TEs selected ahead of Travis Kelce (KC) in the 2013 NFL Draft:
Tyler Eifert (CIN)
Zach Ertz (PHI)
Gavin Escobar (DAL)
Vance McDonald (SF)
Kyle Pitts had an unusual 5th-year breakout, upending fantasy
draft values and making me eat crow.
Brenton
Strange recently signed a new deal with JAX (3-Yrs/$36,000,000),
making his base salary of $12,000,000 identical to that of Travis
Kelce in 2026 (OTC).
Expect increased use of multiple-TE sets, detached TEs, and
copycat deployments of LAR's 13 Personnel (1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR).
Jenny Coffman Henry better not find out about the disrespect
our fantasy community has shown her son this preseason. New arrival
A.J. Brown (WR11 in 2025) will certainly command his share of
targets, but don't assume Hunter Henry will be pushed into the
background. In Josh McDaniels' offense last season, Stefon Diggs
(WR16) drew 102 targets from QB Drake Maye in his one-and-done
campaign, while Henry still earned 87. He's a key piece of the
Patriots passing attack, not an afterthought.
Henry's 768 receiving yards in 2025 were a career best, and his
7 TDs actually matched A.J. Brown's total in Philly. Maye looked
to his 6'5” tight end for more than first downs (42) in this Josh
McDaniels' offense, and Henry delivered with 11 receptions of
20+ yards, per NFL Stats. Jenny's boy will thrive as defenses
contend with Brown on the outside, the versatile duo of Stevenson
and Henderson at RB, and dual-threat QB Drake Maye, who rushed
an average of 6 times for nearly 26.5 yards/game.
Henry will not compete with fellow tight ends Trey McBride, Colston
Loveland, Brock Bowers, Harold Fannin Jr. and Tyler Warren for
top-5 honors this upcoming season, and might not deliver a repeat
of his TE9 performance of 178.8 fantasy points. But even projecting
a hefty 30-point regression (8 receptions, 100 yards and 2 TDs),
he would still earn 148.8 FPts and likely secure a TE14-17 finish.
Last year at this time, Mr. Schultz was going off draft boards
as TE24 with an ADP of 174. Look familiar? The return on investment
paid handsomely, with a TE10 finish. Dalton Schultz equals proven
resultz. Last season, he ran 499 routes (7th-most per
PFF), finished 6th with 777 yards and ranked 3rd with 82 receptions.
Schultz was charged with just a single drop on 102 targets. He
scored 3 TDs, in line with his two previous seasons in Houston.
Will he repeat? No. Do I draft him in Best Ball formats with
hopes of spike weeks? Clearly, no. But he is a weekly-streamer
capable of delivering double-digit points, without finding the
end zone. Unless you play in a bonus-scoring league, a TE's acrobatic
30-yard scoring reception adds 10 points, while Dalton's stat
line of 6/5/60/0 earns you 11.
At his current ADP, just ahead of timeshare TEs Oronde Gadsden
(LAC) and Pat Freiermuth (PIT), Schultz is all upside. He could
easily flirt with top-18 numbers, considering a Downy-soft slate
of matchups this season (except for the fantasy playoffs). Houston's
wide receivers are a talented bunch, but injuries always seem
to limit their availability.
Nico Collins is a consensus top-12 receiver; however, he has
played an average of 13.2 games/year over 5 years. WR Tank Dell
played just 25 games in his first two years, and a severe knee
injury cost him all of 2025. Some preseason analysis points to
new RB David Montgomery impacting the fantasy production of Schultz.
After all, Montgomery rushed for 33 TDs in three years with the
Lions and is a solid receiver (but zero TD catches in DET). I
agree that Houston will score more points this season; however,
no one will confuse their run blocking ability with that of the
Detroit Lions over the last three years.
Some might expect to see Isaiah Likely listed here, but this
article is all about value. In a dreadful year for the Ravens
offense, Andrews dominated Likely in targets 70 to 37, TDs 5 to
1 and fantasy points 131 to 64. Likely's new TE1 role with the
Giants will provide a big boost in opportunities, but at what
fantasy-draft cost? Andrews has an overall ADP in the 120s, but
to secure Likely's services, prepare to click two rounds earlier.
Mark Andrews
Season
G
Tgts
Rec
Yds
Avg
TDs
FPts
FPts/G
2022
15
113
73
847
11.6
5
188.5
12.6
2023
10
61
45
544
12.1
6
135.4
13.5
2024
17
69
55
673
12.2
11
188.8
11.1
2025
17
70
48
422
8.8
5
131.0
7.7
4-year Totals
221
2486
27
643.7
Isaiah Likely
Season
G
Tgts
Rec
Yds
Avg
TDs
FPts
FPts/G
2022
16
60
36
373
10.4
3
91.3
5.7
2023
17
40
30
411
13.7
5
101.1
5.9
2024
16
58
42
477
11.4
6
125.7
7.9
2025
14
37
27
307
11.4
1
63.7
4.6
4-year Totals
135
1568
15
381.8
This year, I am inclined to take the 12th-16th TE off the board
as my starter. Patience at the position allows me to stockpile
those critical, PPR-friendly RBs and consistent WRs ahead of my
opponents. I am targeting a cluster of "value veterans"
at TE that includes Jake Ferguson, Mark Andrews, Hunter Henry,
Dallas Goedert and Dalton Schultz. Andrews offers the strategic
benefit of not needing to stream a replacement until Weeks 12
(@ HOU) and 13 (bye). Be sure to add that bye fill-in two weeks
early or increase your free agent bid, since owners with Brock
Bowers and Tyler Warren will also be shopping in Week 13.
John Harbaugh bought a companion ticket to the Meadowlands for
TE2 Isaiah Likely, and Baltimore's TE3 Charlie Kolar was summoned
to Los Angeles by the other Harbaugh. The Ravens drafted two tight
end prospects, including the versatile Matthew Hibner (SMU) in
the 4th round, and "brute force" Josh Cuevas (Alabama)
in the 5th. But this TE room still belongs to Andrews in 2026
-- the Ravens all-time leader in receptions (484), receiving yards
(5,952) and receiving TDs (56). Wide receivers do not hold any
of these records.
Likely's numbers seem to have fallen short of his potential.
His average year-end ranking during his four years in Baltimore
is TE28. For comparison, Mike Gesicki (MIA, NE, CIN, CIN) has
averaged an annual TE28.5 ranking and Buffalo's TE1(b) Dawson
Knox has averaged a TE31.3 finish those same years. Likely has
never averaged double-digit fantasy points/game over a season.
His 27 receptions in 2025 were tied with Tommy Tremble.
I can hear your screams way up here in Northern Michigan, “But
wait, Mark Andrews capped his opportunities.” I was right there
with you, until I realized my own assessment of Likely was based
upon my perception, not four seasons of game stats. Likely's best
numbers came from 2024, but Old Man Andrews crushed him (again).
It was worse in 2025, so the trajectory is not encouraging.
Goodbye Mark Andrews, hello Theo Johnson. Last season, the Giants
starter actually finished with more targets and yards than Ravens
TE1 Mark Andrews. Johnson averaged 11.7 YPC and scored 5 TDs (from
QBs Russell Wilson and rookie Jaxson Dart), compared to Likely's
11.4 YPC and single TD. Is it possible that Likely ($13,333,333
salary in 2026) is stepping from the shadow of one TE into that
of another? No, there are new factors that should provide a jump
in Likely's fantasy numbers.
QB Jaxson Dart now has 14 games of NFL experience, target-sponge
WR Malik Nabers could miss a few games to start the season and
RB1 Cam Skattebo is returning from a nasty, season-ending ankle/leg
injury. The Giants are heading into camp with 14 WRs (including
33-year-old Odell Beckham Jr), which reminds us that Nabers and
Darius Slayton are hurting and Wan'Dale Robinson is in Nashville.
As the saying goes, "Someone has to catch passes for the NYG."
Another twist is that HC Harbaugh could go "heavy," with both
tight ends on the field until Nabers returns. Likely could also
flex out into the slot to replace the departed Robinson, thereby
relegating Theo Johnson ($1,075,000) to blocking duties. It is
possible a re-imagining of the former Raven into a jumbo slot
might unlock some of his hidden potential.
As a fulltime starter, Likely could finish as a top-15 TE this
fantasy season, even though the Giants are projected to win only
7 games. Can you find any value in drafting him as a top 10-12
TE? I think that outcome is fairly unLikely.
Can you imagine the hype, if Sadiq had been drafted by Denver,
Cincinnati or Seattle? While I am happy for the Jets and their
fans, my only fantasy uses for him this season might be in DFS
lineups, later in the year. Many would say he faces too many hurdles
this season, but with a 43-1/2” vertical at the NFL Combine, hurdles
would never be an issue. Headwinds? Sadiq's 4.39 seconds in the
forty-yard dash (fastest ever for a TE) slices right through headwinds.
The problem for Sadiq is the J-E-T-S are J-U-S-T awful, and I
am not sure QB Geno Smith changes that. Smith paired 19 TDs with
a league-worst 17 INTs last season in Las Vegas. In his first
season with NYJ (2013), Smith sported a 12/21 TD/INT ratio --
and no, those numbers are not transposed. After a possible 1-5
start, the fans and media might insist that HC Aaron Glenn and
new OC Frank Reich turn loose rookie QB Cade Klubnik on fellow-bottom
dwellers MIA (Week 7) and LV (Week 8). But neither QB offers much
fantasy support for Sadiq in his rookie year.
Last season, fantasy favorites RB Breece Hall (5 total TDs) and
WR Garrett Wilson (7 total games) struggled miserably. Second-round
rookie TE Mason Taylor did contribute 65/44/369/1 in 13 appearances.
Looking to 2026 and beyond, the Jets acquired speedy WR Adonai
Mitchell from the Colts last November. Those four players and
rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. will compete with Sadiq for the few
fantasy points the Jets can muster.
In general, will the team have more success than last season?
Almost certainly, since the NYJ defense allowed 29.6 points/game
(31st) while the offense managed an average of only 17.6 points/game
(29th). The Jets punted 71 times -- that represents a lot of 3-and-out
“drives,” in their own territory. The team attempted only 29 field
goals, scored 30 touchdowns and averaged 59.4 offensive plays.
I expect a handful of games along the lines of 5/3/38/0, capping
Sadiq's year-end numbers. Mason Taylor is expected to post slightly-higher
numbers in the first part of the season, then Sadiq's targets
should increase as he becomes accustomed to the pro game.
The injury occurred back on Christmas Eve 2023. Hockenson was
the 2nd-ranked TE with 95 receptions, 960 yards, 5 TDs and 221
fantasy points (14.7Fpts/G). Remarkably, following a knee reconstruction
(torn ACL and MCL), he was able to play 10 games in 2024 (8.7
FPts/G). Last season, his totals were 66/51/438/3 averaging 7.5
FPts/G on his way to a TE26 finish.
I am hoping T.J. can prove me wrong by having a solid season,
but the momentum is trending in the wrong direction. Suffering
through J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz at QB in 2025, Hockenson
struggled with a 5.2-yard aDOT, ranking 30th among tight ends
(per PFF). He was held to either 1 or 2 receptions six times over
15 games. Incoming QB Kyler Murray should at least give Hockenson
a fighting chance. Trey McBride had 29 receptions (1 TD) in Murray's
five starts with the Cardinals in 2025.
But there are harsh realities working against a Hockenson revival
heading into this season. Josh Oliver is a highly-paid TE2, who
scored 4 TDs for the Vikings last year. RB Aaron Jones has earned
an impressive 103 targets in just two seasons with Minnesota.
Kyler Murray will also have the three best WRs with whom he has
ever played -- Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and new acquisition,
"Third-and-Jauan" Jennings (6'3”). Add it all up and
it's difficult to find a ceiling with Hockenson even if you squint.
