overly excited about with a top-100 pick in a fantasy draft.

Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)

Goedert has seen a dip in production in the last few years. He’s caught 55 or more passes in the previous three seasons, but his yards have dropped from 830 to 702 to 592. He’s also been steady with touchdowns, scoring four in 2021, three in 2022 and three more last season.

However, this year, the team drafted two receivers: Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith as well as Saquon Barkley, who will certainly get plenty of carries and is also a fantastic pass-catching running back.

Goedert’s main value came from his receptions, so if he drops below 50 catches and flirts with 550 yards or so and just a few scores, I’d rather draft some running back or wide receiver depth instead.

Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU)

The Texans may have signed Schultz to a new deal for three years and $36 million, but this came before they knew they could acquire wide receiver Stefon Diggs, which they did via trade about a month later. Also, in the draft, they took Cade Stover, whom Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud played with in college and acquired running back Joe Mixon, who will certainly get well over 200 carries.

Schultz had a respectable 59 catches for 635 yards and five scores, but those figures are poised to drop with the acquisition of Diggs, drafting Stover, adding Mixon and returning Tank Dell from a season-ending injury toward the end of 2023.

More Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target

Fitz’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)
Erickson’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)
DBro’s Top Fantasy Football Draft Targets (Premium)

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