What Changed in 2024 for Fantasy Football: Tight Ends

The tight end position is always fascinating when it comes to fantasy football. Is it deep? Is it shallow? Should it be replaced entirely? Our opinion seemingly changes after every year because aspects of the position change year over year.

Let’s take a look at what stands out from the 2024 campaign that we can apply to 2025 and beyond.

Check out our look at our other positions: quarterbacks | running backs | wide receivers

What Changed in 2024: Tight End

Rookie Tight Ends Are Figuring It Out Earlier

For years, rookie tight ends in fantasy football were easy players to avoid. Between having to learn new systems (both receiving and blocking), it was rare to see a rookie get off to a hot start in their career. But last year we saw Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid really impress as rookies, potentially changing the narrative. But even still, it was just one season, and even after the Raiders drafted Brock Bowers 13th overall this year, it was reasonable to still be skeptical. And yet, Bowers put together the best rookie season from a tight end in NFL history, catching 112-of-153 targets for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. He set the record for most receptions by any rookie in NFL history, as well as the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end. Only three rookie tight ends have ever reached 1,000 yards.

This comes just one season after LaPorta caught 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie, finishing as the TE3 in fantasy points per game. And a bit more quietly, Kincaid had a successful rookie campaign, too, as his 73 receptions were the fourth most by a rookie tight end in NFL history. Over the last two seasons, we have now seen three tight ends finish as TE1 options in fantasy. And sure, these were elite prospects but perhaps when rookie tight ends are drafted early in the NFL Draft, we shouldn’t be as hesitant to give them a look in fantasy drafts. Looking at you, Tyler Warren.

Touchdowns Can Often Tell the Story

With every position in fantasy, touchdowns are very difficult to predict. But when it comes to tight ends, touchdowns can often make or break the position. Take Mark Andrews, for example. To start the season, Andrews was looking like one of the worst selections in fantasy drafts. During the first five weeks, Andrews only ran a route on 61% of Baltimore’s dropbacks, scoring zero touchdowns. However, Andrews got hot during the second half of the season, with touchdowns being what helped him return to fantasy relevance. From Week 6 on, Andrews scored all 11 of his touchdowns, despite still ranking outside the top-15 tight ends in both snap share and route participation. His 10 end zone targets during that span were the second-most at the position.

However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, someone like Trey McBride seemingly couldn’t buy a touchdown. Of course, he ran close to 90% of Arizona’s routes, catching a whopping 111 passes for 1,146 yards, making him an elite fantasy tight end. However, he scored just two receiving touchdowns on that volume. Despite leading the league with 11 end zone targets, McBride converted just one into a score, while Andrews caught 9 of his 10 end zone looks.

Tight Ends Can Benefit from Two-High Coverage

Over the last few seasons, so many defenses have been deploying a ton of two-deep safety looks to limit the explosive plays in the passing game. And when you are facing quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, it definitely makes sense. But I think it can go overlooked how much it can benefit the tight end position, especially players who do a lot of their damage in the middle of the field.

Take a look at Jonnu Smith in Miami, for example. Smith enjoyed the incredibly common age-29 tight end breakout season in 2024, setting career-highs in receptions (88), targets (111) and yards (884). He essentially emerged as Miami’s WR3 behind Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane, and I think the way teams were defending the Dolphins had a lot to do with that. Because of the explosive pass plays we saw from the Dolphins last year, opponents deployed two-high looks a league-high 51.4% of the time this season. In particular, Smith faced two-high coverage nearly 52% of the time, the highest rate among all tight ends. His 63 targets against the defense trailed only Brock Bowers, while his 53 receptions paced the tight end position. And because teams took away the splash plays, Mike McDaniel started to make Smith a focal point of the offense with schemed touches. His 20 targets off screens comfortably led all tight ends, with half of those coming against two-high looks. I truly believe it had a lot to do with Smith’s breakout season and high weekly floor, as he finished as a top-12 fantasy tight end in seven of his last nine games.