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Fantasy Football 2024 TE Exit Interview: Is chaos actually a friend of this position?

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Fantasy Football 2024 TE Exit Interview: Is chaos actually a friend of this position?

Is it possible to be on a Hall of Fame trajectory and still be somehow underrated? For my first case, I call George Kittle to the podium.

Kittle was fantasy football’s No. 1 prospect in standard, non-PPR scoring leagues this year. It wasn’t Brock Bowers or Trey McBride who had all the catches. It wasn’t Travis Kelce, whose decline phase unfortunately continued. It certainly wasn’t an eternal plague for Kyle Pitts or last year’s rookie, Sam LaPorta.

Kittle has always hidden in plain sight, a reliable dominator. He missed about half of the 2020 season, so let’s throw that out. Otherwise, here’s what he’s done in his last six fantasy seasons: TE2, TE3, TE4, TE2, TE2, TE2, TE1. And that doesn’t even take into account his dynamic blocking: If Kittle were a full-time lineman, he’d still be an annual Pro Bowler.

Start preparing a speech, big guy.

What’s fascinating about the top tight ends this year is how many of them thrived despite the chaos around them. Consider the top four tight ends in the PPR half score: Brock Bowers (a star despite the messy quarterback play in Las Vegas), Kittle (a rock while everything around him crumbled), Trey McBride (so damn good, even Kyler Murray couldn’t sink him) and Jonnu Smith (the only good thing about Miami’s downfield passing game this year).

Is it easier for a compromised quarterback to find throws to his biggest target? Does it seem like smaller offenses tend to have more tight ends than the better teams? I think these are plausible theories. On the other hand, if you look at the clouds long enough, you’ll swear you see patterns that aren’t really there.

Let’s examine some of the hits and misses of Tight End 2024.

Sam LaPorta rewrote the strict rules for beginners last year, but the new book didn’t last long: Bowers set it on fire. He posted new rookie marks for catches and yards as a tight end despite Las Vegas having one of the worst QB rooms in the league. Everything will be new in Las Vegas next year – new coaches, at least one new quarterback, new scheme – but after seeing Bowers flourish in 2024, I’m not betting against him.

If you saw this career year coming, send us the next batch of lottery numbers. Smith ultimately became a breakout star in his 29-year-old campaign, putting together an offense that otherwise couldn’t produce much on the field. Smith was cut from most Yahoo leagues and became one of the gems of the midseason; it was the classic case of “Don’t question it, just follow what works.” Smith will be a tough draft call next summer; No one expects a late-career season to repeat itself, but I suspect his ADP will be in a friendly spot as well.

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The San Francisco offense has had red zone issues for most of the year, with Kittle being the lone exception. All eight of his touchdowns came from 12 yards and inside, which was strangely at odds with his previous profile (from 2021 to 2023, he scored 11 touchdowns outside the red zone, astonishing for a tight end). Kittle is starting to creep into that dangerous age pocket — he turns 32 next October — but if you like a Vanity TE approach at the draft table, I’ll sign his ticket for at least another year.

He finally scored touchdowns in Week 17 and Week 18 after missing his first 14 starts. I consider this more of a Kyler Murray problem than a McBride problem. Still, it’s a bit concerning that McBride had 253 targets and 192 catches over the past two years, but only five touchdowns. The Cardinals are invested in Murray for the long term, for better or for worse. He also didn’t bring out the best in Marvin Harrison Jr. up.

His season had a curious form: He was barely used in September, but became a low-volume, high-touchdown dominator the rest of the way. Take a look at his last twelve games: he saw a modest 55 goals, but he caught 45 and scored an impressive 11 times. We’re trained not to trust such touchdown percentages, and Andrews will begin his age-30 season next year. On the other hand, Lamar Jackson has never been better. Next year I’ll be more reactive than proactive with Andrews, but I’m not just firing him.

Sharing isn’t always fun, whether you’re in kindergarten or the NFL. LaPorta was the odd man out for much of the season in Detroit, but he did have a nice rally in the final five weeks of the fantasy season, ranking as TE8, TE11, TE2, TE5 and TE5 during that span. The Lions will likely lose prized OC Ben Johnson this season, so we’ll have to read the tea leaves carefully on the next play-caller. LaPorta is a star talent, but he has a lot of company in this offense.

Player development isn’t always linear, but player decline almost always is. Kelce got enough volume to put together 823 yards and a TE10 finish, but his YPC dipped to 8.5 and his yards per target was a paltry 6.2 yards. Heck, he didn’t even make the Pro Bowl. I’m going to pass on Kelce as he enters his age-36 season.

Maybe it wasn’t Arthur Smith’s fault after all. And even if you want to blame Kirk Cousins ​​for another Pitts washout year, we should note that Pitts did little in three Michael Penix Jr. starts (7-66-1). Next year will only be Pitts’ age-25 season, but he is behind more talented options in this Atlanta offense.

A handful of injuries didn’t help, but Kincaid looked ordinary on the field, scoring just twice and never getting past 53 receiving yards. Somehow, Josh Allen will likely win an MVP award despite no one in his pass-catching room having a dynamic season (Khalil Shakir wasn’t bad). Kincaid was a first-round pick in his draft class, but he looks like just another guy on the field.

After steady TE7 and TE8 seasons, Kmet slumped to TE18, just another unsatisfactory part of the fractured Chicago offense. If the Bears make the right hire, I’m interested in Kmet potentially returning next year. Mind you, Kmet will also have to share it with three talented Chicago wideouts (if Keenan Allen returns as a free agent). But Kmet is a talented player.

  • 1. Brock Bowers, robbers

  • 2. George Kittle, 49ers

  • 3. Trey McBride, Cardinals

  • 4. Sam LaPorta, Lions

  • 5. Mark Andrews, Raven

  • 6. TJ Hockenson, Vikings

  • 7. Tucker Kraft, Packers

  • 8. Travis Kelce, heads

  • 9. David Njoku, Browns

  • 10. Jake Ferguson, Cowboys

  • 11. Jonnu Smith, Dolphins

  • 12. Pat Freiermuth, Steelers

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