Will Chigoziem Okonkwo Be A Top-12 Fantasy Tight End In 2023? Fantasy Football Outlook

Will Chigoziem Okonkwo Be A Top-12 Fantasy Tight End In 2023? Should You Draft Chigoziem Okonkwo In Fantasy Drafts This Year? Joey Pollizze provides his fantasy football outlook.

Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo showed plenty of flashes in his rookie campaign. After being selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Okonkwo led all rookie tight ends with 450 receiving yards on 32 catches and three touchdowns. 

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The rookie also became a reliable fantasy tight end option toward the end of the season. Unfortunately, the arrival of wideout DeAndre Hopkins could hurt Okonkwo's season value in a run-first offense in 2023. 

Will Okonkwo Be A Top-12 Fantasy Tight End In 2023? What's his fantasy football outlook? Let's dive in. 

Chigoziem Okonkwo Rookie Season

To begin his NFL career, Okonkwo was slow out of the gate. He sat behind Austin Hooper on the depth chart and recorded just eight catches in his first 10 games. The rookie tight end soon broke onto the scene and finished the year strong. 

Okonkwo had 24 catches for 278 yards and two touchdowns in the final seven weeks of the season. In that span, the rookie had four double-digit fantasy performances and averaged 9.5 PPR fantasy points. His PPR average from Week 12 to Week 18 was tied for the 12th best for a tight end.

As the season went on, Okonkwo saw more and more opportunities in Tennessee's offense. With Austin Hooper leaving the Titans this offseason, the 23-year-old will assume full TE1 responsibilities this season. A big year-two breakout is likely coming.

Will Chigoziem Okonkwo Be A Top-12 Fantasy Tight End In 2023?

There's a possibility that Okonkwo could finish as a top-12 tight end this season. He showed plenty of flashes last year, and in the final seven weeks of 2022, he was a top-12 fantasy tight end. In fantasy drafts this season, the second-year player is going as TE14. 

However, the arrival of Hopkins really puts a cap on his fantasy ceiling. Okonkwo will now have to fight for targets with the All-Pro wideout and second-year wide receiver Treylon Burks on a run-first offense. Last season, the Titans ran the ball at the sixth lowest rate (50.9%), and that might not drastically change in 2023. 

There was a path for Okonkwo to finish as a top-12 tight end, but that might have changed with Hopkins in town. The Titans love to beat teams by being physical and running the ball with Derrick Henry. So it might be hard for the tight end to finish top-12 at the position. Still, he definitely has a ton of potential in his second year and should be drafted in all leagues. 

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