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While touchdowns are the most coveted play outcome for tight ends in fantasy football, total receiving yards must be taken into serious consideration when deciding who to draft for the position. It is true that receivers have to work harder to rack up yards, and that they don't have an overly great value at only one point per 10 receiving yards, but the volume of yards per game TEs gain is much higher than the number of touchdowns they score and much more reliable.
That's why we're always on the look for highly-targeted tight ends awarded the most possible chances to catch passes and put up as many yards as possible.
Here, I'm taking a look at some dubious tight ends from the 2021 season due to bounce back in 2022 in terms of their receiving yards.
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Tight Ends To Total More Yardage in 2022?
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Never bet against a Kansas City Chief, or any pass-catching guy playing for the team manned by Pat Mahomes, I guess. So that's precisely what I'm doing by putting Travis Kelce on this list. Kelce, by the way, who has been a top-two tight end for six seasons in a row and only fell from the TE1 PPR position last year having finished at the top of it in the prior five campaigns. And we're talking about a freaking bounceback here, folks.
Kelce can definitely rebound a bit, even if you won't believe it. Kelce's 134 targets, 92 receptions, and 1,125 receiving yards are his lowest marks since the 2017 season, five years ago! Compared to his most recent averages, Kelce dropped career numbers by six receptions and a bulky 132 yards. That's some ground to regain, ain't it?
The Chiefs have flipped Tyreek Hill for JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and rookie Skyy Moore. Three extra targets are more than Hill's lone one, but those three together are definitely not on par with Hill's talents. In other words: volume and numbers are coming Kelce's way whether he likes it or not next season.
Austin Hooper, Tennessee Titans
If you know anything about the Titans and their offseason, then that must surely be the trade of A.J. Brown to Philadelphia and the addition of (oft-injured) Robert Woods and (rookie) Treylon Burks to patch that departure and Julio Jones' too. Well, you should pay closer attention, because the Titans' true season-changing move might be the signing of TE Austin Hooper. If you remember, Jonnu Smith worked wonders playing for Ryan Tannehill a couple of years ago, so I'm betting on Hooper doing the same, let alone in a very favorable environment in which Brown won't feature.
Hooper went from averaging 92+ targets his last two seasons in Atlanta to just 65+ in his two campaigns with the Browns. Tennessee, though singing TE2 Geoff Swaim this offseason to pair with Hooper, is far from a bonafide threat to Hooper's chances at getting a vast amount of targets. Hooper, even underperforming in Cleveland, completed his sixth season as a top-24 tight end. The volume of targets should definitely go up and that should fix his numbers all across the board. Compared to his recent career averages, Hooper lost 15 targets and 15 receptions in 2021 and got 177 fewer receiving yards than he had averaged in past seasons. That won't be the case in 2022 given his new environment.
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Engram had a phenomenal rookie season (115 targets, 64 receptions, 722 yards, and six TDs; all still career-high marks) but then kinda flopped, going from ranking as a top-five TE to a top-15, then top-20, and ultimately a disappointing top-25 last season. Compared to his last three-season averages, Engram finished last year with 10 fewer targets, five fewer receptions, and 100 fewer receiving yards than his averages would have projected.
Engram is now part of a reborn Jaguars offense led by second-year QB Trevor Lawrence and a not-so-overloaded receiving corps in which the likes of Christian Kirk, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Marvin Jones Jr. are the biggest threats for Engram's opportunity/target shares. Engram has had a couple of seasons with 100+ targets in NYG, and Lawrence might find a nice partner in him as a safety valve when needed. Perhaps Engram isn't that 700+ yards player and his rookie season was just a mirage, but I'm still believing in a bounceback given the no-pressure situation he's finally entering outside of NYC and the outstanding quarterback that will be tossing him the rock.
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