By: Jake Rajala

The tight end position is gutsy, yet necessary in the game of football. The TE position is even more underrated in the game of dynasty fantasy football. With that stated, I’m going to highlight the TE position in football by untwining five overrated TE faces entering the 2022 season.

George Kittle

The San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle is still a talented profile, but he doesn’t have the sexiest outlook in my opinion. Kittle is coming off his worst season of productivity and he has an uncertain QB as his starter. If you feel iffy about Trey Lance (similar to me) then you should sell Kittle to someone that is head over heels for Lance.

I also expect Brandon Aiyuk to be a major factor in the 49ers offense moving forward.

T.J. Hockenson

It may seem blasphemous for a lot of fantasy die-hards and Iowa fans to pin Kittle and Hockenson on this list. Nonetheless, I don’t foresee a pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow for the Lions TE. The Lions will have more magic lined up for Jameson Williams, D.J. Chark, and D’Andre Swift. Of course, Jared Goff isn’t the most reliable cannon, as well. He is still catching a lot of buzz for his Pro Bowl nod in 2020 – which was a 723 yd and six TD outcome.

Dawson Knox

The Bills TE Dawson Knox had an impressive nine touchdown catches last season, but his new teammate, O.J. Howard, should slightly dock Knox’s popularity and attract a lot of attention from Josh Allen. According to ESPN stats and information, the Bills only ran 100 plays with two TEs last season – which was the lowest in the league. It would be an understatement to say the Bills will use a lot more two TE sets in the upcoming season and Howard will eat up a big part of the TE pie.

Kyle Pitts

The Atlanta Falcons made a very bold move in making Kyle Pitts the highest drafted TE in NFL history. Pitts had a modest rookie campaign – as hauled in 1,026 receiving yards. Although, I foresee Pitts taking a step back w/ the QB switch from Matt Ryan to Marcus Mariota. It’s also an uncertain long-term outlook for the Falcons QB group.

Noah Fant

It could be said that Seattle is where TEs go to die. The Seahawks have a shaky QB situation, to say the least. It should also be noted that the Seahawks QB1 will key in on DK Metcalf and then Tyler Lockett in the offense. Noah Fant has had modest performances (600+ yards in each season) in each of the past numerous seasons, but he shouldn’t climb the ladder with the Hawks.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Jared Goff-led Detroit Lions exhibited the 19th most passing yards and the 17th most passing touchdowns last season. I honestly anticipate that the Lions passing offense can improve next season. With that enunciated, I will untwine three reasons why the Lions passing offense can be successful in 2022.

• Health on the offensive line

The Lions have a very talented offensive line, but numerous vital members of the Lions OL have had injury issues. The Lions LT Taylor Decker missed eight contests last season – after missing one game in the prior three seasons combined. The Lions center Frank Ragnow, who is unequivocally one of the best offensive linemen in the league, sadly missed 13 games last season. It would be an understatement to say Goff will be thankful to have his two potent OL healthy. It would an understatement to say Goff is sitting behind a monster offensive line unit as a whole – as PFF ranked the Lions OL the third-best OL in the league.

• Jameson Williams

The Detroit Lions rookie WR Jameson Williams was undoubtedly the top WR in the draft process until his unfortunate ACL injury occurred in the National Championship game. Well, the Lions still believe they were able to find a gem in him with their 12th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Per PFF, he hauled in a record 12 receptions on deep balls where he was at least a step ahead of the defender. He registered 175 yards and 2 touchdowns in the SEC game and then 1,572 yards w/ 15 touchdowns in 2021. Williams, also known as the second-fastest WR on Madden, is clearly a darkhorse OROY candidate heading into 2022.

• Healthy T.J. Hockenson

The Lions most talented offensive player is arguably T.J. Hockenson. He impressively earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2020 (723 yards and six touchdowns). Although, his 2021 campaign wasn’t nearly as sexy (as he recorded 586 and four touchdowns). There is a large reason why Hockenson was less efficient in his junior season than his sophomore season: inability to stay on the field. Hockenson missed five games last season. Per Fantasy Pros, a contract extension for Hockenson is a priority for the Lions.

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By: Sukhwant Singh

Intro

Every year we as fantasy owners cringe when comes to drafting tight ends. Be it PPR or standard leagues there are just not enough premium TEs available. Once the heavy hitters, Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, George Kittle, and Mark Andrews are off the board the rest of the crop is pretty average to below average.

In this article, we’ll focus on that next tier which can make or break your fantasy squad. I’ll be doing this article based on PPR league rankings/points. With that said let’s get started!

Top three Tight Ends to buy:

T.J. Hockenson

I’m on the hype train for T.J. Hockenson this season. I know the QB position has taken a bit of a hit with Jared Goff now at the helm instead of Matthew Stafford but this shouldn’t affect Hockenson’s value much. The team lost its top WRs in Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu.

This now opens opportunities for plenty for Hockenson especially working those underneath routes. Hockenson finished last season as a TE5 with 175.3 total points in PPR formats. I fully expect him to exceed those numbers easily this season! Look for Hockenson/Goff to hit it off early and often this season. Acquiring Hockenson, given the right price is a trade worth assessing and committing to.

Noah Fant

It’s almost unfair the amount of QB uncertainty and bad QB play that Noah Fant has been dealing with. Even with that said Fant finished with 149.3 fantasy points which were good for TE9. Fant’s current ADP has him going in round 7 and later. That to me is an absolute steal!

Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgwater will bring the best in each other (at least we all hope they do) and that should have a direct result in better QB play overall. In addition, top receiving weapon Cortland Sutton will be back and fully healthy, so most of the defensive focus will shift towards him. This leaves Fant to win one on one coverage with slower linebackers and/or smaller safeties. Fant can be had for a tremendous value.

Tyler Higbee

I cant wait to see the chemistry/connection that Stafford develops with Tyler Higbee during this summer and into the season. Higbee finished as the TE8 in 2019 with 160.4 fantasy points. Although last year was a bit of a down year for him I expect him to bounce back in a big way.

Firstly, Stafford is now his QB. A big upgrade over Goff! Secondly, his target stealer (Gerald Everett) is now in Seattle. This leaves Higbee as the best TE option on the team. In 2020 Higbee out-snapped Everett by over 200 snaps! Higbee is set for a big role this season and fully expect him to break out and have a huge fantasy year.

Top three Tight Ends to sell:

Mike Gesicki

I’m just not a believer in the Dolphins QB situation. Mike Gesicki finished as a TE7 with 159.3 fantasy points in 2020. Now with the addition of Will Fuller and rookie Jaylen Waddle to an already crowded receiving core room. There are plenty of weapons on the Dolphins offense and I’m not sure that Tua Tagovailoa will be able to spread the ball around as needed.

This is where Gesicki’s fantasy outlook takes a hit. He might be the odd man out in terms of weekly sustained fantasy production on that team and this is where you as fantasy owners can get solid value for Gesicki. There will be plenty of TE-hungry fantasy managers will take the name and past fantasy production without looking at the complete picture/context. Take advantage of it and sell Gesicki high!

Evan Engram

In a similar boat as Gesicki, Evan Engram is the odd man out. The Giants added Kenny Golladay, drafted Kadarius Toney and will have Saquan Barkley back from injury. Just like with the Dolphins and Tua, I’m not sure if Jones will be able to keep all these mouths happy and fed often enough.

Engram finished as TE15 last season with 141 fantasy points. This is without the above names being on the team last season. Daniel Jones is in a make-or-break season and thus far I haven’t seen enough to convince me that he can be in that top 15 QB tier. Sell Engram as he another big name out there but little fantasy value.

Kyle Pitts

Now before everybody goes crazy as to why I’m mentioning Kyle Pitts, let me explain. This sell on Pitts is for redraft leagues ONLY! Second, I’m only saying sell because of his current ADP value of 4.04. This is insane for a player who has yet to take an NFL snap.

Pitts would have to have one of the greatest rookie TE seasons in NFL history for him to be worth that high of pick. We all have seen how rookies tend to struggle to get adjusted to the NFL level. Pitts will be no different. I’m not saying he will be a bust. What I am saying is that to draft Pitts with your third or fourth pick and say he goes 65/600/5 as his stat line, that would be good for about TE10!

Last season Hunter Henry posted a 60/613/4 line in 14 games with the Chargers good for TE12! You see it’s all about value. You can find other TEs that can give similar production that can be had in a later round. Now if Pitts falls down the ladder to you in rounds eight or later then by all means scoop him up. However, to make him one of your first top five picks isn’t worth it. Sell high and get back a huge haul!

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