3 Impact Rookie Tight Ends (2024 Fantasy Football)

The tight end position is always a tough one to peg in fantasy football, especially if you miss out on the top players. It gets even more complicated when you start pinning down tight ends that are also rookies. Below, I’ll explore three tight ends that could have some fantasy football value during the 2024 NFL season.

Impact Rookie Tight Ends

(All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and College Football Reference)

Brock Bowers (TE – LV)

It’s no secret or surprise, but Brock Bowers will be the most impactful rookie tight end in 2024. He was drafted in the first round and joined a team where he could be the No. 2 option behind wide receiver Davante Adams. Of course, the biggest issue here could be the quarterback position, which includes Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew — the starter is not completely known yet.

Bowers is also on a depth chart with Michael Mayer, but considering this is a new coaching staff and they took Bowers in the first round, he’ll be the go-to guy at tight end.

The Raiders have Jakobi Meyers, who is also a factor in this, as he saw 106 targets in 2023.

The one positive for the Raiders is their running back depth, which is wildly uninspiring, including Zamir White and Alexander Mattison.

Regardless, Bowers is in a somewhat tough spot to be a massively productive asset. The quarterback position is questionable, there’s an alpha receiver with Adams on the roster and Meyers had 100 targets in 2023.

Bowers is going as the TE10 right now, which is ok, but I’m not yet convinced he’s top-five material as a rookie.

Ben Sinnott (TE – WAS)

Ben Sinnott is currently going as the TE22, which marks the second rookie tight end off the board. He’s in an interesting spot on the Washington Commanders as they have wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Luke McCaffrey, running back Austin Ekeler and tight end Zach Ertz.

There are a lot of mouths to feed with Jayden Daniels coming in as a rookie quarterback.

Ertz is aging, so Sinnott could see some reps as the starter, but there are still too many options here. He could finish as a top-20 tight end, but that’s about it. Don’t bank on more.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE – CAR)

Ja’Tavion Sanders joins a Panthers team that’s hoping to see massive improvement at the quarterback position with Bryce Young and new head coach Dave Canales joining the fold.

He came in as a borderline top-100 pick and was a successful pass-catcher with the Texas Longhorns. He caught 99 passes for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns over the last two seasons. He should be a much more productive tight end option than Tommy Tremble. Sanders’ biggest competition will be the wide receivers, which include Diontae Johnson, fellow rookie Xavier Legette and Adam Thielen.

Legette was a borderline first-round pick, Thielen has been a proven asset for a long time in the NFL and Johnson came over via trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sanders is going as the TE31, but I think he’s in a position to finish better than Sinnott and has TE15 upside, depending on how committed they are to start him over Tremble.

Fantasy Draft Advice NFL Rookies Sleepers Brock Bowers Davante Adams Aidan O’Connell Gardner Minshew Michael Mayer Jakobi Meyers Zamir White Alexander Mattison Ben Sinnott Terry McLaurin Jahan Dotson Luke McCaffrey Austin Ekeler Zach Ertz Jayden Daniels Ja’Tavion Sanders Bryce Young Tommy Tremble Diontae Johnson Xavier Legette Adam Thielen