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. Wednesday was Back-Half TE1s Come With Questions.
Now it's time to dip into the pool of value plays and outliers.
My Search for Value
Tight end is surprisingly deep this year. As Footballguy Sigmund Bloom recently explained, "The bar for fantasy football relevance is low at tight end." That being the case, I'm going to go with some players that represent the best qualities at various price levels. Your mileage may vary, so use these archetypes to help you determine your favorites.
A Locked-In Role at a Great Price
This offseason for the Ravens has a lot of storylines dominating the headlines, but an underrated one that isn't getting nearly as much attention is at tight end.
Isaiah Likely followed former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to New York, signing with the Giants as a free agent. Third-string tight end Charlie Kolar, a great blocking asset and capable enough receiver, signed with the Chargers.
That leaves Mark Andrews as the lone standout at the position.
The lack of depth in the Ravens' tight end room makes them a prime candidate to pluck a rookie from what is considered a deep draft class.
Regardless of who is added in the coming months, Andrews still projects as Jackson's security blanket at the position.
The chemistry between Jackson and Andrews is evident in their combined production over 108 games: 414 receptions, 5,143 receiving yards, and 54 touchdowns.
They hold a 72-36 record in games where both Andrews and Jackson play.
The peak came in 2021, when Andrews had one of the greatest seasons ever for a tight end. He finished with 107 catches, 1,361 yards, and nine touchdowns.
He scored a position-high 297 fantasy points.
This year, Andrews' TE10 Footballguys projection is noticeably ahead of the veteran tight end's TE16 Average Draft Position (ADP). The disconnect between his projection and his price is an opportunity for sharp managers willing to take on the risk that comes with a player who'll be 31 when the season starts.
As Footballguy Jason Wood put it, "There's no scenario where Jackson delivers on his top-5 ranking, and Andrews isn't a fantasy starter."
A Likely Path to Success
With Wan'Dale Robinson moving on, the Giants have plenty of vacated targets available, and The Athletic's Dan Duggan expects Likely to have a large role.
"The Giants made their biggest free-agent investment in Likely, so he's expected to be a featured piece of this offense," Duggan explained. "They essentially swapped Likely in for Robinson, signaling the shift in their offensive approach."
Likely never hit his potential in Baltimore. He never even moved ahead of Andrews on the depth chart.
Likely showed flashes of ability upon entering the league, leading people to believe in his impending ascendancy. Four years in, it still hasn't happened. He's coming off a season in which he recorded 27 receptions for 307 yards over 14 games.
Now that he's in New York, Likely should become the Giants' starter and be an upgrade over incumbent Theo Johnson, who recorded the worst overall score among tight ends in ESPN's receiver scores and led tight ends with a 9.5 percent drop rate.
My argument in these cases is always volume, and Likely should see more of that in New York than he did in Baltimore. With a TE17 ADP, he's a bargain in the double-digit rounds.