3 Sleeper Tight Ends to Target in Fantasy Football

With the 2024 NFL season right around the corner, we've reached peak fantasy football draft season.

It's important to go into your draft with a plan. Whether that be determining draft strategy for each draft pick, predicting league-winning players, or knowing which busts to avoid, preparation is key.

Tight end is one of the most important positions to prepare for. There's a group of established names at the top, but not everyone in your league can get an elite tight end. If you miss out on the position early, it's important to know which later-round tight ends could outperform their draft position.

Using consensus ADP, let's identify the best sleeper tight ends to target in fantasy football drafts.

This piece assumes 12-team leagues utilizing 0.5-PPR scoring formats, but advice can be loosely applied to all formats. Statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats or Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated.

Sleeper Tight Ends to Target

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

ADP: 161.0 (TE17)

I simply do not understand Taysom Hill's consensus average draft position (ADP) on FantasyPros.

Sure, Hill isn't a traditional tight end. Though he set career-best marks in receptions (33), targets (40), and receiving yards (291) last season, he lined up inline, in the slot, or out wide on only 66% of his offensive snaps, according to PFF. The other 34% was spent at quarterback or in the backfield.

But that varied utilization shouldn't be a knock on him. The bulk of Hill's fantasy value came via his 401 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. Production is production -- wherever it comes from. Last year, that resulted in Hill finishing as the TE10 overall -- his second straight top-10 positional finish.

He's prone to spike weeks (four games with 14-plus fantasy points) and duds (six games with fewer than three fantasy points), but outside of the top names at the position, what TE isn't?

The New Orleans Saints have reiterated their affinity for Hill's multi-faceted skillset this preseason, and it's not like they're swarmed with offensive weapons. Only two Saints are going inside the top 150 of drafts as of August 29th.

Hill's ADP is 161st overall, making him the 17th tight end off the board. We shouldn't doubt his ability to produce after what he's done the last two seasons, and he makes for an absolute steal if you punt the tight end position early in drafts.

Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins

ADP: 190.3 (TE20)

I've long been enamored with Jonnu Smith. We're talking about a 6-foot-3, 248-pound pass-catcher who ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 38-inch vertical leap at the NFL combine, after all.

That just hasn't translated into fantasy relevance on a consistent basis.

We've seen flashes, sure. He caught eight touchdowns and was the TE10 in 2020. A year ago, he had an eight-week stretch where he saw a 15.7% target share and was the TE10 in that span. But he still finished as the TE17 overall for the campaign.

Even so, 2023 was quietly Jonnu's most productive season to date. He set career-best marks for receptions (50) and receiving yards (582) and ranked a respectable 11th in yards per route run (1.69) among tight ends who ran at least 20 routes per game.

Now with the Miami Dolphins, Smith could deliver back-end TE1 upside even with so many talented playmakers around him.

Though Mike McDaniel hasn't exactly been the poster boy for harboring fantasy-relevant tight ends, he's spoken this preseason about wanting to get more production from the position. That could be even more important early on with Jaylen Waddle banged up and Odell Beckham beginning the year on the PUP.

Smith is far from guaranteed to pay off, but the potential is there for him to carve out a real role in an offense that averaged the third-most touchdowns per game (3.4) and is projected to top-10 in scoring this season, according to Jim Sannes' model.

That makes Jonnu well worth a dart throw in the final rounds of fantasy drafts.

Mike Gesicki, Cincinatti Bengals

ADP: 238.5 (TE29)

Like Jonnu Smith, Mike Gesicki is a tight end who has flashed fantasy relevance in the past and is now starting fresh with a new team in 2024. He, too, is attached to a high-powered offense in the Cincinnati Bengals, and you won't have to allocate much draft capital to roster him. Gesicki is currently being drafted outside the top 225 picks and as the 29th tight end off the board.

Gesicki peaked with back-to-back 700-yard seasons with the 'Fins in 2020 and 2021, finishing as the TE7 and TE11, respectively, those years. He notably caught 73 passes during that '21 season before fading out of the fantasy picture in 2022 and 2023.

But Joe Burrow will be the best quarterback Gesicki has played with, and the veteran TE looked to be a real part of Cincy's passing attack in the preseason. According to Dwain McFarland's Preseason Utilization Report, Gesicki had a 71% route participation with Burrow in Week 1, with 57% of his snaps coming from the slot. Of the 16 tight ends who saw at least a 70% route participation last season, 11 averaged at least 7.0 fantasy points per game and seven cracked double-digits.

Granted, that's a small sample and one that isn't guaranteed to hold during the regular season. But if it does (or close to it), we're talking about a tight end with proven top-12 upside running a route on nearly three-quarters of Joe Burrow's drop backs.

Outside the top 200 picks, Gesicki is certainly worth a long look.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.