Ideal Landing Spots in Free Agency: Tight End

The 2023 NFL free agency period is around the corner, which means we’ll get to see plenty of familiar faces land in new places. We’re going around the block position-by-position to pick out the best possible landing spots. Up today: Tight ends.

 The fantasy fallout is always a mystery. Some landing spots will be great, some will be terrible. When a player leaves one team and lands on another, it also opens up opportunity on the team they left and closes some on their new team. 

Let’s take a look at some of the top free agent TEs in 2023 and pick out their ideal fantasy landing spots.

Dalton Schultz

Ideal Fit: Detroit Lions

Dalton Schultz is only 26 and is the top TE hitting the market this year, and while the true ideal fit would probably be to stay in Dallas, which has no true WR2, that seems unlikely. But the Lions would be a great secondary prize. The suddenly-booming offense shipped TJ Hockenson away last year, leaving a void at TE that Schultz could easily fill. The Chargers would be nice as well with Justin Herbert. Anything other than the Cowboys, Lions, or Chargers would feel like a fantasy letdown, though.

Mike Gesicki

Ideal Fit: Green Bay Packers

Let’s be real: It probably doesn’t matter. But Gesicki has been “good enough” in the past that he has a shot at being fantasy-relevant in a leading role. Christian Watson is the top dog in Green Bay, but after that, it’s possible that the No. 2 pass-catcher in Green Bay isn’t even on their roster yet.

Austin Hooper

Ideal Fit: Carolina Panthers

Meh. Hooper is several years removed from his respectable 70-catch, 700-yard seasons with the Falcons. Since then, he’s just been a committee tight end. But if he lands in an open spot like the Panthers, he could return to streaming relevancy. 

Irv Smith

Ideal Fit: Cincinnati Bengals

Smith is rapidly looking like a “what could have been” player, but if we’re assuming all goes well with his health, I’d still love to see such an athletic player on an elite offense. The Bengals are the perfect match.

Some others

Hayden Hurst: Los Angeles Chargers. Good enough to be a potential weekly TE streamer in the right situation. LA would be such a situation.

Robert Tonyan: Miami Dolphins. Could be solid red-zone weapon with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle dominating between the 20s.