Early Fantasy Football Rankings for FFPC Leagues - Tight End Premium Scoring (2023)

June 29, 2023

Scott's early 2023 fantasy football tight end premium rankings - 1.5 PPR scoring for tight ends. Check out his early top 300 rankings along with draft targets.

When you join high-stakes fantasy football leagues, the competition is always intense. Those who participate in the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) seasonal leagues also have the added challenge of an additional scoring twist: Tight End Premium Scoring.

In FFPC leagues, tight ends are awarded 1.5 points per reception. Such a unique scoring format demands that you draft players at the position earlier. In this article, I feature TE rankings and analysis that is geared toward FFPC leagues, with Top 300 overall fantasy football rankings included.

The fantasy football tight end scouting reports included here are also applicable to all seasonal formats. I share my perspectives on drafting for the position. with some of my preferred value targets. You can find all of my early 2023 fantasy football rankings in the RotoBaller Fantasy Football Season Pass. Enter KING at checkout for an additional discount.

Tight End Premium - Fantasy Football Rankings Analysis

My overall rankings in pure PPR formats have Travis Kelce at sixth overall, so he is a natural bump to No. 1 overall in the FFPC. He is 10 overall spots ahead of the next two players at the position. If I can land a top 6 tight end in the first two rounds, I will go for it in many cases, but if Kelce is not on my team, I am willing to still pass on the position in the first round.

T.J. Hockenson is my second TE off the board, as I still believe he will be the top secondary target for Kirk Cousins. I do like rookie Jordan Addison, but I don’t expect him to immediately become the clear No. 2 pass-catcher for Minnesota.

Lamar Jackson has the best projected wide receiver crew of his career, and that situation can drag down the overall output of Mark Andrews a bit. I expect him to bounce back this season, but not quite to his past top levels. Andrews is still my No. 3 TE, though, and 12th overall in the FFPC TE premium ranks.

George Kittle is one spot behind Andrews and I will not say anyone is crazy to take him in the top 3 at the position. I do have my somewhat minor reservations about the San Francisco QB situation, though, and Kittle will compete for catches with the 49ers WRs and Christian McCaffrey.

I am very willing to take Darren Waller to the end of the second round in the FFPC. In a high-stakes competition, you cannot hesitate to aggressively push the guys you want up the board and take them somewhat earlier than others might. I believe Waller is going to regain his best form with a big role for the Giants.  He can function as the top pass-catcher that New York was previously lacking.

As much as many fantasy analysts seem to have widespread high optimism about Kyle Pitts, I am a bit lower on him. Atlanta will be a run-first team and I need to see more from Desmond Ridder as a pure passer first. If you do value Pitts higher than I do, though, and many will, he obviously has to be taken earlier than where I have him ranked at 26th overall.

I do prefer to get one of the top seven TEs in the first two rounds of FFPC drafts. We all know that tight end is the thinnest position in fantasy football, and with premium scoring in the FFPC, it is a good approach to aim for the very best at the position early while fleshing out the rest of your starting lineup otherwise. If drafting the TE early pushes back projected starters at another position for just another round, I will simply adjust accordingly.

I have Evan Engram inside the top 35, but there are a lot of targets and touches to be spread around in Jacksonville this season. David Njoku, at 37 overall, could be headed for his best season yet with Deshaun Watson projected to play a full schedule in his second season with the Browns.

If you want to get aggressive and take Chigoziem Okonkwo inside the top 40, I won’t argue with that. He should be the No. 2 receiving option on a Tennessee offense that is glaringly lacking in pass-catching options. I fully expect him to emerge as the best option alongside Treylon Burks.

I am also very intrigued with Dalton Schultz (No. 49 overall) in Houston. He should be a frequent target for a rookie QB who has some unproven WRs and Robert Woods.

By the time we get to No. 54 overall, Buffalo rookie Dalton Kincaid, we are in the territory of aiming at upside and value plays. Some fantasy players may chance it and wait for a value TE as a possible starter in pure PPR leagues, but I never want to bank on upside or a sleeper type as anyone more than a TE2 in the FFPC format. Experienced players in the FFPC will know this, yet it’s a significant pointer if you are newer to the platform.

Sam LaPorta (No. 59 overall) is a promising TE2 target, as Jared Goff continued to look for his lesser targets at the position last year after Hockenson was traded. Mike Gesicki is one of my preferred values at No. 74 overall. Miami did not seem to get the best out of him in recent seasons, and New England is a much better place for Gesicki to shine.

I do see some potential for Greg Dulcich (No. 77 overall), as Sean Payton has always attempted to incorporate the TE into the game flow, even when Jimmy Graham was gone from New Orleans. One of my favored sleepers to target later is Jelani Woods (No. 95 overall). He is a 6-foot-7, 253-pounder who can be a key option for Anthony Richardson, especially in some TD situations. I do prefer my TE2 to be taken among my top 25, with Cade Otton (24th at the position) as my final target at the position.

The King’s Top 300 - FFPC Fantasy Football Rankings

Scott Engel's fantasy and betting analysis is also featured at The Game Day.

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