It's officially fantasy football season with the 2020 NFL campaign starting in less than two weeks. It's important to extract value in the late rounds of drafts, including finding a strong starter at tight end.
Most leagues have just one tight end, and after the first few names, people tend to start holding off on taking one.
With that in mind, it is a perfect position in which to find a ton of value. You can get someone in the middle or even later rounds of your draft that is not only your starting tight end but is one of your highest and most consistent scorers each week.
So who could you go after late? Who are three undervalued fantasy football tight ends based on ADP (average draft position)? Let's take a look and try to figure out who is going to get you the most bang for your buck in 2020.
3. T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions (ADP – 13th Round)
The Detroit Lions selected T.J. Hockenson in the first round (eighth overall pick) of the 2019 NFL Draft, later showing promise in his rookie year, Hockenson showed a lot of promise. However, as is customary with rookie tight ends, he was not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, finishing with 32 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games played.
Year two could be a totally different story, though, as there is a lot going for Hockenson.
First of all, he's now more accustomed to the NFL. He has the speed down and the trust of his teammates. That alone should see a slight tick in his numbers.
Then there is the situation. The Lions now have a running attack that should be much better thanks to rookie D'Andre Swift. Of course, the passing game has just as many weapons as usual. Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. are the two biggest threats there. Due to that, Hockenson should slide in nicely. He will get a ton of looks, but defenses will be occupied with the other weapons.
Additionally, due to injury, Matthew Stafford was throwing to Hockenson in only eight of the then–rookie tight end's 12 appearances. Stafford was on his way to a legitimate MVP-type season last year too, people forget. In those eight games, Hockenson had 22 receptions for 296 yards and two touchdowns. However, in the four games without Stafford—the tight end had just 10 receptions for 71 yards and no touchdowns.
Clearly, he is a different type of player with Stafford on the field. The Lions have a healthy Stafford back in 2020. Detroit has even more weapons in the offense.
This could be a breakout year for Hockenson and you could easily snatch him up as a backup in the late rounds. He might end up taking over starting duties on your team at some point, so this is a major value pick.
2. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (ADP – 1oth Round)
Tyler Higbee was the fourth-round pick (11oth overall) of the Los Angeles Rams back in the 2016 NFL Draft. While he was seen as a good blocking tight end, there was plenty of potential for him when it came to receiving as well.
That did not show up though. He reeled in just 11 receptions in his rookie season, followed by 25 then 24 in the next two years.
Those first three seasons combined saw Higbee record just 60 receptions for 672 yards and four receiving touchdowns. Clearly, the “receiving” end of his potential had not arrived.
And things were only going to get worse for the tight end, as Gerald Everett was the new rising star in town.
However, somewhere along the line in 2019 everything changed. Higbee became “the” guy again. And this time, he took advantage of it.
The tight end appeared in just 15 games but set new career highs in receptions (69), receiving yards (734) and receiving touchdowns (three). In fact, those receptions and receiving yards were higher than he had in all three previous years combined.
Most impressively, he did most of his damage at the end of the 2019 season. Higbee racked up 43 receptions for 522 yards and two touchdowns in his last five games—absolutely insane.
Despite the obvious breakout and the very offensive-minded Rams, Higbee is still an afterthought in fantasy football.
Maybe people are afraid it was a fluke and only producing for five weeks is not enough to go off of. But still, the 10th round is pretty late. That sounds like more than worth the risk. If he continues to produce, you just got one of the best fantasy tight ends by using a pick in the back end of the draft.
That's how you win fantasy football leagues right there.
1. Noah Fant, Denver Broncos (ADP – 13th Round)
Like Hockenson, Noah Fant was a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was taken with the 20th overall selection by the Denver Broncos, though.
Funnily enough, the two are connected even more than just being tight ends and first-round picks in the same draft. Both went to Iowa for college. And both are on this list.
Fant had the better rookie year of the two, finishing with 40 receptions for 562 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.
Like Hockenson, he did it with a few different quarterbacks throughout the year. And also like Hockenson, Fant now has his star quarterback set to start 2020.
Fant had quite a few moments in 2019 where he flashed some of the ridiculous potential he has, and he clearly is building up a nice rapport with fellow 2019 rookie, quarterback Drew Lock.
Fant managed seven games last season with at least three receptions, and two with over 100 receiving yards. His insane athleticism for the position means even when he isn't reeling in a ton of catches, he might still get you good numbers with plenty of yards and a touchdown or two.
Now Denver is loaded offensively. You could argue that all the weapons they got in the draft (Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler) will take away from Fant. They already had some great receivers (especially Courtland Sutton) and now have two more rising stars.
But they should serve to help Fant. As rookies, they might take a slight back seat. But they will still take a lot of defensive eyes with them. Meanwhile, Fant and Lock are going to build off what they had going last year. And that could mean major things for 2020.
50 receptions for 700 yards and four touchdowns seems like the bare minimum floor for Fant. Meanwhile, he could absolutely propel himself into elite fantasy status with 1,000-plus yards and seven-plus touchdowns.
If that happens, he would have been worth an early round draft pick. Instead, Fant is falling into the 13th round on average. That's absolutely insane. If you find him late in a draft, scoop him up.
That could end up being one of your star players—and you drafted him in a slot that is usually designated for backups and handcuffs.
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