4 TE2s With Top-5 Potential (2024 Fantasy Football)

The tight end landscape in fantasy football is a veritable wasteland of broken promises and neglect. Only six averaged more than 12 fantasy points per game in PPR formats last season. Most of those were the usual suspects, but a couple came from deep in the holler of fantasy drafts. It’s objectively true that athletic tight ends have the upper hand at developing into game-breaking talents for fantasy purposes. The Travis Kelce mold is unique to the Patrick Mahomes era under Andy Reid.

Athletic marvels like Sam LaPorta and Kyle Pitts are drafted on their ability to transform into wide receivers who resemble Calvin Johnson for brief moments in games. They aren’t the only tight ends with that potential, however. I have identified a few names to monitor in your fantasy drafts who are outside of the top 12, according to the FantasyPros expert consensus rankings (ECR). I believe each is in the right situation for their skill sets to vault them into the top five among tight ends in PPR formats.

Fantasy Football Tight End Sleepers: TE2s With Top-5 Potential

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Mike Gesicki is a weapon and just needs the right situation to flourish as a move tight end. We may have finally achieved the perfect alignment of the cosmos for the athletic freak to take wing. The Cincinnati Bengals lost Tyler Boyd and, while their young receivers are primed to step up, the tight end position has flourished under Joe Burrow.

Gesicki is the most talented receiver they’ve had at the position during the Burrow era. If Cj Uzomah and Hayden Hurst can put up numbers, there’s no telling what sort of damage can be done with a monster like Gesicki. Burrow loves to press the seam. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins put so much stress on the boundaries and post that an athletic tight end can be a skeleton key. Many fantasy analysts have left the bandwagon, but Gesicki’s new stripes suit him well.

Luke Musgrave (TE – GB)

There’s no telling how high this Packers offense can fly. The wide receivers are young and exciting. Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are nice, technical route runners. Christian Watson is a speed merchant who puts defensive backs under a constant state of duress. Even Romeo Doubs can be an asset, especially in the red zone. Luke Musgrave was the co-main event among rookie tight ends next to LaPorta before a lacerated kidney ended his regular season.

Tucker Kraft stepped in admirably, even drawing some to hypothesize him as the better of the two. Matt LaFleur made it very clear with the pre-injury hierarchy that Musgrave is a more versatile weapon in the system. He returned to be just as productive during the playoffs, albeit sharing snaps with Kraft. I foresee Musgrave distancing himself as the top tight end in Green Bay through camp and into the 2024 season.

Noah Fant (TE – SEA)

Will it ever happen for Noah Fant? The fellow first-round tight end from Iowa with TJ Hockenson has yet to live up to his athletic profile. It’s not his fault. He was utterly unstoppable as a rookie in Denver before injuries derailed his magical season. Since then, injuries and overly conservative coaching have put the silencer on Fant’s fantasy production. Take coachspeak with a grain of salt, but new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb only mentioned one tight end by name during his latest press conference.

Fant is, of course, part of a very competitive receiving corps. Geno Smith has DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, along with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, to peruse in the pocket. Fant still has a role as the seam stretcher and mesh muscle in the red zone when defenses show cover-1. Under Grubb, Smith will have plenty more chances to find his tight end earlier in his progressions.

Chigoziem Okonkwo (TE – TEN)

The Tennessee Titans’ offense is growing on me. Brian Callahan takes over and he loves to spread the ball around through the air. The Titans receiving corps is an interesting mix of established veterans and underwhelming youngsters. Calvin Ridley joins DeAndre Hopkins on the outside for second-year quarterback Will Levis. Levis is a lot like Jameis Winston, in that he will push the ball to a fault. The coaches need antacids, but fantasy managers enjoy the production upside.

Chigoziem Okonkwo is a gazelle in the middle of the field. Where he has fallen short in consistent production, he has dazzled in highlight-reel performances. Levis is the undoubted starter and will get plenty of opportunities to gel with his security blanket at tight end. Okonkwo goes from blankie to yards after the catch monster in a hurry, giving him plenty of upside in fantasy with minimal investment.

Fantasy Draft Advice NFL Travis Kelce Patrick Mahomes Sam LaPorta Kyle Pitts Mike Gesicki Tyler Boyd Joe Burrow Cj Uzomah Hayden Hurst Ja’Marr Chase Tee Higgins Luke Musgrave Jayden Reed Dontayvion Wicks Christian Watson Romeo Doubs Tucker Kraft Noah Fant TJ Hockenson Geno Smith DK Metcalf Tyler Lockett Jaxon Smith-Njigba Chigoziem Okonkwo Calvin Ridley DeAndre Hopkins Will Levis Jameis Winston