Tight end might be the most important position for fantasy football. Having one of the top guys can be such a separator compared to trying to stream the right matchups. It may be a position that you usually only need one of, but that one can be the difference between winning and losing a matchup. The NFL draft had some shifts in the fantasy landscape. Some teams spent considerable draft capital on tight ends. Some decided to stay put with who they had. So whose value went up and whose crashed following the NFL draft? Let’s dig in.
Tight End Risers
Dallas Goedert- Philadelphia Eagles
Trade rumors swirled for months that the defending Super Bowl champs were going to trade tight end Dallas Goedert. The 30-year-old veteran is in the last year of his contract and heading into the NFL draft, his spot on the roster looked tenuous. The Philadelphia Eagles ended up not trading Goedert and decided instead to load up on defense and make another run at the title. All good signs for Goedert.
Dallas Goedert has dealt with injuries over his career. He has never played a full season outside of his rookie season. He remains on the Eagles as their third passing option. The Eagles still have A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, but outside of that, they are lacking. It’s a great sign for Goedert, who is always underrated as a fantasy asset. He has averaged five or more targets per game every season of his career and should continue that. The Eagles were the seventh-highest scoring offense last year, and that should continue. Goedert finished as TE28 mainly because he only played 10 games. His touchdown upside is capped with how the Eagles run their redzone offense, but He should be able to repeat his previous years’ finishes around the TE10 on the year.
Will Dissly & Tyler Conklin- Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers were in a prime position in the NFL draft to take a tight end. They ended up being too far back and unable to make a move to get one of the top two guys. They decided to take running back Omarion Hampton instead. This is a great sign for both Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin. Now there is no way that both can be fantasy relevant, so the hope is that one separates from the other, but the lack of an additional person in the passing offense is the first hurdle they have over.
The Chargers under Jim Harbaugh want to be a running team. Hampton and signing Najee Harris show that. But they still have Justin Herbert as one of the best passers in the NFL. They did bring back Mike Williams in free agency, but he is a primary outside receiver and doesn’t impact the potential slot snaps. If I had to pick which one would be the more fantasy-relevant relevant I would pick Conklin. The Chargers brought him this year. He ran 57% of his routes last season on the New York Jets from either the slot or out wide, compared to Dissly, who ran 48% of the time for Dissly on the Chargers. Had the Chargers gone out and drafted a tight end early, it would have been a death nail in their values. Now one of them has a chance to shine. Dissly had 64 targets last season, so the volume is there to be a streaming tight end for the top guy.
Dalton Kincaid- Buffalo Bills
If you know me and follow anything, you probably know that I am not a fan of Dalton Kincaid. I just don’t see it in game film or the metrics. That being said, the Bills are giving the former first-round pick his shot. Hopefully, his final shot. The Bills didn’t draft a pass catcher until the fifth round. They selected a tight end in Jackson Hawes, who played three years at Yale before transferring to Georgia Tech. He only had six touchdowns in his four-year college career. Hardly a contender to push Kincaid or even Dawson Knox for targets. The Bills drafted a wide receiver, Kaden Prather, in the seventh round. Dalton Kincaid has every chance to step into the hype that some have for him.
The news is that Kincaid was dealing with a knee injury last season that slowed him down despite not missing any games. The Bills have an everyone eats mentality in the passing game, where no one dominates the targets. That means that anyone can be the number one guy, even if not by a huge margin. With no new pass-catching options, Kincaid’s managers are hoping he gets back to the 91 targets he had in his rookie season. While he finished as TE11 that year, he was being drafted slightly before that. Kincaid is giving fantasy managers Kyle Pitt-like vibes, but this year offers up the best opportunity to get back to that.
Tight End Fallers
Cole Kmet- Chicago Bears
Cole Kmet has been a fixture in the Chicago Bears’ offense since he was drafted in 2020. Fantasy Managers have been able to get a top ten performer for two years before this past season. That is really where the downward value trend started for Kmet. After posting solid touchdown numbers, Kmet failed to get there in 2024. His targets dropped to only 55, and despite a higher yards per reception average, he finished the season as TE19. A big part of that was the Bears overhauling the offense. They drafted Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze and then signed Keenan Allen. It was a true case of too many mouths to feed, and Kmet and his fantasy managers were left hungry.
Then we come to the 2025 NFL draft. The Bears spent their first two picks on pass catchers, including taking the first tight end off the board in Colston Loveland from Michigan. Loveland moves right in and will compete with Kmet for snaps and targets. With new head coach Ben Johnson now calling the shots, many people are looking for the Sam LaPorta of this Bears offense. To add more the second round the Bears drafted Luther Burden, who some had slotted as a first-round talent. Burden looks to slide into the role that Allen held last year. Another sign Kmet won’t see targets. I’m completely out on Kmet this year and probably forever unless something changes.
Dalton Schultz- Houston Texans
Dalton Schultz has been a fantasy sleeper at the tight end position the past few years. 2024 was the first time he wasn’t a top 12 at the position since 2019. Many expected Schultz to be a larger part of the Houston Texans’ offense in 2025, but the NFL draft changed all of that. With Stefon Diggs gone and Tank Dell still dealing with a knee injury, Schultz looked like the second option behind Nico Collins for targets.
The Texans spent the draft weekend not one but two wide receivers in the first three rounds. They brought in two Iowa state guys in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Schultz will remain a part of the passing offense, but how much will be the question that fantasy managers will have to ask themselves. Last season, Schultz still saw 85 targets, which is a great number for a tight end. Unfortunately, he only had two touchdowns. If the rookies take time to develop at the next level, then Schultz could be an early-season star. Long term, I’ll be looking to move off Schultz. He is 29 years old. He has one more year after this on his contract, but his dead cap drops significantly. The Texans could continue to get younger and move on from Schultz after this season, especially if he has a down year production-wise.
David Njoku- Cleveland Browns
Is there anyone out there who doesn’t love David Njoku? He came onto the NFL scene and had two solid years. They struggled with injuries for a few years and then bounced back to have now three straight years of being a top twelve tight end for fantasy managers. The question will be, does that continue for year four? The NFL draft was not kind to Njoku. First, the Browns made an already messy quarterback even messier. There has been endless discourse about who will be the Week 1 starter, and all four quarterbacks on the roster have about the same likelihood of starting and not even making the team. That’s never good for any pass catcher. Reps in practice will be divided, allowing for less chemistry building.
While the Browns needed a pass catcher, they traded away the right to draft Travis Hunter to be their top dog, which would have been a hit to Njoku’s value. The Browns did spend an early third-round pick on tight end Harold Fannin Jr., A tight end who impressed evaluators at the Senior Bowl. Fannin led college football in receptions and yards last season and had 10 touchdowns. He will be a factor in the passing offense. Outside of Jerry Jeudy, they are looking for someone to step up. Njoku has the role for now, but it’s a shaky situation for fantasy managers.
Let us know who YOU think is the biggest riser and faller over at The Fantasy Advice Network.
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