The tight end position. The great procrastination of fantasy football. Most of the time in your draft, if you aren’t looking at one of the top tight ends early on, you’re waiting until the last logical spot to take a starter. If that is the case and you’re off the thought to wait on a tight end, here are some players you can target who should outperform their ADP (average draft position) in 2023.
Fantasy Football 2023: Top POS ADP Values
Darren Waller, New York Giants
ADP: 66th overall, TE7
Where you should draft them: A round or two early
You may need to reach to grab Waller given the hype coming out of Giants training camp. He’s already being viewed as the top target for QB Daniel Jones. Waller had to be taken out of practice because they wanted Jones to throw it at someone else. That group includes Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson. No, not very inspiring. So there’s a very good chance — if Waller can stay healthy — that he ends up leading the Giants in receiving. If nothing else he should be the top red-zone target. That could mean we see numbers similar to Waller’s Pro Bowl season with the Raiders in 2020. He finished with 1,196 receiving yards and 9 TDs, the TE2 behind Travis Kelce that year. Really the only concern is Waller’s health.
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
ADP: 155th overall, TE16
Where you should draft them: Somewhere in the top-125 overall
The Lions shipped out TJ Hockenson to the Vikings before the deadline last season. LaPorta was selected out of Iowa in the second round in 2023. Detroit spent a high pick to draft Hockenson’s replacement and LaPorta should start and see a lot of targets. Last season, 245 targets were split among Hockenson, D’Andre Swift, Kalif Raymond, Josh Reynolds and DJ Chark. Hock, Swift and Chark are gone. LaPorta doesn’t have much competition at TE for targets looking at the depth chart.
If you’re familiar with college football, you know Iowa doesn’t really scream offense. LaPorta still posted over 50 receptions and 650 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons for the Hawkeyes. The Lions were a top-10 passing offense and were very efficient throwing the ball. Jameson Williams is suspended for six games. In that time frame, LaPorta could end up being the No. 2 target behind WR Amon Ra St. Brown for Detroit.
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
ADP: 205th overall, TE27
Where you should draft them: Inside the top-175
There’s no reason to reach on Conklin since he likely isn’t on many managers’ radars. Conklin can simply exist as the Jets starting TE and outperform this ADP. It’s kind of perplexing he isn’t getting a bit more hype as a sleeper. Last season with mostly terrible QB play, Conklin was able to finish as the TE16 in fantasy football. He had 58 receptions for 552 yards and three TDs with a mix of Zach Wilson, Mike White, Joe Flacco and Chris Streveler. Now, the Jets have future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers.
Just having Rodgers you’d think this elevates everyone on the offense. Really the main two should be WR Garrett Wilson and Conklin. The only competition for targets should be WR Allen Lazard, who has dealt with injuries. Same as backup TE C.J. Uzomah. So there’s a chance Conklin is the second-leading receiver on the Jets. The floor is high for a player being drafted this low and the ceiling is top-15 TE — maybe even top-10 at the position.