The final installment of our way-too-early 2024 fantasy football preview is for the tight end position. With rookies like Trey McBride and Sam LaPorta taking the fantasy community by storm last season, who could surprise this year?
There was not a lot of movement this offseason for free-agent tight ends, so the household names you are expecting to see on this list are still in the same spots. With some leagues putting a big onus on the TE position, it is even more important than in past seasons.
Just missing out on the following top-10 list includes Pat Freiermuth, Dallas Goedert, Cole Kmet, Luke Musgrave, and Dalton Schultz. Will you be targeting any of the following players in our 2024 list?
10. Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons
2023 Rank – TE13
The potential has always been there for Kyle Pitts, but poor quarterback play for the Atlanta Falcons has turned Pitts into a what-if in the fantasy community. But with Kirk Cousins now in town, it is very possible that 2024 is the first chance that Pitts has to be relevant for your fantasy football team.
Coming off a season that found him just outside of TE1 numbers, Pitts now is catching passes from a QB who just peppered TJ Hockenson with over eight targets per game across 18 games. While fighting for targets alongside Drake London, offseason signee Darnell Mooney, and running back Bijan Robinson, Pitts should carve out a big enough role to put him in TE1 territory.
9. David Njoku – Cleveland Browns
TE6
By easily producing the best season of his career, David Njoku made a huge climb up to TE6 last season. With all accounts pointing to another strong year in store in ‘24, the former Miami Hurricane comes in at ninth in our rankings.
With Joe Flacco out the door and Deshaun Watson back as the starter, Njoku’s value could plummet a bit – even though Watson has a history of targeting the tight end position. Plus with the addition of Jerry Jeudy this offseason, there are more mouths to feed.
But Njoku is a big-bodied red zone threat that has a sustained role in the Cleveland offense, and he should be able to replicate his big numbers from last year.
8. Dalton Kincaid – Buffalo Bills
TE11
Having tied for seventh-most receptions (73) in 2023, rookie Dalton Kincaid burst onto the scene as one of Josh Allen’s most trusted targets. With questions surrounding Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, Kincaid racked up over 650 receiving yards and found paydirt twice.
Davis is now in Jacksonville and Curtis Samuel was signed this offseason, so Buffalo will likely look to utilize their tall TE prospect more. With Kincaid looking like Allen’s 1B target, big things are on the horizon for the former Utah TE.
7. George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers
TE5
As one of the three “old heads” on this list, George Kittle just keeps putting up TE1 numbers. In five of his last six seasons (2020 is the outlier), Kittle has finished as a top-5 fantasy football tight end, and the 30-year-old still has a lot left in the tank.
A potential offseason trade of Brandon Aiyuk would open up more targets for Kittle, but the former Hawkeye has plenty to look forward to already, making him a top target for his value in your offseason drafts.
6. Trey McBride – Arizona Cardinals
TE7
Another second-year player on this list is Arizona’s Trey McBride, who, at this point of the offseason, pretty much has no competition to be Kyler Murray’s top target. With Hollywood Brown in Kansas City, the Cardinals will lean heavily on McBride in his sophomore season.
81 receptions left McBride tied for fifth last year, and his 106 targets are a sign of just how much he can handle in an offense. Even if Arizona grabs a rookie wideout with their first-round selection, McBride still has a huge role upcoming this year, likely even bigger than last season.
5. Jake Ferguson – Dallas Cowboys
TE9
For our discussion on the best fantasy football breakout and sleeper candidates, listen below:
Michael Gallup is no longer with Dallas and CeeDee Lamb needs some help (outside of Brandin Cooks), which gives Jake Ferguson another shot at putting up a TE1 season. Having tied for third in touchdowns (5), Ferguson was a trusted target for Dak Prescott, which included scoring three TDs in their NFC Wild Card loss to the Packers.
Prescott has a penchant for heavily utilizing his tight ends, and Ferguson excelled in his first shot to replace Dalton Schultz – expect more of the same for the former Wisconsin Badger as he enters his third season.
4. Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs
TE3
Ol’ reliable Travis Kelce finds himself a bit lower than usual on the tight end rankings, as his streak of seven consecutive seasons of 1K yards came to an end. Age and his time left in the league seem to be starting to catch up to Kelce, but offseason reports of him pushing off retirement for at least one more season mean he is in line for another top year.
With Kansas City looking for a three-peat, their offseason addition of Brown should free up some work for Kelce. With Patrick Mahomes still looking like the all-world QB that he is, Kelce should still put up monster numbers in what could be his final season — but be careful of a potential age cliff.
3. Evan Engram – Jacksonville Jaguars
TE2
Having led the tight end position in targets by 16, Evan Engram was one of the biggest surprises last year for fantasy football. With Calvin Ridley now in Tennessee, Engram will be competing with Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis for targets, which bodes well for the eight-year pro.
Head coach Doug Pederson has been adamant about redistributing some of Travis Etienne’s workload in 2024, which could turn into more passing-game work. If Engram can put up a monster season with a true WR1 like Ridley in the offense, imagine what he can do when he could very well be the WR1 for Trevor Lawrence.
2. Mark Andrews – Baltimore Ravens
TE15
Injuries kept Mark Andrews to only 10 games in 2023, but with four consecutive top-6 fantasy finishes previous to his shortened campaign, all signs point to Andrews regaining his mojo this season. As one of the highest-drafted TEs in fantasy football, Andrews has a clear look at 100+ targets every season in the Baltimore offense.
Derrick Henry was the big-time offensive addition for the Ravens this offseason, so with no real attention paid to the wide receiver group, Andrews will be tasked with WR1 duties yet again. While you could be concerned about his injury, look for Andrews to produce another strong season for your fantasy football roster.
1. Sam LaPorta – Detroit Lions
TE1
Last season’s overall TE1 was a surprise, as Detroit rookie Sam LaPorta was excellent in his first season. Catching passes from Jared Goff on an upstart Lions squad, LaPorta was arguably the team’s most valuable pass catcher, even more than Amon-Ra St. Brown.
LaPorta tied St. Brown with 10 total TDs, a testament to the kind of role the Iowa rookie was handed right out of the gate. While both LaPorta and McBride exceeded their rookie-year predictions, it was LaPorta that had a much larger impact on his team’s overall performance.
While it may be tough for LaPorta to go back-to-back as the best TE stat-wise, he had plenty working in his favor, which could make him the first TE drafted in your fantasy football drafts this year.
Follow Us
Subscribe