The tight end position is the least valuable of the four major offensive spots in the world of fantasy football. It’s a top-heavy position with little depth, so hitting on a good one in fantasy drafts is important.
If you don’t believe me, ask anyone who drafted Darren Waller or Pat Freiermuth last season. Whiffing on a tight end, especially one projected to be a consistent point producer, could mean countless weeks of playing the matchups with lesser players in the hopes of finding a gem.
Over a full 17 weeks, that can become an absolute headache.
So, in order to avoid drafting the wrong players at the position, here are four tight ends to avoid with your valuable draft capital.
Njoku was an absolute beast in the stat sheets last season, posting career bests across the board. The concern, however, is he had most of his success with Deshaun Watson out. In six games with Watson under center, Njoku averaged 38 yards and scored one touchdown. In five games with Joe Flacco (now with the Colts), he averaged 78 yards and scored four touchdowns. That’s not good news for Njoku, who could be far less productive in 2024. The Browns also added Jerry Jeudy, which could also hurt Njoku’s target share.
Goedert was once a reliable and productive fantasy option, but that has not been the case lately. Over the last two years, he’s missed eight games due to injuries. Goedert is also coming off a 2023 campaign where he finished with a points-per-game average of 9.7 … that’s his lowest total since 2019. The good news is he’s no longer seen as a top-10 fantasy tight end, but I wouldn’t lean on him as a starter in most leagues even at a discounted price.
Kmet produced a career campaign in 2023, posting personal bests in catches, yards and fantasy points. Unfortunately, he’ll struggle to duplicate that success after a huge offseason for the Bears. They traded for Keenan Allen, drafted Rome Odunze, and signed D’Andre Swift and fellow tight end Gerald Everett. When you also include incumbent target leader DJ Moore, it’s tough to see Kmet having enough opportunities to make a big impact.
Smith finshed as the TE16 last season, and at some points, he was a better fantasy option than his former teammate, Kyle Pitts. Now in Miami, some might think this is a positive move as he'll be the top tight end on the roster. The problem is that coach Mike McDaniel simply doesn't use the position in the pass attack very often. Remember Mike Gesiski? He saw his stats declining drastically once McDaniel took over. Smith is worth a late flier at best.
MICHAEL FABIANO
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Formerly of CBS Sports, NFL Network and SirusXM, Michael was the first fantasy analyst to appear on one of the four major TV networks. His work can now be found on SI, Westwood One Radio and the Bleav Podcast Network.
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