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Ask the Commish.Com 2024 Draft Kit
Once the gold standard at the TE position, Travis Kelce will still be the overall TE1 for a lot of people in 2024 fantasy drafts, but he will no longer be a unanimous choice. Kelce finished the 2023 regular season for 93-984-5. That would be a terrific season for any other tight end, but it was the first time since 2015 that Kelce fell short of 1,000 yards. The statistical decline suggests that the 34-year-old Kelce is starting to slow down, But then Kelce went on a postseason rampage, with 32-355-3 in four playoff games. Obviously, playing with QB Patrick Mahomes is a big plus for any pass catcher. Kelce might not be a first-round pick in fantasy leagues anymore, but he's still an immensely valuable asset.
If you value week-to-week consistency, George Kittle might not be the tight end for you. But if you're an adrenaline-fueled roller coaster enthusiast, Kittle is your guy. In 2023, Kittle had seven games in which he produced 16 or more PPR points and six games in which he produced 6 or fewer PPR points. The drawback with Kittle is that he doesn't see as many targets as other top tight ends. Over the last three seasons, Travis Kelce has averaged 8.5 targets a game, Mark Andrews has averaged 7.8, and Kittle has averaged 6.0. Kittle's well-rounded skill set can actually be a hindrance, since the 49ers like to leverage his exceptional blocking ability. But Kittle is quite a pass catcher, too. He's topped 1,000 receiving yards in three of the last six years and has averaged 9.8 yards per target for his career -- almost a full yard better than Kelce's career average of 8.9 yards per target. The TE5 in fantasy scoring last season, Kittle will again be a good bet for a top-five positional fantasy finish in 2024. Just realize it might not always be a smooth trip.
An ankle injury in Week 11 ended Mark Andrews' regular season prematurely, but before he went down, he was having a characteristically productive season, ranking fourth among tight ends in fantasy scoring. Andrews' yearly finishes in fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR) since his second-year breakout in 2019: TE4, TE4, TE1, TE3, TE4. Over that fruitful five-year run, he's averaged 4.9 receptions, 60.6 receiving yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game. Andrews should once again be a prominent contributor in the Baltimore passing attack in 2024 and should be one of the first five tight ends to come off the board in fantasy drafts.
After being considered a fantasy disappointment for the majority of his first five years in the league, Evan Engram has become one of the most productive pass catchers at the position. Engram finished TE6 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring in 2022, then finished TE2 last year (though it should be noted that three TEs finished less than 3 points behind Engram). With 114 catches in 2023, Engram shattered his previous single-season high by 41 receptions. He also had a career-high 963 receiving yards, though Engram averaged a career-low 8.4 yards per catch. As QB Trevor Lawrence's favorite security blanket, Engram had four games with double-digit reception totals in 2023 and eight games with seven or more receptions. Drops are seemingly always an issue for Engram, and he hasn't scored more than four touchdowns in a single season since he was a rookie in 2017. But Engram has become a high-quality fantasy asset and will be a good bet to once again return TE1 value in 2024.
Sam LaPorta was a revelation as a rookie, catching 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns to finish as the overall TE1. What can LaPorta do for an encore in Year 2? It might be hard for Sammy Ballgame to improve upon or even equal his 2023 touchdown total, but it's reasonable to think he could improve upon his average of 52.3 receiving yards per game and his 7.4 yards per target. LaPorta's age-22 season was a triumph, and he could be one of the top tight ends in the league -- and in fantasy football -- for years to come. Based on the splash he made at such a tender age, there's a strong case to be made that LaPorta should be the first TE selected in 2024 fantasy drafts.