August 29, 2022
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 26: Dallas Goedert #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on during the game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on December 26, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There is no shortage of information out there to help fantasy football team owners make the most of their picks at the most important and productive positions — wide receiver and running back.
We've broken down some sleepers we like at both the WR and RB spot, as well as ranking RBs and WRs.
We also produced an in-depth depth chart that accounts for players targets last season as a guide for helping with maximizing value and picking players with real opportunities to post stats.
But what about tight ends? We already sort of covered this at a glance when we suggested some tight end sleepers.
The top two guys, Travis Kelce (14.6) and Mark Andrews (13.6) were the only two at their position to average more than 12 fantasy points per game last season (.5 PPR). After that duo, there was Rob Gronkowski at 12.0 — he's currently retired — George Kittle at 11.6, and Dalton Schultz at 10.0.
And then there's a drop off. The middling middle of the pack of tight ends last year saw eight players average between 8.0-9.9 points per game (Dawson Knox, Dallas Goedert, Hunter Henry, Darren Waller, Logan Thomas, Zach Ertz, Kyle Pitts and T.J. Hockenson). Here's a look at our top 25 tight ends this season.
Tight end stats are extremely volatile because they are so reliant on touchdowns. The big bodied pass catchers are expect to do the most damage in the red zone, and sometimes they do not — hence Kyle Pitt's solid rookie stats but mundane fantasy numbers due to a lack of touchdowns.
We cannot predict touchdowns. But we can predict who might have the best chance of scoring some.
Here's a look at targets from 2021 from each team's top two tight ends. This guide could help you to take someone who may surprise by cashing in a reverse touchdown stat regression. The top 15 most targeted tight ends are bolded:
| Team | TE 1 (targets) | TE 2 (targets) |
| Cardinals | Zach Ertz (112) | Trey McBride (Rookie) |
| Falcons | Kyle Pitts (110) | Anthony Firkser (43) |
| Ravens | Mark Andrews (153) | Isaiah Likely (Rookie) |
| Bills | Dawson Knox (71) | O.J. Howard (21) |
| Panthers | Tommy Tremble (35) | Ian Thomas (30) |
| Bears | Coke Kmet (93) | James O'Shaughnessy (34) |
| Bengals | Hayden Hurst (31) | Drew Sample (15) |
| Browns | David Njoku (53) | Harris Bryant (28) |
| Cowboys | Dalton Schultz (104) | Jake Ferguson (Rookie) |
| Broncos | Albert Okuegbunam (40) | Greg Dulcich (Rookie) |
| Lions | T.J. Hockenson (84) | Brock Wright (17) |
| Packers | Robert Tonyan (29) | Josiah Deguara (33) |
| Texans | Brevin Jordan (28) | Pharaoh Brown (34) |
| Colts | Evan Engram (73) | Dan Arnold (52) |
| Chiefs | Travis Kelce (134) | Noah Gray (10) |
| Chargers | Gerald Everett (63) | Donald Parham Jr. (27) |
| Rams | Tyler Higbee (85) | Jacob Harris (0) |
| Raiders | Darren Waller (93) | Foster Morneau (44) |
| Dolphins | Mick Gesicki (112) | Durham Smythe (41) |
| Vikings | Irv. Smith Jr. (Hurt) | Johnny Mundt (1) |
| Patriots | Hunter Henry (75) | Jonnu Smith (45) |
| Saints | Adam Trautman (43) | Juwan Johnson (22) |
| Giants | Daniel Bellinger (Rookie) | Jordan Atkins (33) |
| Jets | C.J. Uzomah (63) | Tyler Conklin (87) |
| Eagles | Dallas Goedert (76) | Grant Calcaterra (Rookie) |
| Steelers | Pat Freiermuth (79) | Zach Gentry (25) |
| Seahawks | Noah Fant (90) | Will Dissly (26) |
| 49ers | George Kittle (94) | Ross Dwelley (5) |
| Buccaneers | Cameron Brate (57) | Kyle Rudolph (39) |
| Titans | Austin Hooper (61) | Geoff Swaim (40) |
| Commanders | Logan Thomas (25) | John Bates (25) |
A few things to keep in mind. Some tight ends above are on new teams (like Noah Fant) and some have new quarterbacks (like Pat Freiermuth). But seeing how they were used in 2021 still is helpful in predicting opportunities for 2022.
One last table — here's a look at the top 10 tight ends from last season based on red zone targets from their respective quarterbacks:
| TE (team) | Red zone targets | TD |
| Mark Andrews (BAL) | 20 | 9 |
| Cameron Brate (TB) | 20 | 4 |
| Zach Ertz (PHI/ARI) | 20 | 4 |
| Pat Freiermouth (PIT) | 20 | 7 |
| Tyler Higbee (LAR) | 18 | 5 |
| Dawson Knox (BUF) | 18 | 6 |
| Hunter Henry (NE) | 17 | 8 |
| Tyler Conklin (MIN) | 16 | 3 |
| Travis Kelce (KC) | 16 | 7 |
| Kyle Pitts (ATL) | 14 | 1 |
As you can see, there is a ton of variance between how many times a team throws to a tight end inside the 20 yard line, and how many times it results in a touchdown. Andrews turned red zone opportunities into six points nearly 50% of the time. Pitts did it just 7% of the time.
After the top few guys, drafting tight ends is a crap shoot. But there is value if you look for a player who'll be getting chances to make plays in 2022.
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