As we get closer to the start of training camps, NFL teams will continue their ongoing voluntary OTA sessions, capping their offseason programs with mandatory minicamps. While we watch for developments from the ongoing work, I've been revisiting and resetting some important positional issues heading into the summer. First, it was Quarterback Battles, Real and Imagined; two weeks ago, it was Know Your Frienemy; Ambiguous Backfields; and last week, it was All the WR1s and Then Some.
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This week, it's the tight ends. We started on Monday with The Gold Tier. Tuesday it was The Catch-A-Rising-Star Tier.
Today, we'll be rolling through . . .
The Solid-But-Slightly-Uninspiring Tier
I know. Uninspiring seems like a pejorative. Given some of the names on this list, it might be downright insulting. Still, as Footballguy Jason Wood points out, "As multi-faceted, game-breaking talents have flooded the league, the positional floor has risen."
And that's where we're at with this group -- even given some of the superior fantasy production we've gotten from them in past seasons.
- TE7 Kyle Pitts Sr. (pick 7.05)
- TE8 Sam LaPorta (pick 7.06)
- TE9 George Kittle (pick 8.11)
- TE10 Travis Kelce (pick 8.12)
- TE11 Jake Ferguson (pick 9.05)
- TE12 Dalton Kincaid (pick 10.01)
Don't get it twisted.
There's upside here -- much of it demonstrated in the recent past -- and the prices are appealing. But I have questions.
Quarterback a Limiting Factor?
The 2025 campaign was set up as a make-or-break season for Kyle Pitts Sr.
Turns out, his fifth season was his best as a pro, with 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns. That last number is notable. According to Footballguy Dave Kluge, Pitts has increased his touchdown total by exactly one score every season he's been in the league.
Pitts' target share of 22.7 percent was fourth-most among all tight ends last year. He was also second among tight ends in air yards, displaying an ability to draw high-value targets downfield.
His TE2 finish overall was the kind of outcome fantasy investors have been hoping for since his 1,000-yard rookie season.
While the team's QB situation is still to be determined, new head coach Kevin Stefanski leans heavily on the tight end position. And the new staff likes what they've seen so far, apparently. Stefanski recently told reporters that Pitts is responding well to the new things they're asking of him.
But the uncertainty at quarterback is likely impacting his current ADP.
The issue is this: Pitts wasn't as good with Michael Penix Jr. as his triggerman last year as he was with Kirk Cousins.
By a wide margin.
During Penix's 10 games as the starter, Pitts averaged 4.7 targets, 3.4 receptions, and 39.5 yards per game, scoring just 1 touchdown.
He was TE18 during that stretch, averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game.
Once Cousins took over for an injured Penix down the stretch, Pitts' usage and ceiling skyrocketed. Over these 7 games, he averaged 5.7 receptions and 77.3 yards per game, highlighted by a massive three-touchdown explosion against Tampa Bay in Week 15.
He was TE2 over that span, scoring 16.3 points per game.
But Cousins, who signed with the Raiders as a free agent, is gone. Penix is coming off a torn ACL. And it's fair to wonder whether former Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa winning the job would make much of a difference.
Even with the questions at quarterback, Stefanski's past usage of the position makes Pitts an easy buy in Round 7.
Health Concerns Pushing the Price Down?
As SBNation's Jeremy Reisman reported, there was initial mystery surrounding Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta's back injury that cost him the final eight games of the season. All we heard last year was that it required season-ending surgery, and the 2023 second-round pick should be ready by training camp in 2026.
We subsequently learned that LaPorta's surgery was for a herniated disc in his back, which is on the less worrisome end of the range of reasons a player has to have back surgery.
That said, he's still working his way back and is not taking part in the team's ongoing OTA sessions.
As Wood reminded readers, LaPorta has settled in as one of the league's top tight ends, but the 2023 second-round pick hasn't been able to match the fantasy success he enjoyed as a rookie.
That's not hard to understand.
LaPorta's inaugural 2023 season was remarkable. He finished the year with 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns as he set franchise single-season records for a tight end in all three categories. He also set the single-season NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end, which was surpassed by Brock Bowers the next year.
Not surprisingly, LaPorta finished as the TE1 in fantasy football as a rookie, defying all kinds of history when it came to rookie tight ends as fantasy producers.
But he's slowed down since, pulling in a combined 100 passes for 1,215 yards and 10 touchdowns in 25 games over the past two seasons.
Nonetheless, he was on track for a third straight top-10 finish at his position last year, and he finished seventh in points per game.
As Fansided's Brad Berreman wrote, "LaPorta has become a bankable asset at the thinnest position in fantasy."
Berreman further argued LaPorta's absence last season proved how indispensable he is to the Lions' offense, which has plenty of mouths to feed.
The arrival of Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator will only reinforce LaPorta's importance.
Petzing, of course, spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator in Arizona. Trey McBride had TE7, TE2, and TE1 finishes with Petzing as his playcaller.
While Wood still questions whether LaPorta has the upside to return to top-five form, his current price leaves room for upside and to mitigate any perceived risk related to his back.