With so many players to choose from in drafts and so many to rank, some underrated gems are bound to fall through the cracks. But here, fantasy football analyst Sal Vetri wants to help you make sure you don’t miss the players possessing great value, and those with potentially league-winning upside. Here are five tight ends to consider late in drafts.
Parkinson signed a three-year deal with the Rams this offseason for $22.5 million. This was the second-largest contract the Rams gave out to a free agent. This investment shows how important landing a TE like Parkinson was to Sean McVay and the Rams.
This makes sense because veteran TE Tyler Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in the playoffs last year and won’t be ready until midseason at best. Parkinson brings versatility to the position for the Rams and appears to be the clear TE1 after resting with the starting offense during the first preseason game.
Gesicki signed a one-year deal to be the Bengals starting tight end this offseason. He’ll benefit from being in a pass-first offense that has thrown at a top-10 rate in neutral situations the past two seasons.
Early reports show that Gesicki is having a nice camp and developing chemistry with Joe Burrow. Gesicki could see strong usage in the middle of the field, with veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd leaving in free agency. Gesicki is the fourth-most athletic TE to ever attend the NFL combine; expect offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to use this athleticism in pre-snap motions and the red zone.
Engram is being drafted in the sixth round of fantasy drafts after Falcons TE Kyle Pitts and 49ers TE George Kittle. However, Engram outperformed both of them last season as the No. 2 overall tight end in fantasy. Engram led all TEs with 143 targets in 2023, and now, both Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones are no longer on the team.
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Engram remains in a pass-first offense as one of Trevor Lawrence’s most trusted receiving options. He’s a do-it-all tight end who can earn targets, win after the catch and operate efficiently downfield.
Engram deserves more attention — he has one of the best TE roles in all of football.
Freiermuth is reportedly having a good camp and is currently shaping up to be the Steelers’ No. 2 passing option behind George Pickens. The current starting receivers for the Steelers are Pickens and Van Jefferson. Neither receiver is known to be a technical route runner who can consistently win over the middle of the field. This is where Freiermuth can benefit and soak up plenty of targets.
Now Freiermuth is coming off his worst season as a pro, but this needs more context. He was on the injury report with a hamstring issue for six weeks last season, including missing four games due to this injury.
Freiermuth also dealt with poor quarterback play between Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Over 25% of his targets weren’t catchable. This should change with Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields in 2024.
One more thing: Freiermuth only scored two TDs which is low considering he ran 77% of the teams’ routes. Expect this to increase as Freiermuth has a chance to lead the Steelers in targets in 2024.
I know what you may be thinking: didn’t Fant finish as the TE36 last season?
Well, yes, but this lacks context considering the Seahawks offense was different last year and Fant was rotating with two other tight ends.
Now, both Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly are no longer with the team, and Seattle didn’t replace these veteran tight ends in free agency. All the Seahawks did was add one middle-round rookie in the draft, indicating Noah Fant will be leaned on more in 2024.
But that’s not all, because the offense has a new play-caller in Ryan Grubb. Grubb led Washington to being a top-five offense last season in college. His play calling heavily relied on passing the ball out of three WR sets with one tight end on the field.
There’s a good chance we see Fant go from ranking 33rd in TE snap share last season to entering the top 10 this year. If this happens, Fant is a slam-dunk pick in Round 16 of fantasy drafts.
