X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Three Fantasy Football Tight Ends You Must Draft in 2024 - Part I

Kyle Pitts - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Three fantasy football tight ends every manager must draft this season. Rob lays out his case for why they will end up outplaying their current ADP in 2024.

The tight end position is deeper going into 2024 than it's been for several years. The top of the position isn't quite as strong, but there seem to be more options for fantasy managers this season. While most fantasy managers will likely get their hands on Sam LaPorta, Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, or Trey McBride, there are several other very appealing tight ends fantasy managers should be excited to draft this fantasy football season. In this new series, we'll identify six tight ends fantasy managers need to be drafting this season. This will be a two-part series featuring three tight ends in each entry.

There's no denying the potential and talent of the four tight ends on top, but there are three other tight ends with the potential to finish in the top three. Does that sound crazy? It may right now, but by the end of this series, you'll be on board with the upside and potential of the tight ends featured in this series. There’s a fourth tight end we’ll talk about who is being drafted as a back-end TE1 but has a good chance of finishing in the top six.

Fantasy football season is in full swing, and it won’t be long before you’re contemplating start and sit questions rather than who to draft. To get an in-depth analysis of these questions, you should subscribe to our premium subscription and get access to all of our premium tools. Use promo code “BOOM” at checkout to get a 10% discount.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Fantasy managers can effectively forget everything that’s happened to Kyle Pitts over the past two seasons. Between the ineffective coaching staff and the even worse quarterback play, Pitts has had to endure a situation that would have rendered even the best tight ends irrelevant.

All of that changes this season, however. The Falcons organization hired Raheem Morris, the former defensive coordinator of the Rams, as their head coach. Morris brought with him Zac Robinson, the Rams passing game coordinator since 2022. Robinson has been with the organization under Sean McVay since 2019.

In the 23 full games Matthew Stafford has played with the Rams since 2022, he’s averaged just over 35 pass attempts per game (35.043, to be exact), which equals 595 over 17 games. The Falcons attempted 415 passes in 2022 and 530 this past season.

Now enter Kirk Cousins. Over Cousins’ six years with the Vikings, he’s averaged just over 35 pass attempts per game. 35.011, to be exact. It’s wild just how similar Cousins and Stafford’s per-game-pass-attempt averages are. Needless to say, we can expect a whole lot more passing volume in Atlanta this season. It gets even better. Check out the stats below detailing Cousins’ 2023 stats, Desmond Ridder’s 2023 stats, and Marcus Mariota’s 2022 stats when he was the Falcons’ starting quarterback.

Stat/Quarterback Kirk Cousins Desmond Ridder Marcus Mariota, 2022
Deep Ball Completion % 46.2% 44.4% 23.5%
Pressured Completion % 60.7% 59.7% 40.8%
Play-Action Completion % 59.2% 54.1% 59.6%
Clean Pocket Completion % 72.7% 65.1% 67.7%
Off-Target Rate 12.8% 14.7% 22.5%
On-Target  Rate 82.2% 75.5% 70.6%
Catchable Pass Rate 82.3% 71.4% 75.0%
Yards Per Attempt 7.5 7.3 7.4
Completion % 69.5% 64.2% 61.3%
Touchdown Rate 5.8% 3.1% 5.0%
Quarterback Rating 103.8 83.4 82.5

The differences are endless and significant. When we talk about adding 60-180 pass attempts on top of the increase in efficiency, you can see why fantasy managers should start getting excited. Cousins is a far superior passer than both previous quarterbacks. His pass attempts have been so much higher because of Cousins' success as a passer. Put it bluntly, Cousins is not a liability like Ridder and Mariota.

As a pass-catcher, you depend on the individual throwing you the football. Even in the past two seasons, Pitts' advanced metrics have shown plenty of promise and potential, but he has not been able to capitalize on it due to his quarterback play.

Look at the table below, specifically the last row -- catchable target rate. In the past two seasons, Pitts’ catchable target rates have been 64.0% and 59.3%. Now, jump back to our first table and compare Cousins’ on-target rate to Ridder and Mariota. It’s 6.7% higher than Ridder and 11.6% higher than Mariota.

Stat/Year 2023 2022 2021
Target Share 17.8% (13th) 27.3% (2nd) 20.3% (6th)
Target Rate 19.3% (20th) 34.3% (1st) 23.6 (9th)
Targets 89 (11th) 59 (24th) 110 (5th)
Receptions 53 (16th) 28 (35th) 68 (7th)
Yards 667 (11th) 356 (30th) 1,026 (3rd)
Air Yards 1,012 (1st) 772 (5th) 1,110 (2nd)
Unrealized Air Yards 479 (1st) 541 (1st) 412 (5th)
Average Depth of Target 11.4 (1st) 13.1 (2nd) 10.1 (2nd)
Yards Per Route Run 1.44 (17th) 2.07 (5th) 2.20 (4th)
Yards Per Target 7.5 (14th) 6.0 (32nd) 9.3 (3rd)
Yards Per Reception 12.6 (4th) 12.7 (7th) 15.1 (1st)
Yards Per Team Pass Attempt 1.26 (12th) 1.58 (5th) 1.79 (3rd)
Total Touchdowns 3 (18th) 2 (32nd) 1 (48th)
Catchable Target Rate 64.0% (37th) 59.3% (37th) 79.1% (11th)

It’s not hard to see the fantasy appeal of a good quarterback when looking at his utilization and advanced statistics from the last three years. Keep in mind, too, that last season, Pitts was in his first season back following a torn MCL in 2022. Despite missing time in 2022 and 2023, Pitts has finished first in unrealized air yards in both seasons. It’s not a stretch to think that many unrealized air yards become real yards with good quarterback play.

Prior to that injury, in 2021 and 2022, he posted top-seven marks in yards per route run, yards per reception, and yards per team pass attempt. During those first two seasons, he also posted top-10 numbers in target share and target rate. The last row you should focus on is his total touchdowns. He has just six touchdowns in three seasons on 258 targets. That’s an abysmal 2.3% touchdown rate. That number has the potential to double itself this year.

Fantasy managers have mostly identified Pitts’ potential, drafting him as the TE6 in Yahoo! and Underdog. He isn’t cheap, but make no mistake, Pitts has the potential to be the top tight end in the NFL this season. That is in his realistic range of outcomes.

 

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

In 2023, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield, and Deonte Harty combined for 284 targets, 178 receptions, 2,165 yards, and 17 touchdowns. All four of those players are no longer with the team. In 2022, Diggs, Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and Jamison Crowder combined for 325 targets, 204 receptions, 2,748 yards, and 22 touchdowns. All four of those players are no longer on the team. In 2023, Davis, Diggs, Sherfield, and Harty combined to have 30 red-zone targets. Diggs and Davis accounted for 26 (!!!) end-zone targets. Both players ranked inside the top 20 in this category among receivers.

Kincaid wasn’t fully unleashed as a rookie. With veteran Dawson Knox, the Bills brought Kincaid along slowly. He finished just 23rd in snap share at 65.6% and 13th in route participation at 82.9%. He had five games with a route share of less than 70%, which will not happen this upcoming season. We should expect his route participation to exceed 85% in 2024 and for him to never drop below 80% on any given week.

He had six games with a route participation rate of 85% or higher. He had seven targets in five of them, five receptions in five, and over 46 yards in four. He averaged 7.6 targets, 5.8 receptions, 58.5 yards, and 0.33 touchdowns per game. He had a 22.1% target share and a 23% target rate. Over 17 games, those per-game averages would amount to 129 targets, 99 receptions, 995 yards, and six touchdowns.

LaPorta and McBride overshadowed Kincaid’s rookie season, but Kincaid still finished with 91 targets, 73 receptions, and 673 yards. Those are some impressive numbers, considering Diggs and Davis were on the team, and Kincaid played just 65.6% of the team’s snaps.

Since 2020, Josh Allen has averaged 591 pass attempts, 4,385 yards, and 34 touchdowns. Based on their current allotment of pass-catchers, fantasy managers should expect Kincaid to lead the way as Allen’s No. 1 and preferred option in the passing game. If we give Kincaid a 22% target share on Allen’s four-year-pass-attempt average, Kincaid would finish with 130 targets.

Like Pitts, fantasy managers have identified Kincaid’s potential and are drafting him as the TE5 on both Underdog and Yahoo! It will require a fifth-round pick to get Kincaid on your fantasy roster, which isn’t a cheap cost. However, Kincaid, like Pitts, could finish this season as the No. 1 tight end in fantasy football. He certainly has the potential to be top three.

 

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

Freiermuth is likely a player many fantasy managers have forgotten about, especially after his dreadful 2023 season. Based on early drafting data, Freiermuth is available in the 12th round on Yahoo! and Underdog as the TE16. That makes him one of fantasy football's best tight-end values this season.

Freiermuth struggled with an injury-plagued second season in 2023. He played just 64.0% of snaps compared to 70% in 2022. He had eight games with a snap share below 67% out of just 12 games, a 66.7% rate. In 2022, he had just five games out of 16 contests, a 31.2% rate. Injuries happen, and they can negatively impact a player’s performance. Freiermuth, no doubt, fell victim to that last season, but we shouldn’t forget what he did in 2022, just his second season in the league. Let me refresh your memory...

Target Share 19.0% (9th)
Target Rate 24.9% (7th)
Targets 98 (5th)
Receptions 63 (6th)
Yards 732 (6th)
Air Yards 849 (4th)
Unrealized Air Yards 403 (4th)
Yards Per Route Run 1.86 (7th)
Yards Per Reception 11.3 (13th)
Yards Per Team Pass Attempt 1.35 (9th)
Red Zone Targets 10 (15th)
Total Touchdowns 2 (32nd)
Half-PPR PPG 8.3 (TE9)

He posted top-10 numbers in basically every statistic across the board. Every statistic except total touchdowns, where he posted just two. Just two touchdowns despite having the fifth-most targets, sixth-most receptions, and 15th-most red-zone targets. That doesn't make much sense, but when you consider that his quarterback was Kenny Pickett, who has arguably been just as bad as Zach Wilson, it starts to make a lot more sense.

Since 2000, there have been 36 quarterbacks to attempt at least 450 passes in their first two seasons in the NFL. Pickett's 1.8%  touchdown rate is the worst, and the only player below 2.1%. For goodness sake, Zach Wilson and Josh Rosen are at 2.4%. Pickett had the sixth-worst quarterback rating and fourth-worst yard-per-attempt average. Through his first two seasons in the NFL, Pickett is in the same group as Wilson, Rosen, and Drew Lock. That's how bad he's been.

Freiermuth has had to deal with that in each of the past two seasons, but no more! This offseason, the Steelers signed Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback. Below, you'll see just how big of a difference even Wilson can be when compared to Pickett.

Stat/Quarterback Russell Wilson Kenny Pickett
Deep Ball Attempts Per Game 4.3 2.6
Pressured Completion % 63.6% 53.8%
Red Zone Completion % 62.3% 43.8%
Clean Pocket Completion % 67.6% 64.8%
Off-Target Completion % 13.2% 18.4%
On-Target Completion % 77.9% 71.6%
True Passer Rating 101.0 76.7
Yards Per Attempt 6.9 6.4
Completion % 66.4% 62.0%
Touchdown Rate 5.8% 1.9%
Quarterback Rating 98.0 81.4

The numbers speak for themselves, but pay attention to their red-zone completion percentage and touchdown rate. Looking back at Freiermuth's 2022 season when he had just two touchdowns and a touchdown rate of just 2.0%, it's safe to point a lot of the blame at Pickett. Last season, Wilson's red-zone completion percentage was 18.5 percentage points higher, and his touchdown rate was 3.9 percentage points better. That difference is astronomical. If they each throw just 550 passes, the difference is 22 (!!!) touchdowns.

Wilson will likely be the best quarterback Freiermuth has ever played with in his young season. Even if Wilson falters, Pittsburgh also traded for Justin Fields. Fields helped Cole Kmet as the TE8 last year in half-PPR PPG. Kmet finished with 91 targets, 73 receptions, 719 yards, and six touchdowns. He was eighth in yards per route run and ninth in yards per target. It doesn't matter. Whoever is under center will be better than Pickett.

With Freiermuth fully healthy, we should see the player who started to emerge in his second season. If fantasy managers get that player along with a better quarterback from Wilson, as illustrated in the table above, it wouldn't be a shock to see Freiermuth finish inside the top 12 and possibly even the top 10. He did that already in 2022 with just two touchdowns and Pickett at the helm. Why can't he do it again this season?

Freiermuth is one of the best value picks at the tight-end position this summer, and if you don't want to draft a tight end in the first five rounds, he is the best late-round target for fantasy managers.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis


Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Trade Up One Spot In First Round To Select Jihaad Campbell
A.J. Puk

Likely To Miss Multiple Months
Marquis Grissom Jr.

Notches Fifth Save At Double-A
Buffalo Bills

Bills Address Secondary And Take Maxwell Hairston With 30th Overall Pick
Félix Bautista

Felix Bautista Records Third Save
NFL

Eagles, Chiefs Swap First-Round Picks
Washington Commanders

Josh Conerly Jr. Goes At No. 29 Overall To Commanders

Giants Trade Up For Jaxson Dart At No. 25
Detroit Lions

Tyleik Williams Taken By Lions At No. 28 Overall
Shane Smith

Tosses Five Shutout Frames
Roman Anthony

With Home Run No. 5 On Thursday
Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Go With Malaki Starks At No. 27 Overall In NFL Draft
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Takes Donovan Jackson No. 24 Overall
NFL

Rams Trade The 26th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Falcons
Andrés Muñoz

Andres Munoz Secures Ninth Save
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round To Draft James Pearce Jr. At No. 26 Overall

Matthew Golden Selected No. 23 Overall By Green Bay
NFL

Texans Trade The 25th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Giants
Jakob Marsee

Up To 18 Steals At Triple-A

Omarion Hampton Taken No. 22 Overall By Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Selects Derrick Harmon At No. 21 Overall
Denver Broncos

Broncos Build Secondary By Selecting Jahdae Barron At No. 20

Buccaneers Add Emeka Egbuka At No. 19
Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Select Grey Zabel At No. 18
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Take Shemar Stewart 17th Overall
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Select Jalon Walker At 15th Overall
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Select Walter Nolen At No. 16 In The NFL Draft

Tyler Warren Heads To Colts At No. 14
Jeff McNeil

Activated From Injured List
Brett Baty

Optioned To Minors
Zack Gelof

To Begin Rehab Assignment Next Week
Ryan Walker

Remains Giants Closer
Kumar Rocker

Heads To Injured List
Brent Rooker

Resting For First Time This Season
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Isaiah Stewart

Remains Out For Game 3
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Bryan Woo

Picks Up Third Win, Strikes Out Eight On Thursday
Cade Cavalli

Moving Rehab Assignment To Double-A
Paul DeJong

Having Surgery On His Nose
Royce Lewis

Starting His Rehab Assignment On Friday
Tyler O'Neill

Out On Thursday With Sore Neck
Cole Ragans

Pulled Early On Thursday With Groin Tightness
Jackson Holliday

Retreats To Bench Against Southpaw
Jake Mangum

Rays Place Jake Mangum On 10-Day Injured List With Groin Strain
Linus Ullmark

Attempts To Overcome Playoff Struggles Thursday
Anthony Cirelli

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Logan Thompson

Comes Up Big In Game 2
Connor McMichael

Strikes Twice In Wednesday's Win
Anze Kopitar

Tallies Four Points In Game 2 Victory
Adrian Kempe

Notches Two Goals, Two Assists In Wednesday's Win
Tyler Seguin

Gives Stars Series Lead With Overtime Winner
Gabriel Landeskog

Delivers Six Hits In First Game Since 2022
Tyler Herro

Scores Game-High 33 Points In Wednesday's Loss
Donovan Mitchell

Fires In 30 Points In Game 2 Win
Paolo Banchero

Notches 32 Points In Game 2 Loss
Jaylen Brown

Posts 36-Point Double-Double Wednesday
Jalen Green

Erupts For 38 Points In Game 2 Victory
Brandin Podziemski

Limited To 14 Minutes Wednesday
Jimmy Butler III

Set For MRI Thursday
Brandin Podziemski

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Davion Mitchell

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart

May Miss Another Game Thursday
NYI

Cal Clutterbuck Announces Retirement
Pavel Zacha

Recovering From Small Procedure
Nikolaj Ehlers

To Miss At Least Two More Games
Miro Heiskanen

Still Out On Wednesday
John Klingberg

Enters Oilers Lineup For Game 2
Evander Kane

To Make Season Debut Wednesday Night
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF