Must-Have Fantasy Football Tight Ends: 4 Undervalued Draft Targets

Joey's fantasy football tight end (TEs) targets for 2025. His top sleepers and undervalued TEs for fantasy football drafts including George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, and more.

The NFL season is quickly approaching, and it's never too early to start thinking about the upcoming fantasy season. We are three months away from most fantasy leagues kicking off their drafts this summer. So, now is a good time to start reading up on players, especially those at the tight end position. 

Tight end is always one of the tougher positions to navigate throughout the season. In most drafts this year, fantasy managers will select Brock Bowers and Trey McBride as the first two tight ends. That's not a total shock, considering Bowers and McBride finished top two at the position in 2024. However, given their second-round ADPs, they aren't necessarily must-drafts in 2025.

So, let's look at which four tight ends fantasy managers should be drafting in every format this upcoming season. These four tight ends are value picks at their current ADP and should be solid TE1 options throughout the year. 

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George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has been one of the most consistent fantasy options in recent years. He has finished as a top-5 fantasy tight end in four straight seasons and has scored over 200 PPR fantasy points in three consecutive years. As a result, Kittle is someone fantasy managers should be selecting within the first few rounds of drafts. 

Kittle is coming off one of his better fantasy seasons in 2024, averaging 15.8 PPR fantasy points across 15 games. In those 15 contests, the 49ers' playmaker scored at least 14 PPR fantasy points 11 times. Therefore, his current 53 ADP on Sleeper makes him a must-draft in all formats. 

The 31-year-old will remain a top target in San Francisco's offense, and fantasy managers know what to expect from the veteran every week. Kittle ranked top-five among all tight ends in yards after the catch (522), red zone targets (21), total touchdowns (eight), yards per target (11.8), and fantasy points per route (0.66) last year. 

Done deal: 49ers six-time Pro-Bowl TE George Kittle has signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension that includes $40 million guaranteed, as he told @BussinWTB. pic.twitter.com/cIeAQ5tegS

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2025

It's hard not to love Kittle in the early round of fantasy drafts. He is one of the best tight ends after the catch and could beat teams deep. With Deebo Samuel Sr. traded to the Washington Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk coming back from a torn ACL, there's no reason why the 31-year-old can't post similar numbers again. 

As a result, passing on both Bowers and McBride in the second round to take the 49ers' tight end a few rounds later feels like a smart strategy. Kittle averaged more PPR fantasy points per game (15.8 PPR) than both of those tight ends last year. 

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

After a strong rookie campaign, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was selected as the TE1 in most fantasy drafts last year. He caught 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to an overall TE1 PPR fantasy finish in 2023. So, it made sense why LaPorta was going later in the second round of fantasy drafts. 

However, the former Iowa star was one of the bigger busts at the position. LaPorta finished as the TE8 in PPR formats and averaged only 10.9 PPR fantasy points per game. The Lions' playmaker also failed to score above 18.5 PPR fantasy points in any game last season.

It really wasn't a strong sophomore campaign for LaPorta. He averaged just 3.25 targets in his first eight games and scored under 10 PPR fantasy points in six of those contests. Given his lack of involvement in the passing game, it was hard to trust him earlier in the year. 

Nevertheless, his second half should give fantasy managers confidence in selecting him in 2025 fantasy drafts. LaPorta saw at least six targets in eight straight games to end the season and scored in double figures in PPR formats in seven of those eight contests. The 6-foot-3 tight end averaged 13.8 PPR fantasy points per game during this span. 

TRICK OR TREAT. 🍬

David Montgomery THROWS a touchdown to Sam LaPorta! #OnePride

(🎥 NFL, FOX)

pic.twitter.com/uZSLYTRCoX

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 27, 2024

Therefore, LaPorta will be a much better target in drafts this year. He has a current 66 ADP on Sleeper and should be a solid TE1 option. The 24-year-old ranked third in deep targets, fifth in red zone targets (19), and sixth in yards after the catch (343) last season. If he can maintain a target share higher than 20% in 2025, a top-3 tight end finish is certainly attainable in this Detroit offense. 

Evan Engram, Denver Broncos

There's no doubt that tight end Evan Engram had a rough fantasy year in 2024. He only played in nine games due to injuries and averaged just 9.94 PPR fantasy points across those nine contests. That poor season led to the Jacksonville Jaguars releasing him earlier in the offseason. But it didn't take long for Engram to find a new home. 

The Denver Broncos eventually picked up Engram and signed him to a two-year deal. While some fantasy managers might be hesitant to select the veteran tight end in drafts following a down season, the former Jaguars playmaker could be a fantastic value pick in the middle round of fantasy drafts. 

Just two years ago, Engram finished as the overall TE2 in PPR formats. He caught a career-high 114 passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns. Although we shouldn't rely on the 30-year-old to repeat those numbers in 2025, he should be a solid TE1 fantasy option for the Broncos this upcoming season. 

Engram catches most of his passes near the line of scrimmage, and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix completed most of his passes near the line of scrimmage in his rookie season. Nix ranked 27th in air yards per attempt (7.2) and 30th in yards per attempt (6.7). That's excellent news for Engram's fantasy value, considering he ranked 34th in target depth back during his career year in 2023. 

So, the eight-year veteran is a must-draft in 2025. He has a current ADP of 88 on Sleeper and has the potential to see 90-plus targets in this Denver offense. There's a strong chance that only Courtland Sutton sees more targets than Engram in this offense this season. That makes him a must-target in drafts.

Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys 

It was a disappointing campaign for Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson in 2024. He caught just 59 passes for 494 yards while averaging a mere 7.5 PPR fantasy points per game. However, many different things contributed to that down season. Ferguson missed three games due to injuries and lost his starting quarterback for the season in Week 9. 

As a result, Ferguson is a fantastic bounce-back candidate in 2025. Before Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9, the Cowboys tight end saw at least seven targets in five of his first seven games. While the addition of George Pickens does hurt his fantasy value a little bit, he should be a reliable third option in this Dallas offense. 

With Prescott fully healthy, Ferguson has a great chance to finish as a low-end TE1 this upcoming season. The last time the Cowboys quarterback played a full season, the 6-foot-5 playmaker caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. That helped him finish as the overall TE9 in PPR formats. 

So, we shouldn't sleep on Ferguson in 2025 fantasy drafts. This Cowboys offense will be one of the better units in the NFL, and the tight end has become a security blanket for Prescott in the middle of the field over the past few years. During the 2023 season, he ranked first among all tight ends in red zone targets (25) and sixth in yards after the catch (425). 

With all of the attention going to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens all I can say is…..Jake Ferguson is about to go OFF for 800+ yards this season.#DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/1o7pl4sAad

— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) May 7, 2025

That gives Ferguson a higher fantasy ceiling than most tight ends going around him in the ninth or 10th round of drafts. He'll likely see consistent targets in what should be a high-powered Cowboys' offense. That alone makes him an appealing option at his current 104 ADP on Sleeper. 

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