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Dave Ventresca's 5 league-winning fantasy football tight ends and 2025 breakout candidates. His top tight ends to target and draft include George Kittle, Trey McBride, Pat Freiermuth, Chig Okonkwo, Tucker Kraft.
Figuring out how to handle tight end is one of the most frustrating parts of being a fantasy football manager. If you want an elite option, you usually have to spend top dollar to get one. If you ignore the position altogether, it can be a black hole in your lineup that costs you points every week.
There’s no perfect solution to this problem, but one thing is clear. If you want to win your fantasy football league, you’re going to need a game plan at tight end. Today, we will examine several potential league-winning tight ends available at different stages of your draft. Hopefully, this list gives you some flexibility on how to attack the position and plan your draft accordingly.
Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Here are five league-winning tight ends to target in your 2925 fantasy football draft.
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Trey McBride - Arizona Cardinals
McBride continued to improve as a player in 2024 and built upon his solid 2023 season. He posted a 111-1146-2 line across 16 games and finished 2024 as the PPR TE2.
IT'S A BIRD. IT'S A PLANE. IT'S TREY MCBRIDE HURDLING FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/bBevRNvSnu
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 10, 2024
He also fared well in several advanced metrics. Here are some of McBride’s metrics courtesy of Fantasy Points Data Suite:
27% targets per route run
2.24 yards per route run
26.7% target share
33.7% first read percentage
These excellent marks prove that McBride is a clear focal point of Arizona’s passing game. The addition of receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. did not slow down McBride in 2024. Harrison’s continued development could cut into McBride’s targets in 2025. Even if that comes to fruition, it seems clear that McBride will remain heavily involved in Arizona’s offense.
Despite scoring only two touchdowns last year, McBride scored more PPR points per game than this year's near-unanimous TE1, Brock Bowers. However, there is quite a gap between the two in drafts. McBride’s current NFFC ADP is 25.64 overall, while Bowers' NFFC ADP is 15.95 overall.
Outside of McBride’s ridiculously poor touchdown luck, there is no reason that there should be nearly a full round difference between these two players.
With Kyler Murray as his quarterback, McBride’s touchdown totals will likely remain low. However, two touchdowns on 111 receptions is a bit extreme. McBride is due for some positive touchdown regression. If that happens, McBride is in an excellent position to finish 2025 as the overall TE1.
George Kittle - San Francisco 49ers
Kittle enjoyed another fine season in 2024. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive year and fourth time in his career. Eight touchdown receptions helped him finish the season as the half PPR TE2 and non-PPR TE1.
OH MY GEORGE. @gkittle46
📺: #NEvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/uHeyTzJqF2— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
As a result, the 49ers TE1 was recently awarded a contract extension for his efforts.
George Kittle, 49ers agree to to terms on a 4-year, $76.4M contract extension with $40M guaranteed, making him the NFL’s highest-paid TE. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/2YgilPaIMY
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2025
Kittle will turn 32 years old during the 2025 season. However, he still averaged 14.2 yards per reception last year and shows no signs of slowing down. Kittle may have lost a step in terms of raw speed, but he’s still playing at a high level.
With San Francisco trading away Deebo Samuel Sr. and Brandon Aiyuk’s status to begin 2025 now in doubt, Kittle could be in for a bigger role to start the 2025 season.
Tucker Kraft - Green Bay Packers
Kraft enjoyed a fine sophomore season in 2024 as he posted a 50-707-7 line. It culminated with a TE10 finish in PPR scoring.
What a catch by Tucker Kraft for the TD!
📺: #HOUvsGB on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/5cpzRJLlEj— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
With fellow tight end Luke Musgrave injured for the majority of the year, Kraft flourished as the team’s TE1. He even continued to function as the lead tight end once Musgrave returned healthy. Following Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Matt LaFleur praised Kraft’s improvement and stated his desire to further incorporate him into Green Bay’s offense.
Tucker Kraft Could Have Bigger Role In 2025 https://t.co/gwfiVJgXzX
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) January 28, 2025
Green Bay did draft former Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick in this year's NFL Draft. This was a noteworthy selection because it marked the first time since 2002 that the team used a first-round pick on a receiver.
While this might seem like bad news for Kraft's value, Golden is a good, not great, wide receiver prospect and profiles more as a WR2. He is an excellent receiver against zone coverage, but still needs refinement against man and press coverage. For 2025 at least, he will not pose as significant a threat to Kraft as some want to believe.
If you are planning to wait on a tight end in your draft, Kraft should be the top name on your list. He's got a great rapport with Jordan Love. His head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback have all stated that he will have a larger role in the offense. Sometimes, spotting a breakout candidate is really that simple.
Chig Okonkwo - Tennessee Titans
Okonkwo was a popular sleeper pick two years ago, but he failed to deliver. Things looked the same for most of 2024, but he showed life to close the season.
From Weeks 15-17, Okonkwo caught 22 passes for 182 yards on 28 targets. Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, he posted a 30 percent targets per route run (TPRR), a 2.19 yards per route run (YPRR), and a 24.3 percent target share during that stretch.
Chig Okonkwo gets in open space for a 70-yard TD!
📺: #TENvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/98scOwfisp— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
It's a small sample, but he has a realistic shot at retaining similar usage to begin the 2025 season. Titans head coach Brian Callahan has cited Okonkwo’s growth and hard work as the reasons for his increased role down the home stretch last year. Callahan has praised him throughout the offseason as well. It sounds like Okonkwo has really grown on Tennessee's staff.
While the team added rookie receivers Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike in the NFL Draft, they are relatively unproven options and may not pose much of a threat to Okonkwo for targets. Tyler Lockett was the team's other notable addition this offseason. Lockett was a good player in his prime with the Seattle Seahawks, but started to decline last year.
Tennessee also selected rookie tight end Gunnar Helm in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He could threaten Okonkwo, but he likely holds off Helm thanks to his experience in the league and Callahan's system.
Cam Ward will take over as the team's starting quarterback this year. Rookie quarterbacks sometimes lean heavily on tight ends as a security blanket early in their careers. This could be another reason to target Okonkwo. With Calvin Ridley currently as his main target competition, we could be looking at a career season for Okonkwo in 2025.
At his current price in drafts, there's no downside in selecting Okonkwo. You can even pair him with some of the other names on this list if you decide to wait on tight end. Who knows, you might find yourself a TE1.
Pat Freiermuth - Pittsburgh Steelers
UPDATE: The Steelers are trading for Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith, which significantly impacts Freiermuth's target share and upside. He is now at risk of falling off the fantasy football radar in traditional setups.
Freiermuth posted his second career top-10 finish at the tight end position last year. A 65-653-7 line on 78 targets was good for a PPR TE9 finish.
🗣️ MUUUUUTH!
Russ finds Freiermuth for a 30 yard gain!
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/xQvszXqllS— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Despite a top-10 finish, Freiermuth is being drafted outside of the top 17 tight ends in FFPC drafts. Freiermuth’s career stats have been a bit underwhelming, but he is currently positioned to be Pittsburgh’s clear number two pass catcher behind D.K. Metcalf. This is a box that we look to check when trying to predict breakout tight ends. It could be the case for Freiermuth.
While new quarterback Aaron Rodgers is clearly on his last legs, he still helped Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams each finish as the PPR wide receivers 10 and 11 last year. Rodgers is still good enough to help Freiermuth repeat his top-10 finish from a year ago.
Much like Kraft and Okonkwo, Freiermuth is another ideal target if you miss out on the big names early in your draft or decide to wait on the position. If Rodgers does have some gas left in the tank, Freiermuth could be in line for a career year.
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