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We've all heard the narrative that rookie tight ends are untrustworthy and are not worthwhile fantasy assets. Some of that notion began to get dispelled last year with the strong play of Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid. Many expect superstar and rookie phenom Brock Bowers to potentially put the rookie tight end theory to bed. Even Ja'Tavion Sanders is a highly regarded prospect expected to hear his name in the second round and could become a fantasy-relevant tight end as a rookie. While everyone is very familiar with Bowers, if you're looking for a more in-depth look at Sanders' prospect profile and why he shouldn't be forgotten about behind Bowers, you can read that here.
There are two other rookie tight ends that fantasy managers should know about. They aren't as good as Sanders or even in the same realm as Bowers, but that doesn't mean they should be ignored or forgotten. We'll focus on Ben Sinnott out of Kansas State and Jaheim Bell out of Florida State. These two rookie tight ends will likely hear their names called sometime in Round 3 or 4 of this year's NFL Draft. Both of these guys have good prospect profiles, and based on their athletic testing, there's reason to believe they have top-12 potential.
Regarding rookie tight ends producing for fantasy managers, their landing spot is everything. That will be true for Sinnott and Bell, especially since they won't have elite draft capital. If they get it, they'll be 2024 tight end sleepers. If they don't get it for 2024, dynasty managers shouldn't forget about them because both players have talent and upside. Let's discuss why. If you want to take advantage of our great premium tools, please use promo code "BOOM" to receive a 10% discount.
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Ben Sinnott, Kansas State
Sinnott is a four-year player and a former walk-on. He was redshirted in 2020, but didn't play much in 2021 as a redshirt freshman. He recorded just four targets. It wasn't until 2022 that Sinnott became a regular part of Kansas State's offense. As a redshirt sophomore, he finished with 46 targets, 31 receptions, 447 yards, and four touchdowns. He posted an 11.8% target share and a 14.2% target rate. Sinnott was modestly effective with the targets he received, finishing with a 1.39 yards per route run average.
Sinnott broke out in his final year at Kansas State this past season. He finished with 73 targets, 48 receptions, 669 yards, and six touchdowns. He ranked fourth among all tight ends this past season in total targets. Sinnott was sixth in receptions and fourth in yards. His 81.0 PFF receiving grade ranked ninth out of 105 tight ends with at least 25 targets. His 6.8 yards after catch per reception ranked 29th out of the same sample and his 2.02 yards per route run average was the ninth best. Sinnott had a 17.2% target share and a 21.9% target rate.
Ben Sinnott with good stem work vs zone. Strong hand-eye coordination. Notable contact balance consistent on his tape. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/ykp75fRj2v
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) February 25, 2024
Sinnott was one of the better receiving tight ends in the country this past season. He finished with just two drops out of 73 targets and hauled in 47.8% of his contested catch opportunities over the past two years. Those numbers made Sinnott someone to watch, but his NFL Combine performance moved the needle even higher.
Regarding the tight end position and fantasy production, there is a very strong positive correlation with elite athleticism. If you were to Google any of the best receiving tight ends of the past 20 years, almost every single one has an RAS higher than 8.0.
Ben Sinnott is a TE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.75 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 29 out of 1116 TE from 1987 to 2024.
Splits projectedhttps://t.co/cxnYFtYIau pic.twitter.com/wT8Uyc6HDn
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 2, 2024
Sinnott came through for fantasy managers and effectively raised his draft stock with an elite NFL Combine performance. Sinnott checks many of the boxes for fantasy managers, and the bar will be raised higher depending on what kind of draft capital he receives in less than two months. If you aren't in on Sinnott yet, I'll take one more swing to convince you in just a bit, but for now, let's move on to our next sleeper candidate.
Jaheim Bell, Florida State
We'll lead off with Bell's NFL Combine performance since we discussed how important athleticism is for the tight end position. He scored an 8.48 on the RAS and ran a strong 40-yard dash. He displayed strong lower-body power and explosiveness with his vertical and broad jump. Based on the RAS scores of some of the best pass-catching tight ends of the past 20 years, scoring at least an 8.0 is a prerequisite for any potential fantasy football upside. Bell displayed it, passing one of the very most important tests.
Jaheim Bell is a TE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 8.48 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 171 out of 1116 TE from 1987 to 2024.
Splits projectedhttps://t.co/tlF6KZyipj pic.twitter.com/5VwrkyabhA
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 2, 2024
Bell is a four-year player, beginning his college career at South Carolina for his first three seasons. In his second season, he finished with 41 targets, 30 receptions, 488 yards, and five touchdowns. He posted an impressive 88.8 PFF receiving grade, the ninth-highest mark among 97 tight ends with at least 25 targets. He was first out of this sample in the country with 11.8 yards after the catch per reception average. Bell was also first in the country with a 3.67 yards per route run average. His 30.8% targets per route run mark is equally as impressive.
Jaheim Bell continues to check boxes.
Good in contested situations (54.5% career contested-catch rate).
Excellent after-the-catch (9.2 career YAC/reception, better than Brock Bowers; 10+ broken tackles in 3-consecutive seasons).
2.30 YPRR for his career (excellent) & a… pic.twitter.com/nd9UmSRNyS
— David J. Gautieri (@GuruFantasyWrld) March 2, 2024
Bell's junior production took a step back. He finished with just 28 targets, 24 receptions, 235 yards, and two touchdowns. Despite the lack of volume, Bell continued to be efficient. He had a 76.4 PFF receiving grade and averaged 8.1 yards after the catch per reception and a 1.62 yards per route run average. He transferred to Florida State for his final season, which ended up being his best. He finished with 52 targets, 39 receptions, 503 yards, and two touchdowns. Among 105 tight ends with 105 targets, he finished:
- 18th with a 75.3 PFF receiving grade
- 10th with an 8.1 yards after the catch per reception average
- 13th with a 1.97 yards per route run average
- 26th in contested catch rate at 50%
He also had a 12.0% target share and a 20.4% targets per route run average. Bell displayed excellent efficiency, showcased strong athletic scores, and was elite in yards after the catch. At this point, your interest should be piqued, but if it's not yet, we'll give it one more try.
In Case That Wasn't Enough...
In terms of Experience Adjusted Reception Market Share, Bell and Sinnott posted one season over the average line for past prospects who recorded at least one top-12 season in the NFL. Bell had an elite sophomore season but had a strong final season. He was slightly under the line but was still within shouting distance. Sinnott flirted with the line in his third season before finally eclipsing it in his final season.
Sinnott performed better in Experience Adjusted Receiving Yards Market Share by reviewing the average of prospects who recorded at least one top-12 season in the NFL. Sinnott passed this criteria in each of the last two seasons. Meanwhile, Bell once again passed expectations in his sophomore season and was within shouting distance of it in his final season.
Again, Sinnott performed better than Bell in this graph, depicting Experience Adjusted Receiving Yards per Team Pass Attempt. Sinnott was above the average line in his final season and was very close in his third. Bell exceeded the average line as a sophomore but fell decently short in his third and fourth seasons.
These two tight ends continue to show their potential, especially Sinnott. Regarding Experience Adjusted Weighted Dominator Rating, Sinnott passed the average line in his final two seasons. Much like the last graph, Bell exceeded expectations as a sophomore before falling well short as a junior and senior.
In the end, all we care about is fantasy points. Looking at their PPR points scored in college, Bell exceeded expectations in his sophomore season and was right on par in his third season. He was fairly short in his final season, but displayed potential by matching or exceeding this expectation in his second and third seasons. Sinnott was also right on the average line in his third season before eclipsing this average line in his final season.
Based on these graphs, Sinnott is the preferred option, but Bell should also be on your radar. All of these graphs are courtesy of Campus2Canton, which has incredible information on college prospects to help you get ready for the NFL Draft. In dynasty leagues, both players make excellent sleeper selections later in your rookie drafts. For redraft leagues, landing spots will be crucial in determining their potential 2024 value. However, if you need one more reason to be in on these two tight ends, I'll leave you with this...
PlayerProfiler Stat of the Day🤖
At the @seniorbowl , only 3 TEs recorded 18+ mph speeds👀
🥇Jaheim Bell - 18.95, 6'2" 244 lbs
🥈Ben Sinnott - 18.91, 6'4" 254 lbs
🥉Theo Johnson - 18.68, 6'7" 257 lbs
Which TE will run the fastest 40 at the Combine?📢#PlayerProfilerStats pic.twitter.com/rIB4SekVoY
— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) March 1, 2024
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