Outlook: The Cowboys let veteran tight end Dalton Schultz walk this offseason which has led to some real debate about the depth chart at the position. Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot were on the team in 2022 and while both players had their moments, neither one really separated himself into being an obvious starting-caliber player going forward. This became particularly true once the Cowboys drafted a tight end - Michigan's Luke Schoonmaker - with a second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

This type of draft capital at a position like tight end typically means that a team intends for that player to be a contributor early in his career and that is likely to be the case for Schoonmaker. However, those contributions might end up being more important for the Cowboys offense as a whole than they are for Schoonmaker as an individual contributor. Schoonmaker was highly regarded for his blocking skills during the scouting process and his 6'5", 250-lb frame should allow him to continue to do that in the NFL. Schoonmaker is an athletic player who would seemingly have upside as a pass-catcher, but we just haven't seen that much as of yet. He caught just 52 total passes over his final two seasons at Michigan.

It's easy to look at Schoonmaker's profile and be enamored by the potential, but the reality is that rookie tight ends rarely produce for fantasy and oftentimes they end up not even securing a regular role in their offense until late in the season.

As of right now, it appears most likely that Ferguson will begin the season as the Cowboys' starter, with Schoonmaker and Hendershot battling for the TE2 spot on the depth chart. Schoonmaker is the player you'll want to draft if you're drafting purely for upside late, but if you're looking for day-one production and the player who will likely lead this group in overall numbers for the season, Ferguson is probably the best bet.

Player Page | Track this player

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

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: Mike Gesicki is a player who's stayed in the good graces of fantasy managers for far too long. Following back-to-back 700-yard seasons with the Dolphins in 2020 and 2021, Gesicki slid back to fantasy irrelevancy this past season when he was a complete afterthought in the much-improved Mike McDaniel-coached Miami offense. McDaniel recognized that Gesicki is little more than a glorified big slot receiver who offers practically nothing as a blocker and that meant that he didn't even finish the season as the team's snap leader at tight end despite playing in every game.

He now has a new opportunity for life in New England on a team that is historically effective at getting production out of their tight ends. However, he's also in a situation where the team has a more established traditional tight end in Hunter Henry, along with a more productive slot receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster. Unless the Patriots completely stray away from their historical offenses and start going toward a much more spread-style offense, it's just tough to imagine a world where Gesicki gets enough opportunities to be fantasy-relevant unless there's an injury to Henry and/or Smith-Schuster.

Even if he does end up playing way more snaps than can reasonably be projected, Gesicki has never truly been a difference-making fantasy tight end anyway. His best single season came back in 2020 when he caught 53 passes for 703 yards and six touchdowns. That's probably the absolute best-case scenario that can be hoped for out of a player like him and his floor is close to what he did with the Dolphins this past season where he was completely worthless other than the one game where he caught two touchdowns.

Player Page | Track this player

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.

Player Page | Track this player

Outlook: A gigantic nine-touchdown season in 2021 had many fantasy managers hoping that we were seeing the beginnings of another trustworthy top-level fantasy TE1. That certainly didn't happen in 2022, though, as the Patriots' tight end caught just 41 passes for 509 yards and two scores. Part of the reason for his drop-off in production can be attributed to the unfortunate situation he was in with the Patriots needing help protecting their quarterbacks, which led to Henry being asked to block significantly more in 2022 than he did in previous seasons.

Things didn't really get much better throughout this offseason and with Jonnu Smith gone, it's reasonable to think that Henry may be asked to block even more now that their TE2 is notoriously terrible blocker Mike Gesicki.

It's hard to really be excited about anyone in this Patriots passing game, but the tight end position as a whole is ugly throughout the league. There's always a chance that Henry sneaks back into the low-end TE1 conversation due to a high touchdown efficiency, but that really shouldn't be relied upon and there are plenty of other tight ends who offer similar touchdown upside in much higher-powered offenses.

Player Page | Track this player

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.

Player Page | Track this player

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.

Player Page | Track this player