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The early outlook for 2018 for fantasy football’s top tight ends is as bright as a summer’s day at the Jersey Shore.
2017 was a decent season for the tight end position in fantasy football. New England’s Rob Gronkowski only missed two games due to injury, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce had his second straight 1,000-yard year, Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz and Indianapolis’ Jack Doyle had breakout seasons, and New York Giants rookie Evan Engram was a first-year fantasy phenom – at least until he started copying Oakland’s Amari Cooper in the dropped passes department.
2018 has the makings of being even better for tight ends, and not only if Gronkowski, Washington’s Jordan Reed and Carolina’s Greg Olsen can all remain injury-free. There are several up-and-coming tight ends whose numbers should improve with a year of experience under their belts, along with others whose production should improve because the quarterback throwing passes to them should improve.
Here is a look at the early 2018 sleepers at tight end!
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Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers
Will 2018 FINALLY be the year Antonio Gates shuts it down and starts the clock on his eventual Hall of Fame induction? The jury has no clue as of yet. We are unsure if Gates wants to come back and if the Chargers want him back. Gates definitely looked like Father Time was holding onto his legs throughout the 2017 season, though. His 30 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns was his worst statistical season since his rookie campaign back in 2003.
Gates hanging around still put a damaging dent in Henry’s fantasy value, however. Even though he his reception and yards numbers went up slightly despite missing the final two games due to injury, Henry was probably viewed as a fantasy disappointment because his touchdown total dropped from eight in the his rookie year to four this year. Quarterback Philip Rivers zoning in on a healthy Keenan Allen 10-15 times a game did not help Henry’s stats, either.
If Gates retires or is not brought back by the Chargers, Henry will truly be the top tight end and Rivers’ go-to guy down by the end zone. That should translate into 60 receptions for 700 yards and six-to-eight touchdowns if Henry stays healthy. Keep the Gates situation on your radar this offseason and pencil Henry in as a possible-to-probable 2018 sleeper.
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland might be proud of its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, its Cavaliers and homegrown game show host Drew Carey, but its football team went winless and is the laughingstock of all of sports. Njoku should be a major cornerstone of the franchise’s turnaround in 2018, though.
Last year’s first-round pick showed flashes of brilliance at points of his rookie campaign, but he only finished 24th in receiving yards and 25th in receptions among tight ends. But with Cleveland probably turning its quarterback reigns over to Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater or whomever it deems the best QB coming out in the draft, and with Njoku primed to take a huge step next season now that he has had a year of seasoning, Njoku should be able to double the numbers he put up this season. Njoku will also hopefully have Josh Gordon around for a full season to distract defenders and keep him in favorable matchups when he goes downfield.
Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills
Clay was the best pass catcher on the 31st-ranked passing offense in the NFL, which is akin to being the best chicken wing eater at a vegetarian restaurant. While no Buffalo wide receiver had 30 receptions and running back LeSean McCoy led the team in catches, Clay topped the corps with a mediocre 558 receiving yards and caught a measly two touchdown tosses. He may have been important to the Bills, but he was not important in fantasy leagues.
Buffalo’s passing attack cannot get any worse and should automatically improve now that Brian Daboll has been installed as the new offensive coordinator. The next step in improving the passing game will be to replace scrambling shot putter Tyrod Taylor with someone else who can complete a 50-yard pass (Taylor did not in 2017) or average seven yards per pass attempt (Taylor failed to do that last season, too). A new quarterback with superior passing skills to Taylor will immediately improve Clay’s fantasy value.
Clay had 69 receptions for 759 yards and six scores in 2013 when Ryan Tannehill was his QB, so it isn’t as if he needs Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers to make him a viable fantasy option. If Buffalo upgrades at the quarterback and receiver positions as it overhauls its offense, Clay could be a sleeper this upcoming season. And if Clay gets released because Buffalo REALLY wants to start from scratch on offense and open up some salary cap space, he could latch on with another team that can utilize him more effectively.
Other tight end sleepers that you should not sleep on:
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle found his fantasy groove once Jimmy Garoppolo took over as his primary passer. Kittle hauled in 11 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown over his last three games of the season and heads into the 2018 campaign as someone to watch, provided the 49ers do not fumble signing or franchising Garoppolo.
Tyler Kroft, Cincinnati Bengals
How many fantasy owners predicted that Tyler Eifert would not be the most productive tight end named Tyler on the Bengals this season? After Eifert suffered another season-ending injury, Kroft filled in and was a fantasy surprise, posting career-highs across the board with 42 receptions for 404 yards and seven touchdowns. Kroft will not win any gold medals in the 100-yard-dash and will not be much help in distance leagues, but 55 catches and eight touchdowns is very reasonable for him in 2018.
