With summer break just around the corner, fantasy football managers will be thrust into drafts before they even know it.
Finding sleepers is the name of the game when it comes to overachieving in fantasy football, and it’s never too early to start looking for those potential game-changers.
The tight end position is a tricky beast to understand. For most leagues, the elite tight ends truly make a difference. Going into 2024, there’s a bucket of four tight ends who could likely be considered elite options.
That would be Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews and Trey McBride. The rest of the position is mostly a crapshoot where managers are hoping for some respectable yardage and some touchdown receptions here and there.
But finding a tight end sleeper can make a difference. Those who drafted LaPorta or McBride late in 2023 were rewarded with a high-end starter nearly every week. Their tight end position went from an unknown to a game-changer.
Here’s a look at three tight end sleepers to keep an eye on going into the 2024 season:
Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
A second-round pick during the 2023 NFL draft, Musgrave is likely going to be sharing the spotlight with fellow second-year tight end Tucker Kraft. Both are viable options late in drafts, but Musgrave showed a lot of potential before a lacerated kidney knocked him out for the majority of the second half of his rookie season.
There will be a lot of mouths to feed in the offense with the wide receiver quartet involved. Still, Musgrave posted at least a 15% target share in six of 10 games in which he played half of the team’s offensive snaps.
Musgrave also posted a respectable 1.28 yards per route run mark, according to Pro Football Focus. It’s not an elite number, but it’s not anything to scoff at, either. In fact, his 6.84 PPR points per game were right in line the rookie seasons of T.J. Hockenson (6.73), Mark Andrews (6.70) and Zach Ertz (6.68).
With some elite athleticism while going into his second season, Musgrave may not be a top-five tight end option, but there’s upside for him to be a weekly starter in what is a pretty shaky landscape at the tight end position.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Putting any kind of stock in the Steelers offense will be a questionable move. However, there’s a path of upside for the fourth-year tight end. While Freiermuth struggled with injuries and shaky quarterback play in 2023, he’s only two seasons removed from a 63-732-2 campaign in 2022. The addition of Russell Wilson should — in theory — slightly raise the floor of the passing game compared to what it was under Kenny Pickett.
New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, for all his faults, isn’t shy about targeting the tight end position. Even though Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith were tough plays during the 2023 season, it should be noted that the tight end for the Atlanta Falcons led the NFL with a 34% target share.
Also, the departure of Diontae Johnson means a plethora of targets will be up for grabs. It’s not a perfect one-for-one replacement, but a handful of those targets are bound to go some where. Freiermuth is a cheap tight end with some low- to mid-TE1 upside to target late in drafts.
Theo Johnson, New York Giants
Betting on rookie tight ends to provide weekly fantasy usage historically isn’t a wise decision. With that said, the retirement of Darren Waller leaves a pretty strong void in the team’s tight end room, and the Giants drafted Johnson in the fourth round to eventually be the one who fills it.
An incredibly athletic tight end, Johnson is already turning heads from some impressive plays during OTAs and minicamp. Johnson posted one of the best relative athletic scores (9.93) in NFL combine history. That’s important because the majority of relevant tight ends in fantasy football are high-end athletes.
Head coach Brian Daboll also has an affinity for the tight end position. The group held a respectable 22% target share during the 2023 season, and the middle of the field should be open with the addition of WR Malik Nabers.
It’s a cheap bet to make, and one that may not even require a draft pick. While it may be TE Daniel Bellinger‘s job to lose this summer, Johnson is a sleeper to keep an eye on if the drumbeat continues to build throughout training camp and the preseason.
