All rankings mentioned will be under Full-Point PPR on Sleeper
The TE position has generally been if you don’t have the top two maybe three guys you’d have a middle class of about four guys to choose from, and then the rest was the wild west. This past season the top ten guys were viable near weekly starts for the majority of the season. There’s been an influx of TE fantasy producers that just hit the league, and if their success continues into next season the general population won’t know how to properly value them. The elite TEs used to get snatched up within the first three rounds and you had to sacrifice one of your premium picks at a WR or RB in order to secure a top TE. Now we have guys who still give you an opportunity to compete at the position going as late as the 7th and 8th rounds. It may be better to just wait on the position instead of burning one of your early-round picks. The drop-off after the first ten TEs is a steep fall into the pits of despair, so I wouldn’t wait too long as the risk is not worth the reward of getting a super late TE pick. The sweet spot seems to be 5th at the earliest and 7th at the latest. I’ve combed out the best TEs to pick between those rounds to present to you all.
George Kittle
If you ask anybody who’s the best TE in the league, depending on how they value the position, you’ll get a lot of George Kittle answers. He’s an elite receiver and the best blocker at TE in the league. Sadly you don’t get fantasy points for who you shove into the turf on a filthy block, and he’s in a three-headed receiving group of a run-heavy team. This has landed Kittle at TE7 and going in round 5. He used to be a locked and loaded top three-round TE, but people love their ageism bias. Being in a murky target situation doesn’t help either. He hasn’t broken 100 targets in a season since 2019. The people have gotten frustrated watching a player whom they spent a premium pick on is out on the turf blocking for other guys on the team to soak up fantasy points. Even with all of these negatives stacked into his luggage, Kittle has yet to finish outside of the top 5 at the position in seasons he’s played at least 14 games. The only exception was his rookie season in 2017, but TEs usually struggle in their first season. With the emergence of Brock Purdy in the offense the myriad of mouths to feed in San Fran have been eating well. In the two seasons of Purdy commanding the offense, Kittle has seen a career-high in touchdowns in 2022, and his highest yardage total since 2019 this past season. Not much has changed about the 49ers offense, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue his success. A perennial top 5 TE is being valued at TE7. Sometimes fantasy football is simpler than people make it out to be. Don’t overthink this folks.
Evan Engram
The matchup nightmare has finally been starting to live up to his longtime nickname. For five years before his arrival in Jacksonville in 2022, we heard GMs rave about how much of a mismatch Evan Engram was for opposing defenses. In those five years, he only had one season of production to show for it leading to a breakup with the Giants sending him to his new and current team. Pairing up with Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence entering the late stages of his career, Engram was finally unleashed. He’s produced TE5 and just recently a TE2 finish in his sole two seasons with the Jaguars. His recent value is likely from people who don’t believe he’s talented enough to continue his success with more competition for targets. The Jaguars recently selected WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the 1st round of the draft, so his TE8 price has the potential to be a true-to-value selection. He’s been Trevor’s safety valve since the Jags acquired him, and his low touchdown totals have made him volume-dependent. Take away the volume and you take away the value, simple mathematics. Reports from camp though have been that the Jags are planning to use him as a field stretcher more this year. If they adequately utilize him in an expanded role, the increase in target value will make up for the loss of target volume. His volume won’t be fully diminished either as he’s carved out quite the role for himself and established a solid rapport with Trevor. Brian Thomas Jr. figures to slide into Calvin Ridley’s role with the offense, and when the Jacksonville trio was all healthy Engram averaged 10.4 FPPG. That total was good enough to be the TE7 through the first twelve weeks. If Brian Thomas Jr. starts the season off slow and the team gives the starting nod to Gabe Davis then Engram could get off to a really hot start. Trevor passed at a career-low 560 last year more than likely due to his injuries. This is a slight step down from 584 attempts in 2022, and 602 attempts in 2021. Even with the dip in passing attempts, the total is still 8th most in the league. There’s a good chance that number could go back up, but even if it doesn’t there’s plenty of opportunity for all the pass catchers in Jacksonville.
Jake Ferguson
While he may not be the sexy pick, Jake Ferguson is a safe value pick at the TE position. Coming off a TE9 finish in just his second NFL season, Ferguson is currently going as the TE11. He’s also one of the seven TEs to finish with over 100 targets. He will also have a strong chance to repeat his target volume this next season as the Cowboys did nothing during free agency but let people leave. Ferguson is still comfortably nestled as the second option on this team after CeeDee Lamb. My biggest worry about this team is that the offense as a whole could take a step back since they have no viable option at RB outside of Ezekiel Elliot who’s in the twilight of his career and a shell of his former self. I expect the Cowboys to be aggressively pass-happy as both Dak and CeeDee are looking for new contracts. The trickle effect of that should be more than enough to let Ferguson see the 100-target mark for the second season in a row. Where he’s going in the 7th-9th round you can count how many TEs had that type of volume on one hand. One didn’t get going until the final quarter of the season when Joe Flacco decided to come off the couch and light up the league in his spare time, another is coming off an ACL injury and is expected to start the season on the PUP list, and the last is Jake Ferguson who is in the exact same environment he was in the previous year. You’re not drafting an elite TE who’s going to set your team apart from the opposition, but you will get someone who has a safe floor and a high ceiling. He’ll rarely tank your roster every week and he’ll do more than enough to help you compete with the high-end TEs.
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