Best Ball, Best Strategy (TE)

Volume 3 

Tight Ends

A comprehensive guide to picking one of the toughest positions in best ball. Tight end. Rankings Via DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports

This just may be the most difficult position to pick. A platoon approach is vital.

In an age where the tight end position has seen a decline in target share it’s key to extract the most you can out of the position. You need to look at teams with weak wide receiver rooms, booming offenses that put up top end numbers, and players at the position who are valued as if they’ll continue to be at rock bottom. For your tight end position to be secure you’ll need to invest three plus selections (if you don’t get two studs) into the position. Even Brock Bowers has games where he puts up meh numbers. In a historic season at tight end he put up five fantasy performances of less than 8.5 points. First you need a true one who doesn’t have much injury risk. Then you look towards the rookies. After that you pick up several key pieces of various offenses. I’ll explain that later on. So you’ll want one locked and loaded guy, one or two rookies, and then about three key pieces to have a fortified tight end room.

The tiers are: Locked and Loaded League Winners, Intriguing rookies, and Key Pieces

Locked and Loaded league Winners: These are players who are an absolute lock to be top five tight ends in fantasy.

Brock Bowers at pick 17:

The generational season Bowers just put up is something that he’ll continually replicate. All the cards are in place for Bowers to exceed what he did last season to be the best tight end in all of fantasy football. If you are lucky enough to fall in the mid teen range of drafts with your picks then Bowers is a no brainer. Everyone knows that. He just did the unthinkable with a platoon of career backups at best throwing him the football last season. It also helps that the Raiders have no established presence at the receiver position aside from Jakobi Meyers who’s a high end WR2 on a good football team. Geno’s volume throwing the football will still be high with Pete Caroll as his coach and it’s hard to envision Jeanty’s hype materializing into an elite season. Bowers’ usage rate is going to be astronomical and personal thoughts on Ashton Jeanty will be that he succeeds, but may have an issue with ball security. In no world do I think Jeanty will justify being the 12th pick in fantasy football, which elevates Bowers’ value beyond what it’s currently at. The drop off after Bowers is just so significant at the position. 

Sam Laporta at pick 62:

Laporta was drafted so high last year and disappointed those who drafted him finishing as the TE8 overall. That’s his floor. Laporta is one of the best redzone targets in the league and no longer has to deal with the carousel of trick plays Ben Johnson drew up that, at points, went away from him. He started off last year incredibly poorly and dealt with injuries that hijacked his fantasy finish. To end 2024 Laporta regained his spark and solidified himself as a top end tight end heading into 2024. This year his floor is TE4. That’s where he’s being drafted as well at TE4. Little risk without sacrificing positional value in the mid twenty or thirty pick range that is required to select Kittle and McBride.

McBride doesn’t make this list simply because he’d have to replicate his 2024 season that resulted in the Cardinals having minimal team success against a weak schedule. They have to get MHJ going and it’s hard to believe the team will run through McBride as much as they did last season. If they do, injuries could be a concern.

Kittle doesn’t make this list because the 49ers may have the worst offensive season they’ve had in a long while in 2025. The receiving talent the organization once had has vanished and CMC is essentially the team’s only hope next to Kittle. Teams will likely key in on Kittle considering there’s no guarantee an agreement on an extension is reached with Jauan Jennings after the Aiyuk debacle. Aiyuk himself is set to miss some time. The 49ers have a high likelihood of taking another step back and missing the playoffs once again. Kittle is a beacon of consistency, but he’s not worth giving up pick 36 for. 

Intriguing Rookies: Lately rookie tight ends have seen a huge statistical boom in contrast to how tight ends performed in the past. They come at such a low cost that can be incredibly rewarding. You MUST select them.

Tyler Warren at pick 100:

Tyler Warren is easily the best option here even though Colston Loveland might be the more complete receiver. When you factor in situations Warren seems like such a safe bet to exceed his ADP. His receiving room has no solidified star and both the QB’s competing for the Colts starting job have struggled at the NFL level. That means they easily could lean on Warren to find a groove. The Colts haven’t had a tight end since Eric Ebron randomly went off with Andrew Luck and there’s a reason they invested such a pivotal pick into Warren. He’s consistent, makes ridiculous grabs, and is as complete as a tight end can be. The organization is definitely hoping that having a big athletic target at the position can get Anthony Richardson going. It can’t get any worse than it was last year and with this team’s defense it isn’t outlandish to say every game they play will be a high scoring affair. Warren in the red zone specifically will be so important to the Colts offense if Richardson is playing QB.

Colston Loveland at pick 115:

The talent is immaculate with Loveland, but the situation he is in is far from that. The Bears offense is going to struggle mightily and there’s so many mouths to feed, but his draft position reflects that. His talent alone could give you five fantasy starts in best ball which is crucial. It’s not great when you step back and look at what he’s faced with though. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Olamide Zaccheus, and Cole Kmet could all vulture targets from him. It also doesn’t help that Caleb is not going to take the next step needed for Chicago to succeed. The whole team is on the DO NOT DRAFT list aside from Loveland. That being said though, Loveland plays like a big wide receiver at the position. He’s in a league of his own when it comes to separation from his route running. He was the top tight end in this year’s draft for a very good reason. On legitimately any other team he’d be the best pick in fantasy football at the tight end position. Don’t let the Bears organization scare you from taking him at pick 119.

Key Pieces: Tight ends with ADP’s that are far too low to not take considering the role they’ll have in their offenses. (Ideally you’re aiming to have two of these key pieces)

Jake Ferguson at pick 138:

The biggest head scratcher of any ADP in best ball honestly might be Jake Ferguson. Dak Prescott loves him as a target and in games where Dak has started Ferguson has been a reliable option for normal fantasy football. You’d think Pickens coming to town would only help his case. His value plummeted after injury and Cooper Rush leading the Cowboys offense led to a 494 yard season from Ferguson. There’s a fairly solid chance last year will be the worst fantasy season Jake Ferguson will ever produce. The Cowboys were incredibly wise to extend him four years this offseason, which is something rarely ever said about Jerry Jones. The Cowboys are a lock to have the highest passing volume in the league considering how awful their running back room has gotten. It’s hard to believe at this point. When Javonte Williams is your guy heading into the season it’s in the team’s best interest to stray as far away from the run game as possible. Not taking Ferguson is dumb in best ball drafts if he’s there.

Dallas Goedert at pick 135:

There’s no safer bet as a rotational tight end than Dallas Goedert. He’s just the quintessential depth tight end piece each and every year for best ball. He’ll have many weeks of a safe floor and is always a candidate to save the Eagles in any close contest they’re in. He has a knack for huge catches in crunch time and last year he didn’t even get a full season with his broken forearm taking him out for multiple weeks. Goedert is such a nice pick because he fills in the gap when your star tight end doesn’t produce. Goedert has just been consistently good for too long at the tight end position to fall so deep in drafts. No one can seriously tell you Mark Andrews or Evan Engram deserves to be picked 40 picks ahead of Goedert. Engram is allergic to the endzone and Mark Andrews is just so washed at this point it’s not even funny. Goedert’s floor is the highest of the Key Pieces group barely edging out Ferguson. 

Kyle Pitts at pick 136:

At this point Kyle Pitts has become football folklore for the young generation of football fans up and coming. He’s inspired a wave of memes each year about the Kyle Pitts’ believers. “This is his breakout season.” “He’s so young and athletic.” I’ve fallen victim to the trap myself. He finally has a quarterback with Captain Kirk going to Atlanta! Oh wait. Yeah I get it if you quit on him, but he’s at the absolute bottom of the barrel where he sits now. There’s no more hope for upside anymore as he has free fallen back to pick 136. Now that’s a price a sucker can pay. Penix looked real good last season in his limited opportunity and he did look Pitts’ way in the redzone. Penix has the kind of accuracy that makes your jaw drop. He seems so criminally underrated in last year’s quarterback class and I don’t get it. This is the first shot Atlanta has had in a long while to be a top 10 offense and their front office just shoved all in by selecting two edge rushers to address the Falcons’ most glaring weakness. Pitts can’t possibly have a worse season than 2024. Right?

Hunter Henry at pick 172:

This guy is by far my most selected safety blanket option for the tight end position. He produced seven games of 12.5+ fantasy points on one of the worst offenses ever assembled in 2024. Drake Maye is looking to make a huge leap and Hunter Henry could be a huge piece. Maye truly had a connection with Henry as he put up a career high in receptions and receiving yards for his career. This solid fantasy production wasn’t a fluke and he did it without finding the endzone having only two receiving touchdowns. Henry has put up 4+ touchdowns in six of his eight seasons in the league. In two of those seasons he put up eight and nine touchdowns. Honestly speaking Henry could be THE GUY that helps you narrowly sneak by an opponent in a key week of best ball. He’s in the throwaway range of picks too back in the 170 range. It’s bewildering in all honesty. 

There’s a serious case to be made that you simply pass on the tight end position all together and select all of these guys to try and hold for the season at your tight end position. I’ve had a few drafts that went that way and I don’t hate the prospect. Especially if you pair all of these guys with Warren or even Loveland. That allows your team to load up at wideout and running back, which are huge necessities considering the higher risk of injury at both positions.