What Changed in 2021: Tight Ends

The tight end position is always interesting for fantasy football. There are always three or four guaranteed studs at the position and then a bunch of question marks. And that was the case again in 2020-21, and this year we finally saw a new overall TE1 in fantasy. 

We continue our “What Changed” series with a look at a handful of tight ends who stood out over the course of the 2021 season. 

(Keep up with the rest of the series here: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver)

Mark Andrews Takes Over as the TE1

After four consecutive seasons as fantasy football’s top-scoring tight end, Travis Kelce finally took a backseat in 2021, finishing as the TE2 behind Baltimore’s Mark Andrews. It was a stellar season for Andrews, finishing with 107 catches for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished the season on an absolute tear, recording three 100-yard games over his last five outings, scoring four touchdowns during that stretch. The injury to Lamar Jackson didn’t even impact Andrews’ numbers, as he actually averaged very strong numbers with Tyler Huntley under center. In those seven games, Andrews averaged 9.8 targets, 7.2 receptions, 87.7 receiving yards and 19.4 PPR points per game. Andrews also paced the tight end position in fantasy points per snap (0.32), while also leading the position with 15 end zone targets.

Given his age (26), there might be more appeal to selecting Andrews as the top tight end in 2022 drafts, though it is worth pointing out that Baltimore’s entire offense and defense were decimated with injuries last season. As a result, their passing rate jumped from 44.9% in 2020 to just over 56% in 2021. When healthy, we know the Ravens still want to run the football. Regardless, Kelce or Andrews should be the top-ranked tight end in fantasy entering the 2022 campaign.

Dalton Schultz Breaks Out

The tight end position can be rough at times, so it is always nice when a player breaks out. Dalton Schultz won some people their fantasy titles during his breakout 2021 campaign, hauling in 78 balls for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. Only the aforementioned Andrews and Kelce scored more fantasy points than Schultz, who also ranked first in snaps (890), third in pass routes (548), sixth in targets (101) and third in receptions (78). Schultz was Dak Prescott’s safety blanket, operating in the middle of the field. And Schultz produced regardless of the Cowboys being banged up at receiver or at full strength. At just 25 years old, Schultz could be an emerging fantasy tight end going forward, especially in dynasty formats, but it will depend on what happens during the offseason. Schultz is set to hit free agency, along with Michael Gallup, while there are also some trade rumors surrounding Amari Cooper. If Schultz stays in Dallas, he should be viewed as a top-10 fantasy tight end.

The Philadelphia Eagles Fully Commit to Dallas Goedert

Over the past few seasons, Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz had been splitting tight end duties for the Eagles. And to start the 2021 campaign, that continued. In Weeks 1-5 when Goedert and Ertz played together, Ertz saw 23 targets to Goedert’s 19, though Goedert ran 124 routes to Ertz’ 120. Meanwhile, Goedert logged 67.8% of the offensive snaps during that span, while Ertz played about 57%. However, Philadelphia traded Ertz to Arizona after Week 6. From then on, Goedert was a full-time player for the Eagles, logging 83% of the snaps in 10 games. And per the FTN splits tool, here are Goedert’s numbers with and without Ertz this past season:

The Eagles are going to remain a run-first team, as no team in football called run at a higher rate during the second half of the season than Philadelphia. However, Goedert projects to be a 90% snap player in an offense that really only has two pass-catchers that demand targets right now. A true, full-on breakout seems very, very possible in 2022.