Veteran Tight End Winners from the NFL Draft

May 6, 2020

Justin Carter analyzes veteran tight ends who benefited from the 2020 NFL Draft. Target these players in your 2020 fantasy foootball drafts

The 2020 rookie tight end class is probably one of the less-renowned tight end classes in years, but that didn't stop a lot of teams from taking tight ends on Day 3, some of whom could be set to challenge for a role now or in the near future.

But not every team took a tight end, and while for some teams with elite talent at the position, we can understand why they didn't. However, there are other teams who have veteran tight ends that aren't elite but received a pretty good vote of confidence by their team's inaction during the draft.

Below are four veteran tight ends who are in better positions now because their team didn't add a tight end.

Mike Gesicki - Miami Dolphins

Gesicki is entering his third season and is still searching for that big breakout.

In 2019, he took some major strides, finishing with 51 catches for 570 yards and five touchdowns. And now in 2020, he should have the best chance of his career to become a fantasy TE1.

Last year, Nick O'Leary and Clive Walford combined for 253 snaps, and while neither player was an impact in the passing game, they provided some solid blocking for the Dolphins. But both are gone, and it seems likely that Gesicki is about to be on the field a higher percentage of the time this year.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Gesicki. In particular, his workout metrics are really, really nice:

Gesicki has the profile to be an elite tight end, but a couple things have gotten in the way. He ranked 37th among tight ends in catch rate last year, but it should be noted he was 31st among tight ends in target quality and 39th in catchable target percentage. Improved quarterback play -- what Miami is betting on by drafting Tua Tagovailoa -- seems like a big key to unlocking Gesicki's potential. And by not making any moves during the draft to add another tight end, it seems like Miami is ready to bet on Gesicki making some type of leap in 2020.

Jonnu Smith - Tennessee Titans

Delanie Walker is no longer a Titan. It seems like he has been a productive tight end for this team for decades at this point, but 2020 will see Jonnu Smith given a shot to prove he's the next great  Titans tight end.

Smith enters his fourth year after having his best NFL season in 2019, catching 35 passes for 439 yards and three touchdowns. Not the greatest numbers, but Smith has shown enough promise for Tennessee to both let Walker go and to go into 2020 with the backups being MyCole Pruitt and Anthony Firkser. Smith is about to get an incredible shot to succeed in the NFL.

And yet, Fantasy Football Calculator's PPR ADP has Smith being drafted as the TE21 right now. Smith seems destined to join the "hey, how did we all forget to draft the Titans tight end" club that Walker occupied for so many years. He's a very good athlete -- 88th percentile 40-yard dash -- and was second among tight ends in yards per target in 2019. He gets good separation from defenders. He was fourth in catch rate for tight ends. Smith is going to have a great opportunity, and there's no young tight end waiting in the wings to deny him that opportunity.

Blake Jarwin - Dallas Cowboys

The one-year reunion of Jason Witten and the Cowboys has ended, and it appears Mike McCarthy has decided to give Blake Jarwin the try that many have been hoping he'd get.

Jarwin is entering his fourth season, and his best year was 2019, when he caught 31 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Those aren't really numbers that inspire "yeah, he's our starter now" confidence, usually.

But Jarwin has also never had a featured role in Dallas, and the team's decision to sign him to a three-year extension seems to imply they have some faith in him become a playmaking tight end. Jarwin has a good athletic profile, and some of his efficiency numbers from last year really stand out. He was sixth among tight ends in yards per target and eighth in yards per route run.

And while Dallas did sign Blake Bell, nothing else about free agency or the draft implied that they plan to do anything but give this position to Jarwin. And with a really strong receiving corps in Dallas, Jarwin should have plenty of open space to succeed as a receiver.

Darren Fells - Houston Texans

Granted, Houston didn't have very much draft capital, so they weren't expected to take a tight end, but this is a team whose depth chart beyond Fells is full of roster-bubble type guys: Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas and Kahale Warring. Warring probably has the most upside of that bunch, but with offseason programs delayed, Warring -- who missed all of last season -- isn't in a great spot to get up to speed and contribute this season.

That means Fells is about to have another season of doing what Fells does, which is provide a big target in the red zone for quarterback Deshaun Watson and probably be forgotten about everywhere else on the field.

That's fine, though, when it comes to Fells' fantasy value. He was a touchdown-dependent option last year, and because Houston didn't address tight end and didn't try to add an upside guy to the roster, Fells will be the same again this year. That makes him a boom-or-bust TE2 still, someone who could get you 30 yards and a touchdown or three yards and no touchdowns depending on the week. Fells isn't a great rollercoaster to find yourself on, but the good news for you if you take a seat in the Fells cart is that Houston's lack of roster moves means that the rollercoaster still has some good loops for you to ride through.

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