The 2023 NFL season, but we are wasting no time in looking ahead to 2024. While the majority of fantasy football drafts won’t take place until next August, bestball drafts are in full swing. These types of leagues feature deeper rosters, which allow for some wiggle room in case any players are traded, sign with a different team in free agency, or have a bad landing spot as rookies.
2023 was a big year for tight ends as Travis Kelce was finally unseated as the top tight end in fantasy football. In his “down year,” he finished as the overall TE3 in half-PPR, scoring behind Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta and Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram. There will likely be a slight changing of the guard in the position from last year, whether it be due to usage or an injury. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how tight ends are being valued in the bestball leagues.
2024 best ball rankings: Top 51 tight ends
Even with the regular season step back, Kelce remains the top tight end for fantasy. Unless he retires, he will have Patrick Mahomes throwing him the football as they look to win their third Super Bowl in a row. Kelce’s seven-year streak of having at least 1,000 receiving yards has come to an end. In his down year, he had the second-most receiving yards among tight ends with 984 and added five touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews watched his team make it to the AFC Championship Game without him after he suffered a regular season ending injury. He played in only 10 games and had 544 yards and six touchdowns, but the fact that he was able to return for the AFCCG suggests he should be full speed ahead when the season begins, making him the overall TE2.
The rookie LaPorta wasted little time having a big impact on the Detroit Lions offense. He played in all 17 games and came down with 86 of his 120 targets for 889 yards. LaPorta added 10 receiving touchdowns, which were the most for a tight end last year. Second-year tight end Jake Ferguson comes in as the overall TE5 after a strong rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Following in the footsteps of rookie tight ends LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, Ferguson, and Michael Mayer, Brock Bowers should be the first rookie tight end drafted in baseball. He is being projected as a top-10 pick and should be a starting tight end in Week 1 based on the talent that he showed at UGA. Bowers played three seasons for the Bulldogs and finished his career with 2,538 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in 40 games. He is a versatile player and added five rushing touchdowns when the Dawgs got creative in the redzone. Bowers is ranked as the TE13 for bestball drafts.