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Which tight ends were fantasy football busts during the 2024-25 NFL season? Joey Pollizze looks at four TEs who didn't have the best fantasy season and didn't live up to their preseason ADP.
The tight-end position is always the most difficult to analyze after the fantasy football season is over. That's because there are usually only two to four strong options, and the rest are about the same. This year, though, there were six to seven solid tight-end options for fantasy managers to choose from each week.
Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle, Jonnu Smith, Travis Kelce, and David Njoku were all great options in 2024. Even playmakers like Mark Andrews and Sam LaPorta picked things up in fantasy as the season went on. However, plenty of tight ends also busted this past year in fantasy and didn't live up to their preseason ADP.
So, which four tight ends were fantasy busts during the 2024-25 season? Let's dive in and find out what this might mean for them next year.
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TE Dalton Kincaid
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid was one of the best tight-end options to select in the middle round of fantasy drafts last summer. He was coming off a solid rookie campaign, and the Bills got rid of wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the offseason. As a result, Kincaid was set to have a career year in fantasy.
Nonetheless, that didn't turn out to be the case, as Kincaid was arguably the biggest bust at the tight-end position this past season. After going as the TE5 in drafts, the 25-year-old winded up finishing as the TE30 in PPR formats. He also averaged just 7.75 PPR fantasy points per game and only scored in double digits in three of 13 games.
Bills Want Dalton Kincaid Stronger
Bills GM Brandon Beane and HC Sean McDermott mentioned "play strength" as an area they'd like to see TE Dalton Kincaid improve in this offseason. "Dalton Kincaid didn’t have the year that he expected or we expected. He’s gonna have ... pic.twitter.com/Kam0MbALaE
— Draft Sharks (@DraftSharks) February 11, 2025
It was truly a disappointing season for Kincaid in his sophomore campaign. He totaled just 448 receiving yards and missed three games later in the year due to a knee injury. Therefore, the Bills playmaker will see his ADP drop drastically next season.
He won't be drafted as a top-5 option at the position and will likely come in as a lower-end TE1 option in 2025. If the Bills do add a wide receiver this offseason via free agency or trade, then Kincaid could see his ADP drop even further heading into next season.
TE Kyle Pitts
A lot of fantasy managers were in on Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts this past year. He had a new head coach in Raheem Morris and a veteran quarterback in Kirk Cousins now throwing passes to him. As a result, everyone thought this was going to be the year that Pitts finally broke out in fantasy.
He was going as the TE7 in drafts and was taken above both Bowers and Njoku in most leagues. That turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes for fantasy managers this past season. Pitts totaled just 602 receiving yards and finished as the TE14 in PPR formats. His 7.7 PPR fantasy points per game were also lower than his 2023 average (8.1).
Kyle Pitts has NEVER outperformed his ADP 🤯
2021: TE4 ADP // TE7 finish
2022: TE3 // TE33
2023: TE7 // TE14
2024: TE7 // TE14 pic.twitter.com/zSmJH9YsVw— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) December 31, 2024
In every way, Pitts' 2024 fantasy campaign was a major bust. He scored in double figures in PPR formats in just six of 17 games and only averaged 4.7 PPR fantasy points over the final nine games of the season.
Following another season in which the Falcons tight end busted in fantasy, it's safe to say that managers will not be in on the Pitts hype train in 2025. He has finished outside the top 12 at the position in three straight seasons and will likely be drafted somewhere between the TE16 and TE20 in drafts next year.
TE Evan Engram
The injury bug caught Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram this past year. He appeared in only nine of 17 games and missed the final four weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. However, even when Engram was healthy, he wasn't the same fantasy player he was during the 2023 campaign, in which he finished as the TE2 in PPR formats.
Engram averaged only 9.94 PPR fantasy points in his nine games this past year and failed to score above 12 PPR fantasy points in seven of those contests. Those subpar fantasy numbers, mixed with his eight missed games, resulted in him finishing as the TE33 in PPR formats.
Although Engram didn't have the best fantasy season in 2024, his ADP shouldn't drop much next season. He was going as the TE8 in PPR formats last summer and will likely have around the same ADP in 2025. The veteran tight end will once again be a great PPR target in the middle rounds, given his potential to catch over 80 passes next year.
TE Jake Ferguson
In his first season as the Dallas Cowboys starting tight end in 2023, Jake Ferguson finished as the TE8 in half-PPR formats behind a 71-catch, 761-yard, five-touchdown campaign. As a result, Ferguson was a sleeper tight-end option in the middle-to-late rounds of drafts entering the 2024 fantasy season.
Ferguson was going as the TE11 in PPR formats and had every opportunity to outperform that ADP. He was going to be Dak Prescott's second or third option in the passing game while likely seeing over 100 targets for the second straight year. However, the 26-year-old wasn't the best fantasy option this past year.
He finished as the TE25 in PPR formats and only averaged 7.46 PPR fantasy points per game. Ferguson was a solid play in the first few weeks with Prescott under center, averaging 10.2 PPR fantasy points across seven games. But once the Cowboys quarterback suffered a season-ending hamstring injury, the tight end scored in double figures in PPR formats just once the rest of the year.
The Cowboys NEED to get Jake Ferguson going. He’s capable of being a top 3 TE in the NFL. All the tools are there for him to excel and in a run heavy play action type offense under Brain Schottenheimer, there will be no reason for Ferg not to surpass 1,000 yards in 2025. pic.twitter.com/uK7W4gNRyA
— Ernie The Cowboys Fan (@es3_09) February 1, 2025
Ferguson, though, won't see his ADP drop drastically in 2025. He might be drafted as the TE13 or TE14 in drafts next season, but he could still be a reliable TE1 option for most fantasy managers. Prescott will be back as his quarterback, and the 26-year-old should be targeted early and often in that Dallas offense.
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