Kelce, Kittle, and Andrews are the top tight ends, with a handful of sleepers though that can make a significant leap in 2022. Who are they?
Tight ends, there are about three guys worthy of being drafted in the first three rounds of fantasy football. After that, a good tight end can be found in the very late rounds of redrafts.
Someone like Dalton Schultz was 2021 preseason TE33 and finished as the TE3. There is a ton of value drafting tight ends in the later rounds of redraft leagues. Here are three sleepers that will make a name for themselves in 2022.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rookie TE Pat Freiermuth showed flashes of being a legitimate tight end. A 6'5 frame and over 250 pounds, he is a threat everywhere on the field.
Especially in the red zone, which leads to touchdowns, one of the most important things in fantasy football. In 2021, Freiermuth saw the most red-zone targets amongst all tight ends with 20. He also finished with the sixth most touchdowns amongst tight ends.
Pat Freiermuth’s 26 third-down receptions led all TEs last season.
Caught 26 of 31 third-down targets, converted 15 of them for fresh set of downs.
A major bright spot for the Steelers as a rookie, should be even better in 2022.
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) February 16, 2022
With Big Ben retiring and assuming Mason Rudolph is the starting quarterback in 2022, Freiermuth should see an increase in volume. Inexperienced quarterbacks enjoy relying on a big body-tight end as if it was a big blanket in the middle of a cold October night.
In redraft leagues, Freiermuth is a great sleeper to be drafted in the later rounds of the draft as opposed to taking a tight end early, the rest of the roster can be filled out first.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
A new era has begun for the Chicago Bears. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields showed his flashes that he can be great at throwing and running the football. With a rookie quarterback comes new weapons as well.
Besides the Bears having David Montgomery, and new WR1 Darnell Mooney, they have a stud at tight end. His name is Cole Kmet. His rookie year entailed just 28 receptions on 44 targets with two touchdowns.
In 2021, Kmet took a significant leap in his production. Kmet had 60 receptions on 93 targets! It is safe to say that the Bears see him being an important piece in the offense moving forward. Although he scored no touchdowns in 2021, that is bound to change in 2022.
My hot takes for the 2022 season. All of them are set and stone for me besides Gordon. (pending FA)
JK Dobbins top 5 RB
Diontae Johnson top 5 WR
Cole Kmet top 7 TE
Dalvin Cook outside top 12 RB
Melvin Gordon top 15 RB
What are yours? 👀 #NFLTwitter #FantasyFootball
— Brandon Blanco (@BrandonBlancoFF) February 20, 2022
Kmet saw the eighth-most targets amongst tight ends, 11th in target share, sixth in target share, and It gets better. He also had the ninth most air yards amongst tight ends. The Bears and Justin Fields know what type of weapon they have at tight end and finally saw that in 2021.
Cole Kmet will be one of the most successful tight ends in 2022 and a top 10 finish is very likely next season.
Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
All that Noah Fant is missing is a competent quarterback to throw him the football. He is one of the most athletic, if not the most athletic tight ends in all of football.
Noah Fant is in the 95th percentile or better in all of his workout metrics. He runs a 4.5 40 yard dash and has shown strides of being a true TE1 in the past.
This past season, Noah ranked in the top ten when it came to targets amongst tight ends and target share with 18.3%. Also, Noah finished as the TE12 this season making him a TE1. That was also with the questionable quarterback play from Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater.
The most intriguing thing with Fant is his 2.52 yards of target separation which ranked him number one overall amongst tight ends. That means from when the pass reaches Fant, that is the average yards he is away from his receiver.
https://twitter.com/Dynasty_DadFF/status/1493966582103556097
Noah Fant is a MUST BUY in dynasty leagues and a must draft in redraft leagues. This is someone who will still be there in the ranges of the eighth round or later.
Thank you for checking out my article in the sleeper series! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys' author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @NBF_Clo and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
