Outlook: If anyone thought the loss of Hill would allow defenses to key on Kelce and slow him down, they were grievously mistaken. Kelce set career highs in receptions (110), targets (152), and touchdowns (12) while extending his streak of 1,000-plus-yard seasons to seven with a 1,338-yard effort. It was elite stuff from the NFL's preeminent tight end, though incredibly it's what we've come to expect even as the veteran enters his age-34 season.

A year ago, it felt like Mark Andrews and maybe even Kyle Pitts was poised to challenge Kelce for TE1 honors. Now, it's hard to make a compelling case for another tight end to be drafted within a round or two of Kelce, who is the gold standard until proven otherwise.

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Outlook: Quarterback injuries and his own painful shoulder injury contributed to a "down" season for Andrews last year. Despite the struggles, his 73 receptions easily led the team, and were the 2nd most of his career. He was one of only four tight ends in the NFL to see over 100 targets and despite the addition of OBJ, and the change in offensive scheme, Andrews remains in the top-3 conversation at tight end. While his epic 2021 season will be an aberration in his career, he's still the most talented and refined pass catcher on this offense, and has the most rapport with Jackson. He's a good bet to once again lead the team in receptions, and offers the highest positional floor of all the Ravens skill position players.

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Outlook: A surprise inter-division trade after Week 8, made Hockenson a Viking and he casually caught all nine of his targets for 70 yards in his Minnesota debut. More impressive than the targets and receptions, Hock produced those numbers with less than a week of practice. There was plenty more volume where that came from, as the former Lion saw no fewer than six looks in the remaining meaningful games. At the end of the season Hockenson ended up setting career highs in targets (129), receptions (86) and yards (877). He enters 2023 as the clear No.2 option in the passing offense, as the Sean McVay based scheme that Kevin O'Connel runs, demands a dominant route running tight end to function at an elite level. Hockenson is up there with Andrews and Kittle as the tight ends to own after his majesty Travis Kelce goes off the board.

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Outlook: After posting back-to-back 1,000-plus-yard campaigns in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Kittle had seen his production (and durability) regress, averaging 772 yards in two subsequent seasons. So, when he missed the first two games of 2022 with a groin injury, fantasy owners were understandably nervous. A slow start that saw him top 50 yards in a game just twice in his first seven while scoring only two TDs didn't help matters, either. The insertion of Purdy was a boon for Kittle, however, as the veteran scored a whopping seven touchdowns over the final four games of last season.

Despite the strong finish, Kittle still finished with modest numbers in receptions (60) and yards (765), giving him three consecutive seasons of less than 1,000 yards. The TDs (11) were almost double his previous career high, so it's certainly debatable whether he can match that number in 2023. Tight end is a weak fantasy position, though, and once you get past Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, the next batch that includes names like TJ Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert, and Kittle pretty much comes down to personal preference as to how you rank that grouping of TE1s.

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Outlook: The Raiders have finally seemed to embrace their rebuild and part of that meant moving on from tight end Darren Waller this offseason. He joins the Giants, who traded the 100th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire his services.

Difference-making tight ends are extraordinarily difficult to come by and Waller has a history of being one of those players. He put up back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020 before struggling to stay on the field due to injuries in 2021 and 2022, which also hampered his per-game numbers when he was on the field.

Waller missed half of the 2022 season with an injury, but still managed to finish as the TE7 in fantasy points per game among tight ends who played in eight or more games. He's a size/speed specimen who has proven himself to be an elite fantasy option and now joins a team where he again projects to compete for the team lead in targets. Fellow tight end Daniel Bellinger is not a complete throwaway player, so Waller will indeed have some competition at the position, but there's no question that the Giants expect the 6'6", 255-pound former Raider to be a focal point in their offense.

While Travis Kelce is the gold standard at the position, there are a handful of tight ends being selected after him who all have the potential to finish as the No. 2 tight end in fantasy this season. He's had a few down years in a row now, but Waller is in that conversation. He's being selected as the sixth or seventh tight end off the board in most drafts, so his cost isn't too bad and it'd be surprising if he doesn't return at least that level of production as long as he's able to stay healthy.

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Outlook: Where to begin? Kyle Pitts was one of the few college tight ends this decade that performed better than most receivers. He was a top-10 Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and the Falcons selected him fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, yet no one batted an eye at the jaw-dropping pick given his immense talent.

He did exactly what was expected of him during his rookie season, finishing with the sixth-most fantasy points among all tight ends despite scoring only 1 TD. It was presumed that Pitts would only continue to thrive in 2022, but that wasn't the case.

In 10 games, Pitts hauled in just 28 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns. His 75.6 fantasy points last season were the 33rd-most at his position. Pitts would continue to be ranked high among his peers as analysts expected him to break out. However, that day never came.

Now entering Year 3, Pitts hopes to return to his rookie form and it's likely that he plays significantly better than last season. Perhaps the addition of Robinson and Hollins will encourage the coaching staff to get a more even balance between the run and pass? The addition of Bijan should also shift the defensive focus away from Pitts, easing the pressure off of him.

Pitts is now going at a reasonable price in fantasy drafts, somewhere in rounds 7-10 range which is a nice discount from his 2022 ADP of 65 overall in PPR leagues. Time to hop on board.

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Outlook: Even though he doesn't get as many targets as some other tight ends, Dallas Goedert's efficiency and red-zone usage give him a high fantasy ceiling. He's also a safer option, since he's involved in the offense in multiple ways - not just at the goal line. But since the Eagles' offense is so prolific, he has plenty of opportunities for touchdowns.

Goedert finished 2022 among the top tier of tight ends in average yards per route run, finishing third at the position in that category. Perhaps more impressive is that he finished as the No. 1 TE in the league in yards per target. He lines up more often as a traditional receiver than in the slot, and he's often targeted on intermediate routes in the Philadelphia offense.

The main issue that prevented Goedert from truly breaking out into the top tier of fantasy tight ends this past season was his total targets. He was fine for fantasy purposes, but he finished outside the top 10 at the position in targets, in large part because the Eagles prioritized getting the ball to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

He's being drafted as a low-end TE1 in most fantasy leagues, but he has the potential to be a top-five tight end in terms of production. An injury to either Brown or Smith could mean a significant boost in target share for Goedert, so there's some strong asymmetrical upside in drafting him as late as he's going. If you're looking for a reliable, consistent option at tight end without breaking the bank, Goedert is a great option.

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Outlook: Despite a big uptick in receptions, Freiermuth took a hit in the touchdown department last season, regressing to just two, after scoring seven his rookie season. Plagued by an offense that couldn't get much done in the red zone (their 51.92 touchdown % was 22nd in the NFL), Freiermuth couldn't butter his bread with enough touchdowns. With the talent out wide, and Harris gobbling up catches at or near the line, Freiermuth's value is going to come from the number of times he gets into the endzone. In a fantasy position that's in a near constant state of flux, Freiermuth offers some solid, if unexciting late round value

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Outlook: For his first five seasons in the NFL (all with the Giants), Evan Engram was known as an inconsistent tight end who had dropped the ball far too often. In fact, he led all tight ends in drops with 13 during his rookie season and finished second in 2020 with 10 - not the category you want to be leading in. His rookie year would be a high-water mark in New York, finishing 5th among all tight ends in PPR fantasy points, but the Giants chose to let him walk prior to 2022 after many ups and downs the following four seasons.

In 2022, his first season in Jacksonville, Engram corrected his shortcomings. Thanks to a strong final six weeks that included two 100-yard receiving games, he became one of the better tight ends in the league, posting career highs in receptions (73) and yards (766) and once again finished 5th in total fantasy points among tight ends.

There's a very thin line between great and average tight ends in the NFL, and Engram is that thin line. The Jaguars have plenty of pass-catching weapons, especially with the addition of Calvin Ridley this season, so target share could be a concern as we head into 2023. While he's unlikely to see enough volume to crack the Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews tier, he definitely has the ability to be in the mid-range TE1 tier on a weekly basis due to his explosive playmaking ability and should be among the top 12 taken at the position in most redraft leagues.

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Outlook: Despite missing three games with a serious ankle injury, Njoku had one of the best statistical seasons of his career in 2022, and uses his athletic 6'4", 240-pound frame like a receiver. Given a mysteriously monstrous contract after producing little early in his career, Njoku gets a full season of Watson in 2023, but I'm not sure that is enough to offset the addition of Moore at receiver, and former Texan Jordan Akins as a back-up tight end. Njoku doesn't have a clear path to more than the 80 targets he saw last season, so he once again should slot into a low end TE1 slot in all leagues.

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Outlook: Seven touchdowns, and a smooth connection with his quarterback made Kmet a surprise top-10 fantasy option at tight end for the 2022 season. His seven scores were a big correction after he failed to find the endzone in 2021 despite hauling in 60 passes. The addition of Moore, and the presence of Money and Claypool are sure to eat into his looks, but he has the frame to be a force in the red zone, and if he can again fall into the 5-7 touchdown range, could find himself in the conversation as a low-end TE1.

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Outlook: In a year when seemingly everyone got injured for the Rams, Higbee appeared in all 17 games. It was par for the course as the veteran has missed just four games in seven seasons. While not among the NFL's most explosive tight ends, Higbee is steady, averaging 62 receptions, 609 yards, and 4 TDs over the past four years. While the Rams did trade for Hunter Long in the Jalen Ramsey deal and spent a fifth-round pick on Davis Allen, there's no one to challenge Higbee for the pass-catching role.

Although there isn't a lot to get excited about with Higbee, there aren't many other options at the position that'll deliver a more reliable, high-floor play than the durable veteran. He'd be a nice late-round grab for risk-averse owners as a low-end TE1.

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