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Dan Fornek identifies top fantasy football best ball sleepers at tight end for 2025 fantasy drafts. Which NFL tight ends are best ball sleepers?
The 2025 NFL offseason is moving along fast, and the 2025 season will arrive before we know it.
For the committed fantasy managers, best ball drafts have been going on since the 2024 regular season concluded. There is risk in drafting this early in the offseason, but the value rewards can be big if you strike gold on a player who survives the offseason without competition or a rookie who drops into a great landing spot.
All the players listed below can be considered sleeper tight ends at their current ADP on Underdog Fantasy. Finding a sleeper tight end is one of the best ways to unlock your roster, given the volatility of the position weekly. For this article, a “sleeper” tight end is any player available outside the first 10 rounds (120 picks).
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Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
ADP: 127.0, TE13
Over the last two seasons, we have seen rookie tight ends immediately make an impact in fantasy football when drafted. In 2023, we got a TE1 overall season from Sam LaPorta (tied with Travis Kelce with 11.5 half-PPR points per game). In 2024, Brock Bowers finished as the TE2 in half-PPR points per game (12.2).
In 2025, the most likely bet to hit the mark will be Michigan’s Colston Loveland.
For many, Loveland is the TE2 in the draft class behind Penn State’s Tyler Warren. On the surface, it is hard to argue. Loveland had 56 receptions for 582 yards and five touchdowns in his final collegiate season. On the surface, those aren’t great stats. But they were good enough to lead all Michigan pass-catchers in their final season.
On film, Loveland is a dynamic weapon after the catch who has the speed to attack down the seam and make plays down the field. He also displays an impressive catch radius in contested situations.
#Michigan TE Colston Loveland
6-foot-6, 248.
Lower body quickness to shake press coverage. pic.twitter.com/0ixtLN8Ee1
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) April 13, 2025
Loveland was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 10th overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft (and before Tyler Warren). That is a perfect landing spot for him as the move tight end in Ben Johnson's passing attack with the ability to generate yards after the catch.
Chicago's passing attack is very crowded with rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden joining D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. But in best ball formats ambiguity is a good thing that can lead to big scoring weeks if you pick the right players.
The Bears thought enough of Loveland's skillset to take him in the top 10 of the NFL draft. He has a chance to have a very productive rookie season and should be a value given the ambiguity of Chicago's passing attack.
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
ADP: 149.0, TE18
I know, I know. Touting Kyle Pitts again is a fool’s errand. But hear me out.
In previous seasons, Pitts was coming off the board as a top-6 tight end due to his rookie season production and the blind hope that his freakish athleticism would unlock his ability to produce at the tight-end position.
This season, Pitts can be drafted at an extremely reasonable TE18 price tag. It bakes in several years of disappointment while somewhat ignoring the chance he has to exceed that price tag on any given week.
Despite his underwhelming overall production (6.3 half-PPR PPG), Pitts still found his way into being a top-12 tight end for seven weeks, including two as a top-3 scorer. The veteran tight end also set a career high in touchdowns (four) while posting a third career season with at least 600 receiving yards. Pitts was also tied for seventh among all tight ends in red-zone targets (nine), but converted on only two of the attempts.
Kyle Pitts would be a superstar in Kansas City. pic.twitter.com/v6xoUUt8XZ
— Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) February 17, 2025
It is unlikely that Pitts will ever hit the lofty expectations we had for him coming out of Florida, but his current price (ADP: 149.0) is an excellent way to take an upside shot at a tight end who won't sink your roster. He is a perfect upside pairing if you draft one of the early tight-end options in a two-TE build, or can be the perfect second option in a late-round, three-TE build.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
ADP: 178.6, TE22
A thin depth chart and the Arthur Smith offense were exactly what Pat Freiermuth needed to have the best season of his career. The veteran tight end logged the second-most yards in a season (653) and his highest receptions (65) and touchdowns (seven) despite seeing the third-highest targets in a single season (78).
From a fantasy perspective, Freiermuth finished 2024 as the TE13 in half-PPR points per game (8.0) and was the TE10 in overall scoring (135.8). He had four top-5 scoring weeks, including a TE1 overall week in Week 18. Freiermuth has never finished below TE13 when he has played more than 12 games in a season.
Pat Freiermuth has been targeted 50 times and has 44 receptions so far this season. That's an 88% catch percentage. pic.twitter.com/v3KtaQrkxh
— Billy Hartford (@CamHeywardFan) December 12, 2024
Freiermuth is currently being drafted as the TE22 in best ball drafts, which makes sense given what we know about Pittsburgh’s offense. The team added another talented wide receiver (DK Metcalf) to complement George Pickens. Both players will earn their fair share of targets. The Steelers also currently don’t have a legitimate starting quarterback (although Aaron Rodgers could sign there).
Still, Freiermuth has been a reliable tight end in fantasy throughout his entire career. And while he lacks the physical tools and upside to land as a top-5 player at the position in fantasy, he is still a good bet to beat his current ADP and can deliver top-5 weeks in the right matchup.
Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
ADP: 180.2, TE23
Zach Ertz had a career revival in his 12th career season, catching 66 of 91 targets for 654 yards and seven touchdowns. It was his best mark in targets, receptions, and receiving yards since 2021. It was his best touchdown total since 2018. It was also the first time he played 17 games since 2021. Ertz was 10th in half-PPR points per game (8.5) and eighth in overall points (144.4) at the tight-end position.
Shallow Trail for the win!
Zach Ertz feasts on this route! pic.twitter.com/uWp4H5k4HY
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) December 30, 2024
The veteran tight end was rewarded during the offseason with a one-year, $6.25 million deal to return to Washington to serve as Jayden Daniels’ safety blanket in the passing attack.
There are some legitimate reasons why Ertz is being drafted much later (TE23) than his 2024 season would indicate. For one, the Commanders traded for Deebo Samuel Sr. to add pass-catching weapons to their offense. It is also impossible to ignore Ertz’s injury history and the fact that the team invested in a tight end of the future in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft (Ben Sinnott).
That said, Ertz earned the trust of Daniels in his rookie year and carved out a significant role as a safety valve in the offense and red-zone weapon. Ertz probably won’t hit the top 10 again in 2025, but he can still beat his ADP and provide a stable floor for lineups that fade the quarterback position.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
ADP: 217.0, TE30
Tyler Higbee missed most of the 2024 season recovering from a torn ACL suffered late in the 2023 season. He had a gradual return in his first two games (five targets, three receptions, 20 yards, and a touchdown) before posting a respectable five receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown in Week 18. That was enough to make him the TE7 for the week.
The reason why Higbee is a sleeper is because of how quickly his role expanded once the Rams hit must-win situations in the playoffs. In two playoff games, Higbee caught 12 of 15 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. He averaged a 20.6 percent target share during those games, only behind Puka Nacua.
Tyler Higbee TD in his season debut!pic.twitter.com/UZiWA4gnsa
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) December 22, 2024
The Rams upgraded their receiver group by adding Davante Adams and letting go of Cooper Kupp, but it is clear that Higbee still heavily factors into their passing attack.
Los Angeles waited until the second round to add to their tight end room, drafting Oregon's Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson ran the fastest 40 among tight ends who tested in 2025 (4.63) and has the tools to develop into a solid pass-catching option. That said, he needs time to develop and likely won't earn a full share of snaps as a rookie.
Higbee is relatively forgotten in fantasy drafts but has an excellent chance to provide a top-15 tight-end season with the ability to hit top-12 finishes in the right game script. He is the late-round tight end to target in 2025.
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