With so many players to choose from in drafts and so much to rank, some underrated gems are bound to slip through the cracks. But fantasy football analyst Sal Vetri wants to help you make sure you don’t miss out on the players with great value and potentially league-winning upside. Here are five tight ends to consider late in the draft.
Parkinson signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with the Rams this offseason. It was the second-largest contract the Rams gave to a free agent. This investment shows how important it was to bring in a TE like Parkinson for Sean McVay and the Rams.
That makes sense because veteran TE Tyler Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in the playoffs last year and won’t be ready until midseason. Parkinson brings versatility to the position for the Rams and figures to be the clear TE1 after being left with the starting offense during the first preseason game.
Gesicki signed a one-year deal to become the Bengals’ starting tight end this offseason, and he’ll benefit from a pass-first offense that has thrown a top-10 percentage in neutral situations the past two seasons.
Early reports indicate that Gesicki is having a good camp and developing chemistry with Joe Burrow. Gesicki could be used heavily in the middle of the field with veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd set to leave in free agency. Gesicki is the fourth-most athletic TE to ever attend the NFL combine; expect offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to utilize that athleticism in pre-snap motion and the red zone.
Engram is drafted in the sixth round of fantasy drafts behind Falcons TE Kyle Pitts and 49ers TE George Kittle. However, Engram surpassed both of them last season to become the No. 2 overall tight end in fantasy. Engram led all TEs with 143 targets in 2023, and now Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones are no longer on the team.
Engram remains one of Trevor Lawrence’s most trusted receiving options in a pass-first offense. He’s an all-around tight end who can earn targets, win after the catch and operate efficiently downfield.
Engram deserves more attention: he fills one of the best TE roles in all of football.
Freiermuth is reportedly having a good camp and is currently developing into the Steelers’ second pass option behind George Pickens. The Steelers’ current starting receivers are Pickens and Van Jefferson. Neither receiver is known as a technical route runner who can consistently win from the middle of the field. This is where Freiermuth can take advantage and get a lot of targets.
Freiermuth is coming off his worst season as a pro, but this needs more context. He spent six weeks on the injury report last season with a hamstring injury, including four games he missed due to the injury.
Freiermuth also had to deal with poor quarterback play between Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Over 25% of his targets were uncatchable. 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 team’s routes. Expect that to increase as Freiermuth has a chance to lead the Steelers in targets in 2024.
I know what you might be thinking: didn’t Fant finish as TE36 last season?
Yes, that’s true, but it’s out of context since the Seahawks’ offense was different last year and Fant rotated with two other tight ends.
Now, Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly are gone, and Seattle didn’t replace those veteran tight ends in free agency. All the Seahawks did was add one middle-round rookie in the draft, signaling that Noah Fant will be relied upon more in 2024.
But that’s not all, because the offense has a new play-caller in Ryan Grubb. Grubb led Washington to a top-five offense last season in college. His play calling relied heavily on passing the ball out of three WR sets with one tight end on the field.
There’s a good chance we see Fant climb from 33rd in TE snap share last season to the top 10 this year. If that happens, Fant would be a slam-dunk pick in Round 16 of fantasy drafts.
