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Adam's undervalued fantasy football TEs to target in 2025. His sleeper picks and potential breakout candidates at tight end, including Tucker Kraft, Brenton Strange, and more.
Most agree there are three elite tight ends in fantasy football this season. Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle are all deserving of an early round pick, but what happens after that?
According to Yahoo's average draft position (ADP), only three tight ends go between picks 40 and 100. That's Sam LaPorta, T.J. Hockenson, and the great Travis Kelce.
My suggestion for this season is to either grab one of the top three guys or wait until much later in the draft to grab a sleeper tight end. Here are four undervalued tight ends who will outperform their ADP in 2025.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Yahoo ADP - 130.0 (TE12)
Tight ends normally take some time to develop in the NFL. Kraft took a step forward in Year 2, and it sounds like he could take another even bigger one in Year 3.
Jordan Love went as far as to say Kraft's usage was a major point of focus this spring during offseason workouts.
That's exciting, especially for a supremely talented tight end like Kraft.
Tucker Kraft 2024 highlights...
You can never have enough players like Tuck. pic.twitter.com/l7YiAfxceY
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) January 23, 2025
While his 13.6% target share last season leaves a lot to be desired, Kraft was seventh among tight ends in yards per route run (1.90). Per Fantasy Points Data, he led the way in yards after the catch per reception (9.38).
And Kraft improved as the season progressed. From Weeks 13 through 18, his 2.56 yards per route run was second only to Kittle. His target share also increased to 16.9%. While still not an elite number, it was an improvement nonetheless.
Christian Watson is likely to miss some time early in the 2025 season as he recovers from ACL reconstruction surgery. That should also pave the way for more opportunities for Kraft.
Check out the splits with (13 games) and without (four games) Watson last season:
| With | Without | |
| Targets/game | 3.3 | 6 |
| Yards/game | 36.7 | 57.5 |
| Route % | 69.3% | 77.6% |
| YPRR | 1.84 | 2.02 |
| first-read target % | 11.9% | 15.2% |
| Total TDs | 4 | 3 |
You should be chomping at the bit to draft a very talented tight end who could become the focal point of the Packers' passing attack.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Yahoo ADP - 141.0 (TE13)
We're getting yet another massive discount on Goedert in 2025. In 2023, he had an ADP of 63. In 2024, it was 111. This season, Goedert's ADP is 141. You can draft him in the 11th round.
That's a steep discount for a guy who ranked second among all tight ends in yards per route run last season, right above McBride, Jonnu Smith, and Bowers.
But he only played eight regular-season games last season, and we all know recency bias has fantasy managers on full tilt. But when fully healthy, Goedert remains one of the best tight ends in football.
BEEP BEEP DALLAS GOEDERT COMIN' THROUGH 😤@goedert33 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/IPBaiA61Az
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 12, 2025
While Goedert might not possess the upside he once did, his elite efficiency will give him plenty of opportunities to produce in 2025. We know he's at worst the third option in the Eagles' passing attack behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
In Week 3 without Brown, Goedert went 10-170 on 11 targets. In Week 4, without both Brown and Smith, he went 7-62 on eight targets. And in Week 18, without both Brown and Smith again, Goedert went for 4-55 on six targets on just a 19% snap share.
In those three games, Goedert had a 4.10 yards per route run and a 27.5% first-read target share. Needless to say, the upside is massive should even one of the top two targets miss any games.
Goedert is excited about the different ways new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is going to get him the ball this season, and you should be, too.
Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Yahoo ADP - 149.0 (TE16)
Did Ferguson randomly get worse in Year 3 after a breakout in Year 2 in which he made the Pro Bowl? The chances of that are slim at the ripe age of 26 years old playing in a high-octane offense.
Ferguson battled a knee injury early in the 2024 season and later also dealt with a concussion. He admitted those two things hampered him and affected his play.
Dak Prescott also missed the second half of the season with a Grade 3 hamstring tear. But before Prescott went down, Ferguson was putting up formidable numbers despite the knee injury.
Check out his splits with and without the star quarterback in 2024:
| With | Without | |
| Targets/game | 7.3 | 4.4 |
| Rec yards/game | 47.7 | 22.9 |
| Yards per route run | 1.52 | 1.21 |
| First-read target % | 20.1% | 15.2% |
| Fantasy points/game | 10.2 | 5.5 |
Quite a noticeable difference! Ferguson's numbers from the first half of 2024 are much more similar to his 2023 Pro Bowl season numbers.
That season, he finished as TE9 despite scoring just five touchdowns on 102 targets (including 25 red-zone targets). In comparison, LaPorta scored 10 touchdowns on just 16 red-zone targets in 2023.
Had Ferguson scored more touchdowns in 2023 (and 2024, in which he didn't find the end zone even once on 86 targets), we'd be talking about him like we talk about LaPorta.
The Lions TE is a bit more "explosive," but both of these guys are heavily involved in their teams' respective offenses. And heck, the Cowboys are probably going to throw more than the Lions in 2025, given the state of their backfield.
Yes, the Cowboys added George Pickens this offseason, but there are more than enough targets to go around in Dallas. With a healthy Prescott in 2023, the Cowboys attempted the third-most passes per game (37.5), passing on 61.1% of their plays (sixth-highest rate).
Don't let the "down year" in 2024 distract you from the fact that Ferguson is one of the more consistent tight ends in the league on a pass-happy offense. Buy him at his suppressed ADP in what will be a contract year.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Yahoo ADP - 172.0 (TE22)
Admittedly, this one's a little bit more of a projection than the other three. But with the Jaguars letting Evan Engram walk and with Liam Coen taking over, Strange has a clear path to become TE1 in Jacksonville.
Coaches and the front office have praised Strange numerous times this offseason as they envision him in a role similar to that of Cade Otton in 2024. Remember, Coen was the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay last season.
Otton was fifth among tight ends in routes run per team dropback in 2024 (73.3%). His 92.8% snap share paced all tight ends. He never came off the field, which could be a sign of things to come for Strange.
Coen has gushed about his new TE1 since the moment he stepped foot in Jacksonville:
"He's going to elevate just by getting more reps."
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen believes that TE Brenton Strange has a lot to offer for the new coaching regime in Jacksonville.
Will Brenton Strange have a breakout year in 2025?#jaguars | #duuuval pic.twitter.com/7bgnoVsOWQ
— 1010 XL / 92.5 FM (@1010XL) April 1, 2025
Last season, we got the opportunity to see Strange as the lead tight end in eight games, and he didn't disappoint.
Per Fantasy Points Data, he was tied for third among tight ends in end-zone targets (four). He also ranked 12th in first-read target share (17.3%) and 16th in targets per game (5.0).
That's certainly not in the upper echelon of tight ends, but it's a solid foundation for the 24-year-old. That opportunity came on just a 64.8% route rate. That's sure to go up in 2025 based on Otton's usage under Coen last season.
We know Brian Thomas Jr. is number one in the pecking order in terms of targets. But after that, there are some question marks. Will Travis Hunter play enough to be next in line? What about Dyami Brown?
The question marks clear a path for Strange to operate as the second or third option in the passing game, which could be huge for his fantasy value.
There's no risk here, just all reward!
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