Fantasy Football Busts: David Njoku, Cole Kmet, T.J. Hockenson

The landscape of the tight end position has changed recently. It wasn’t too long ago that if you didn’t get one of the top three, it was slim picking with extreme frustration. Now that we have a bigger selection, we can be a bit more picky. At one point, these were solid choices, but now they won’t get you the results you’re looking for. Here are overvalued tight ends to avoid in upcoming fantasy football drafts.

Tight Ends to Avoid

David Njoku (TE – CLE)

Last season, David Njoku enjoyed his best season with a career-high 882 receiving yards and six touchdowns. That was good enough to finish as the fantasy TE6, but don’t look for the same production.

Those great fantasy performances came with Joe Flacco at quarterback. He didn’t put up the same production with Deshaun Watson under center. With Watson, Njoku averaged 8.2 points per game; without him, he averaged 12.6.

Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)

Cole Kmet is another tight end coming off impressive back-to-back seasons. A lot has changed for the Bears this offseason, though, which doesn’t help Kmet’s situation.

Bringing in a rookie quarterback will make it tough enough, but the Bears upgraded the receiving core by drafting Rome Odunze at No. 9 to complement DJ Moore. They also improved the running game by signing D’Andre Swift, who can catch the ball out of the backfield. And they added Keenan Allen, too.

Adding more receiving options to the offense, which was 31st in passing play percentage last year, will not give Kmet enough chances to be productive or outperform his average draft position (ADP).

T.J. Hockenson (TE – MIN)

T.J. Hockenson will likely miss the first half of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL. Even if you believe in buying into the dip for a significant return later, that will not happen.

That would have been tough because he would not built any chemistry with Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but now he’ll have first-round bust Sam Darnold as his quarterback. He must also compete with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Aaron Jones in an offense that could lean on the run.

NFL David Njoku Joe Flacco Deshaun Watson Cole Kmet Rome Odunze DJ Moore D’Andre Swift Keenan Allen T.J. Hockenson J.J. McCarthy Sam Darnold Justin Jefferson Jordan Addison Aaron Jones