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Since 2020 and beyond, there is one TE that sets himself apart from the rest, and then…there are the rest.
In 2023, there wasn’t even one TE who set himself apart from the pack. Rookie TE Sam La Porta finished the season 1st among TEs in total fantasy points. That ranked only #42 in total fantasy points among all offensive players that are non-quarterbacks.
I’m actually more concerned of where you are going to draft your 1st TE, over who are the top TEs. Of course if you had a crystal ball, you would know who was going to come out on top among TEs, and it might be worth drafting him in the 2nd round. But you don’t, so you need to withstand the temptation of drafting “your guy” in the first round. So, trusting that you will wait at least until the 3rd round to even consider drafting a TE, here is my list of the top 5 for 2024.
Mark Andrews
Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens
In 2021, Andrews led all tight ends in total fantasy points, with his 1,361 yards and 9 TDs for the season, slightly eclipsing Travis Kelce’s fantasy point total. In doing so, Andrews broke up Kelce’s 3 peat of leading TE’s in fantasy points, from 2020-2022.
In 2023, Andrews missed 7 games due to injury, and still landed himself in the #11 slot for TEs, in total fantasy points.
Andrews has the size, speed, athleticism and quarterback, (2023’s NFL MVP Lamar Jackson) to be back on top among TEs again in 2024.
Sam La Porta
I may be falling victim to the love affair of the 2023 NFL darlings, known as the Detroit Lions here, but I really like what they’ve got going on right now, especially when it comes to fantasy.
The Lion’s QB Jared Goff targeted their rookie TE 120 times in 2023. La Porta was able to haul in 86 of those targets for 889 yards and 10 TDs. He led all TEs in total fantasy points, and fantasy points per game. Like Andrews, La Porta has that crazy speed and athleticism for a guy of that size. I see the Lions continuing with that high octane, explosive offense in 2024, with La Porta being a big part of it and improving upon his fantasy numbers.
Travis Kelce
Travis Kelce topped the 1,000 yard mark for the season, 7 years in a row, from 2016 to 2022, and missed it by only 16 yards in 2023, having missed 2 games. Kelce was targeted 121 times, 1 more than La Porta, in 2 less games. Rookie WR Rashee Rice has emerged as a #1 receiver in KC, which will take some of the focus away from Kelce, in the opponent’s defensive strategy.
As long as Patrick Mahommes is his QB, and Kelce avoids serious injury, he will be a top TE in the league. Kelce will be entering his 12th season in the NFL, in 2024. Some may consider him to be getting a little long in the tooth, so to speak, but I refuse to count him out until he either retires, or shows for an entire season that he has declined. It will be interesting to see how explosive the Chiefs look in 2024, after 2 long seasons of going all the way through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl, being crowned back to back champions.
George Kittle
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle has been one of the top fantasy TEs for a number of years now. He finished 2nd in total fantasy points among TEs, in 2018, 2022 and 2023.
Kittle is a real boom or bust kind of player though, from week to week, surely due to the amount of play makers in the 49er’s offense. In 2023, Kittle scored 0.9 fantasy points in week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, rebounded in week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, scoring 24.7 fantasy points, then had another dud the following week, only scoring 0.1 fantasy points against the Cleveland Browns. He then followed that up with an 8.0, 14.9, 17.6, and 14.9 fantasy points, respectively, in those following 4 weeks.
Since that 49er offense is so robust, I believe Kittle will continue to put up big fantasy numbers, for a TE, but because he has to share the wealth with the likes of Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, he’ll also have some real stinkers in between.
T. J. Hockenson
In T.J. Hockenson‘s first full year as a Minnesota Viking, after having been traded from the Detroit Lions, he hauled in 95 receptions on 127 targets, for 960 yards and 5 TDs, ranking him 4th among TEs in total fantasy points. All of that even with missing his last 2 games due to tearing both his ACL and MCL in week 16.
There are some concerns regarding Hockenson in the fantasy world. First, he may not be fully recovered from the surgery he had to repair his injured knee, come fall of 2024. Also, he may be catching passes from someone other than QB Kirt Cousins, as there are talks of the Vikings looking to trade the veteran quarterback.
Regardless, Hockenson has been on the rise in his play and statistics, and has become one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL. Despite any concerns fantasy owners may have regarding Hockenson, I’ll still be expecting him to have another top 5 tight end fantasy year in 2024.
Just missed the cut:
David Njoku-Cleveland Browns
Evan Engram-Jacksonville Jaguars
Jake Ferguson-Dallas Cowboys
Dalton Kincaid-Buffalo Bills
Trey McBride-Arizona Cardinals
As far as fantasy goes, it’s just too hard to determine who is absolutely going to be on top of the TE position, but any of these top 5 will do well for your fantasy team. More than likely, at least one of them will be available in the 4th, 5th and maybe even the 6th round, so don’t overreach to draft one before that. Use those first rounds to get those high fantasy point scoring running backs, wide receivers, and a quarterback.
I hope you found this article helpful. As always, I’d love to hear your opinion as to why you agree or disagree with my list, so please feel free to leave any comments below. Thanks!