2024 Review Analysis Best Sports Picks Fantasy TEs te scoring TEs The TRUTH TRUTH

The TRUTH: Top TEs in 2024 (Fantasy Football)

February 8, 2025
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December 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates a first down against the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium.

Happy Super Bowl Weekend, FootClan!

Whether you pulled off a Championship or died trying, the savvy manager knows the fantasy season never ends. The NFL is always evolving, and here at Ballers Studio, so are we. There will forever be new data, statistics, analytics, and trends that can set us up for future success, which is why today we continue our deep dive into the TRUTH, with the top TEs of the 2024 season.

This is the final segment of our TRUTH series, but if you haven’t already, I recommend taking a deep dive into our positional articles, where we address the top 2024 fantasy performances at every position:

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Before we begin, let’s review how the TRUTH algorithm translates to fantasy performances. Our numbers today will only correlate with Weeks 1-17 (disregarding Week 18):

  • Great Games = >15 points
  • Good Games = >8 points
  • Bust Games = 5.5 points<
  • Missed Games do not count against consistency score

Tight Ends Overview

For the past few decades, the TE has been regarded as (arguably) the most difficult learning curve coming into the NFL. This is a position expected to learn the rushing attack, serving as an extra offensive lineman to pick up edge defenders, linebackers, and blitzing defensive backs – as well as the passing attack, being able to quickly decipher secondaries and get open like a WR. Lately, however, we’ve seen a shift, with young (even rookie) TEs focusing more on receiving prowess and being used to create mismatches out wide, resulting in some elite young fantasy performances.

2024 accounted for the most total receptions by TEs (24%) in league history, with three players surpassing 95+ receptions (Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Travis Kelce). On paper, this would be easy to view as an uptick in usage for the position; however, despite reception numbers seeing record highs, the position as a whole recorded the lowest fantasy points per reception (FPPR) since 2011, thanks to a second straight year in decreased red zone usage. The TE has become a polarizing position in fantasy football, but if you can hit on the right player at the right time, it can provide you a huge advantage over your league-mates.

Let’s dig in.

1. George Kittle | 49ers

Age: 31.2 | ADP: 5.11 / TE6

15 games – 94 targets for 78/1106/8 – *Missed Weeks 3 & 11 (Hamstring)

2024 Consistency Rank: 1

1st Half: 1  / 2nd Half: 2

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
50% 86% 7%

Many were quick to fade George Kittle in 2024. He was too “inconsistent,” too “injury prone,” and there were just “too many mouths to feed” in San Fransisco. However, entering his age-30 season, a combination of health and situation propelled Kittle to not only the number one fantasy TE but also the healthiest and most consistent season of his career.

With 13.8 FPPG, Kittle had ten top-5 finishes, matching Travis Kelce‘s career high in 2020. He had seven games with over 15 points, adding his name to a list of only Travis Kelce (thrice) and Rob Gronkowski (twice) over the past decade. What truly separated Kittle for fantasy purposes was his against-the-grain red zone usage as Brock Purdy‘s first read. He posted a 33% target share inside the 20 (first among TEs), with his 18 red zone receptions ranking fourth overall among all pass catchers.

Kittle is one of those players who will seemingly never get the respect he deserves. Before this season’s TE1 finish, he finished the past three years as the TE5, TE3, and TE4 for fantasy. He is the dictionary definition of what the TE position is supposed to be (unlike some of the names below), ranking first overall in PFF’s receiving metrics and second in rush blocking. If you waited until the fifth or sixth round to “take your shot” on Kittle, you received the most consistent player at a volatile position and a league winner in 2024.

At age 31, Kittle will enter the final year of his contract in 2025. Early reports suggest that the team is working toward an extension, and my gut tells me he will be a 49er for quite some time.

2. Brock Bowers | Raiders

Age: 22.1 | ADP: 7.11 / TE9

17 games – 153 targets for 112/1194/5

2024 Consistency Rank: 3

1st Half: 2  / 2nd Half: 6

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
25% 69% 13%

Another league winner and outlier TE performance was rookie Brock Bowers. This is a player who has been touted as a “generational prospect” since he was 18 years old, leading the Georgia Bulldogs in receiving yards for all three years of his collegiate career and proving himself immediately at the NFL level.

Despite a Vegas QB carousel, despite very few other weapons around him, and despite the Raiders scoring the fourth-fewest points in the league, Bowers quickly became the focal point of the offense, which was only heightened with the departure of Davante Adams.

Bowers set the league on fire from day one, putting up elite numbers in every category, including:

He is already the TE1 going off the board in Best Ball drafts, despite the complete unknown of who will be playing QB for the Raiders next season. With a new Head Coach (Pete Carroll) and Offensive Coordinator (Chip Kelly), we can only hope for a faster-paced, more creative offense, but regardless, this performance has cemented Bowers as the dynasty TE1 for the foreseeable future.

3. Trey McBride | Cardinals

Age: 25.2 | ADP: 4.12 / TE3

16 games – 147 targets for 111/1146/2 – *Missed Week 4 (Concussion)

2024 Consistency Rank: 2

1st Half: 4 / 2nd Half: 1

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
33% 73% 13%

If Brock Bowers is dynasty’s clear TE1, then Trey McBride is the clear TE2. Somehow, despite not scoring a receiving TD until Week 17, McBride still finished as the  TE3 on the season and TE2 in our consistency ranks.

Oh, what could have been.

The addition of Marvin Harrison Jr. did not have any effect on McBride’s performance, instead solidifying him as Kyler Murray‘s favorite target with:

  • 116 “first read” targets → matching Justin Jefferson
  • 26.5% target share → first among TEs
  • 2.25 YPRR → tying Jameson Williams
  • 111 receptions → fourth highest by a TE of all time

In fact, McBride was so impressive that (again, despite the lack of TDs) he would have finished as WR12 in PPR formats. He is clearly one of the few difference makers worth taking in early rounds of 2025 fantasy drafts, and we have to treat 2024 as his floor, assuming the TD numbers have nowhere to go but up in 2025.

At age 25, McBride will be entering the final year of his rookie contract, but we can almost assuredly expect an extension in Arizona sometime over the next calendar year.

4. Jonnu Smith | Dolphins

Age: 29.4 | ADP: Undrafted

17 games – 111 targets for 88/884/8

2024 Consistency Rank: 4

1st Half: 13  / 2nd Half: 3

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
31% 63% 25%

What has to be (by far) the most surprising name on this list is 2024’s TE4: Jonnu Smith. A player who has been tossed around the league for years has finally found his perfect fit in Miami, silencing all critics – and Arthur Smith haters – with the best fantasy finish of his career.

What was most impressive about Jonnu’s season was that not only did he match the NFL’s elite TEs in many metrics, but he did so playing only 55% of snaps on the season. If you stumbled into Jonnu on your waiver wire, you were rewarded with a “streaming” TE who posted seven top-5 finishes (matching Bowers and McBride) in the second half of the season.

Maybe we should have seen this coming. We typically love the pieces in Mike McDaniel’s offense, and Jonnu was the first TE signed in free agency, which signifies the team’s plan and belief in his skill set. However, we also knew that the Dolphins historically have disregarded the TE position—until now.

We can’t be entirely sure why, but perhaps due to the injuries surrounding Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle, Miami shifted its scheme entirely this season. The TE position went from 32nd in target share (9%) in 2023 to sixth in 2024 (27%). Meanwhile, their WRs went from third in target share (68%) to 28th (50%) in the same time frame.

Regardless of how this team looks next season, Jonnu ranked first among all TEs in first downs per route run (14%) and has clearly earned the trust as the safety valve for his QB. Currently going off the board as TE7 (late Round 8), Jonnu will likely see the most fluctuation and variance of any TE by the time 2025 drafts roll around.

5. Mark Andrews | Ravens

Age: 29.3 | ADP: 4.12 / TE4

17 games – 69 targets for 55/673/11

2024 Consistency Rank: 6

1st Half: 17  / 2nd Half: 4

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
19% 56% 31%

Those of you who were patient (or survived long enough) for the Mark Andrews coaster to come around were rewarded with his career-high season in TDs. Over the first four games of the season, Andrews had six receptions for 65 yards (51 coming in one game) with zero TDs. He had back-to-back goose eggs and likely cost you multiple weeks. However, from Weeks 6-18, he scored 11 TDs, ranking second to only Ja’Marr Chase in that time frame.

At a historically TD-dependent position, Andrews has become just that. It feels like his high-volume, high-floor PPR days are over, but his red zone rapport with Lamar Jackson is undeniable, and that shouldn’t change much going into next season.

With that said, there have been 10 TEs over the past decade with 10+ TDs and less than <900 yards in a season, and every one of them has regressed in TDs the following year. This statistic was brought up via Sam LaPorta last season, and if you’re a betting man, it may be an important number to keep in mind next year.

2025 will be the final contract year for both Andrews and Isaiah Likely, and it will be interesting to see how the team approaches these two in the offseason. As the current TE6 in Best Ball drafts, it will be interesting to see if (playoff) recency bias shifts the public perspective on Andrews this offseason.

6. Travis Kelce | Chiefs

Age: 35.2 | ADP: 3.02 / TE1

16 games – 133 targets for 97/823/3

2024 Consistency Rank: 8

1st Half: 13  / 2nd Half: 9

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
25% 50% 38%

Travis Kelce is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and an almost perfect all-around player, but as the TE6 this season, his ADP makes him a “bust.”

I don’t think we need a deep dive into Kelce. This team has shifted its identity over the past two years from the high-flying aerial attack we were projecting before the season to a slow, balanced, (arguably) run-heavy, defensive-minded team that does just enough to win every week. Although it certainly hasn’t been exciting for fantasy purposes, this is what the great teams do, and this is exactly why they are one game away from being the first team in history to win three straight Super Bowls.

Kelce set career lows in 2024 in receiving TDs (3), aDOT (6.8), and yards per reception (8.5). He has made it known that he wants to play for a few more years, and if he remains on the Chiefs, he could very well become a value with his ADP beginning its decline as the TE8 in current Best Ball drafts.

Although this is not the trajectory we hope for with a player of Kelce’s caliber, it’s important to keep in mind that he still saw 133 targets this season and led the position with 25 in the red zone. Although his three TDs were certainly a letdown, those numbers still present opportunity and could certainly spike to Mark Andrews-esque performances as he gets older – especially if the skill players around him can stay healthy.

7. Sam LaPorta | Lions

Age: 24.0 | ADP: 3.06 / TE2

16 games – 83 targets for 60/726/7 – *Missed Week 11 (Shoulder)

2024 Consistency Rank: 12

1st Half: 21  / 2nd Half: 8

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
7% 47% 33%

Another top-3 TE off the board, another 2024 “bust.”

As we mentioned with Mark Andrews, Sam LaPorta was the most recent example of TEs surpassing 10+ TDs with less than >900 yards receiving. As we also mentioned with Mark Andrews, the beginning of the season was a nightmare for anyone holding LaPorta, except his stint of uselessness lasted through the entire first half of the season.

LaPorta was the victim of being on an offense filled with talent. Surrounded by one of the league’s most dominant rushing attacks, a top-5 WR in Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the emergence of Jameson Williams, he quickly became the fourth (perhaps fifth) read on this offense, who was routinely blowing teams out in the first half of the season (prior to losing their entire defense to injury).

700+ yards and seven TDs is a solid stat line for a TE, but it wasn’t anywhere close to the prolific numbers you were expecting at his ADP, and it was far too late in the season to be of use to your fantasy team. Currently going off the board at TE4, it would appear that people are buying into LaPorta’s late season re-emergence, however with a new Offensive Coordinator in town, that is far too rich for my blood at this moment.

9. Zach Ertz | Commanders

Age: 34.2 | ADP: Undrafted

17 games – 91 targets for 66/654/7

2024 Consistency Rank: 9

1st Half: 6  / 2nd Half: 12

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
13% 50% 38%

Presumed left-for-dead Zach Ertz surprised us all with the TE9 finish at 34 years old, on a one-year deal, in an offense we were hesitant to trust, with a rookie QB.

In a similar trend to some of the above names, six of his seven TDs came in the final seven games of the season, which only presented streaming availability for your fantasy teams. He did hold a reasonable PPR floor with 10 games of 4+ receptions, but this says more about the state of TEs than Ertz’s value moving forward.

Ertz is currently a free agent, and whether the team decides to bring him back remains unclear; the Commanders spent a second-round pick last year on Ben Sinnott. However, a re-up on a team-friendly deal would provide solid, cheap depth at the position, and it seems like it would be in everyone’s interest for 2025.

11. David Njoku | Browns

Age: 28.5 | ADP: 8.04 / TE11

11 games – 97 targets for 64/505/5 – *Missed Weeks 2-4 (Ankle), Week 15 (Hamstring) & Week 17 (Knee)

2024 Consistency Rank: 5

1st Half: 9  / 2nd Half: 7

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
18% 55% 27%

If you drafted David Njoku at his ADP of TE11, you got exactly what you signed up for: The TE11. You got to those numbers, however, with bad-to-middle QB play and while missing six full games due to injury.

People are likely quick to forget how well Njoku was playing this season, but he had three top-2 finishes (tied with Brock Bowers), and with Jameis Winston at the helm, he was averaging 9.2 targets/game and led all TEs in end zone targets. It’s unclear who will be at QB in 2025, but his splits are far better without Deshaun Watson, and since being drafted in the first round in 2017, he has caught passes from 13 different Cleveland QBs.

Entering his age-29 season, Njoku will still be in his prime and presents incredible value as the current TE9 off the board. When he was on the field in 2024, he ranked fifth in our consistency models, and despite the unknown at QB, I would certainly be happy to wait three extra rounds to draft Njoku over LaPorta or Andrews.

https://x.com/tha__buffalo/status/1887559799363002602

27. Dallas Goedert | Eagles

Age: 30.1 | ADP: 9.11 / TE12

10 games – 52 targets 42/496/2 – *Missed Weeks 7-9 (Hamstring) & Weeks 14-17 (Knee)

2024 Consistency Rank: 7

1st Half: 15  / 2nd Half: 5

Great Games Good Games Bust Games
11% 56% 44%

We’ve seen the Dallas Goedert show before. When he is on the field, he is a consistent – but distant – third option for the Eagles. He will never win you a week but will bring a solid floor.

Unfortunately, the Eagles have become the lowest-volume passing team in the league, and Goedert missed seven games during the fantasy season. He is showing well in the NFL Playoffs as we speak, and will be in TE2/streaming consideration (along with 10-20 other players) next season.

https://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/analysis/the-truth-top-tes-in-2024-fantasy-football/

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