As one of the thinnest positions in fantasy football, drafting a good tight end is a challenge. Often players reach on tight ends, grabbing the wrong players too early. Outside of Rob Gronkowski and maybe Travis Kelce, there is no need to draft a tight end early. And the problem with drafting those two is that Gronk has played eight games or less in a season twice in the last four years and Kelce just doesn’t get touchdowns (four last season).
It may be better to wait until closer to the end of the draft and get a late-round sleeper pick. Here are the five best sleeper tight ends for the 2017 NFL season.
Benjamin Watson
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens let their long time tight end, Dennis Pitta, leave in free agency this offseason, opening the door for Watson this year. Last year, Pitta led all tight ends with 86 receptions and finished the regular season with 125.9 fantasy points in half-point PPR leagues. Watson did not play in 2016 due to a torn Achilles tendon, but the year before as a member of the New Orleans Saints, set career highs in receptions with 74, receiving yards with 825 and tied his career high in touchdowns with six. If he can come close to either his 2015 numbers or Dennis Pitta’s 2016 numbers, Watson is a smart late-round pick.
O.J Howard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
All the signs are pointing towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having one of the top offenses in the NFL this season. With the growth of Jameis Winston, the addition of DeSean Jackson and drafting O.J. Howard, the Bucs have a lot going for them. This brings us to Howard. Howard is a rookie, which does make it hard to project just how high his ceiling will be this year. Considering how well Cameron Brate did last year, it makes Howard an interesting sleeper candidate. Howard is bigger and better than Brate, making his 57 receptions, 660 yards and eight touchdowns he recorded in 2016 a strong possibility for Howard.
Vernon Davis
Washington Redskins
Davis’ value as a tight end is contingent on both his health and the health of Jordan Reed. If both are healthy, Davis likely will not be a great fantasy option. If Reed does miss time, which has been the case every year of his four-year NFL career, Davis will have the opportunity to be a starting tight end in fantasy.
Washington’s passing attack ranks among the best in the NFL and with some shake-ups in the receiving core, Kirk Cousins may opt to target the tight end more in 2017, which makes Davis an intriguing late-round sleeper.
Austin Hooper
Atlanta Falcons
As the number one tight end for the Atlanta Falcons this season, Austin Hooper has the chance to breakout and well exceed his preseason rankings. In the recent years, the Falcons have lacked a real number one tight end, but in the past, Matt Ryan and the Falcons have shown a willingness to feed the ball to the position. While comparing Austin Hooper to Tony Gonzalez is a bit foolish, you can make the case that Hooper could come close to matching the fantasy productivity of the future Hall-of-Fame tight end. If he does come close, Hooper would have around 75 catches, 760 yards and seven touchdowns, which would likely put him as a top-12 tight end this year.
C.J. Fiedorowicz
Houston Texans
In 2016, C.J Fiedorowicz had a surprisingly productive season for the Houston Texans, catching 54 passes for 559 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers do not scream fantasy player of the year, considering how bad the quarterback situation was in Houston they are relatively impressive. Fiedorowicz should see the quarterback play improve this season, opening the door for career highs. At the same time, he has two quarterbacks that will likely be looking for a safety quite often. On one hand, Tom Savage likes the dump off. On the other hand, rookie Deshaun Watson will be getting his feet wet, so he might frequently look for his big target.
If he does not manage to breakout in 2017, he is still a worthy fantasy option. He is a consistent player, and will likely perform similarly to Jason Witten, whose ADP is well ahead of Fiedorowicz.
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