There’s value in securing an elite tight end early in fantasy football drafts. However, not everyone can do it. If you wind up waiting until the later rounds to draft one, here are two TE sleepers to target.
Tight End Fantasy Football Sleepers
The term “sleeper” stems from a time when there were actually players drafted that many fantasy managers hadn’t heard of. In the information era (now), every manager in your league knows who every player is.
Every player listed below is someone you’ve heard of. So, if your first thought is, “he’s not a sleeper,” that may technically be true. Think of these sleepers more as players going lower than I think they should.
With that in mind, let’s get to the TE sleepers.
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins (ADP: TE24)
Although I am way ahead of ADP on Jonnu Smith, ranking him as my TE17, this is a great example of why being ahead of ADP at different parts of the draft is not the same.
Even at TE17, Smith is still only a TE2. He’s not a player that fantasy managers should go into their draft trying to land. Rather, view Smith as a fallback option with plausible upside that you know will be there if you miss out on your primary tight end targets.
What makes Smith more appealing than the other dart throws? It’s a combination of what we’ve seen from him before, his athleticism, and his new offensive situation.
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Smith has been in the NFL for seven years, and his best season was 9.4 fantasy points per game in 2020. He’s never finished as a top-12 tight end, and he probably isn’t going to buck that trend this year.
With that said, Smith is still only 29 years old. He’s one of the best athletes at the position in the NFL. His 1.58 yards per route run was 12th in the NFL last season. He was seventh in yards per target last season at 8.4.
Now, Smith finds himself in Miami. He goes from one of the most bland and uncreative offenses the NFL has ever seen to one of the most modern, creative, and explosive ones. I’m not sure what is a bigger upgrade: Going from Arthur Smith to Mike McDaniel, or from Desmond Ridder to Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins may have signed receiver Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, but they lack a clear third option in the passing game behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
What if Smith ends up third on this team in targets? It’s at least a chance worth taking if you completely punt the tight end position.
Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams (ADP: TE29)
Is it likely that Colby Parkinson, a man who has caught all of 57 passes across his first four NFL seasons, is going to suddenly be fantasy relevant? No. Of course not. That’s why Parkinson’s ADP is outside the top 24 of tight ends.
But once we get outside the top 15 or so, they’re all just dart throws. Parkinson has more appeal than his extremely low cost suggests.
The Rams have always been a consolidated offense. Their top two receivers see the bulk of the targets. Then, typically, it’s been a combination of a journeyman WR3 or the tight end.
Historically, that’s been Tyler Higbee. With Higbee out due to a torn ACL, Parkinson is in the role he’s traditionally played.
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We’ve seen Higbee have big games before. His closing stretch to the 2019 season is the stuff legends are made of. More recently, Higbee hasn’t been as impactful, but he was a top-15 tight end in both 2021 and 2022.
We’re not asking for Parkinson to be some sort of league-winner. But if you can literally spend your last-round pick on a player who has the potential to be third on the Rams in targets, that dart might be more worth throwing compared to several of the guys going above him.