Each week, tight end is a critical but unpredictable fantasy football position, and with bye weeks, the position gets even more uncertain for the next few weeks. With 20 teams on Sunday’s main DFS slate, some interesting bargain options become potential fantasy football sleepers with a chance to step up, giving your fantasy roster a huge boost from an affordable salary. The right fantasy football sleeper at tight end could make a huge difference in your lineup in Week 5.
Last week, my picks were hot as three bargain options had double-digit fantasy points. Cheap tight ends can be especially helpful in GPP lineups since the cheaper tight ends are under $3,000, which is lower than any running back or wide receiver. Playing a bargain option like that leaves more to spend up in other spots. Let’s stay hot this week with five more fantasy football sleeper plays at tight end in this weekly Saturday post.
These picks can be excellent values for DFS contests and can also serve as sneaky plays in your season-long league since they are in a position to exceed expectations. Earlier this week, I highlighted my top-15 starters at tight end, and in this list, we’ll focus on players mostly outside those 15 players who still bring a high fantasy football ceiling in their Week 4 matchups.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sleeper TEs (analysis below)
- Theo Johnson, New York Giants ($3,400)
- A.J. Barner, Seattle Seahawks ($3,100)
- Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers ($2,900)
- Mason Taylor, New York Jets ($2,800)
- Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans ($2,500)
Week 4 Results:
- Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,200; 10.5 FPTS)
- Jake Tonges, San Francisco 49ers ($3,100; 14.8 FPTS)
- Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears ($3,000; 7.5 FPTS)
- Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers ($2,700; 15.2 FPTS)
- Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers ($2,600; 3.6 FPTS)
Whether you’re looking for value plays in your DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] or looking for a last-minute addition from the waiver wire, here are my top-five fantasy football sleeper tight ends for Week 5 of the 2025 season:
Theo Johnson, New York Giants ($3,400)
The Giants lost Malik Nabers (knee) for the season last week, opening up plenty of pass-catching work in the Giants’ new-look offense under Jaxson Dart ($5,300). In the companion piece to this post, I highlighted Darius Slayton ($4,300), but Johnson should also be in line for more work.
Johnson caught Dart’s first touchdown of his career last week
He matched his season-high with five targets and caught three passes for 17 yards and a touchdown. His 10.7 fantasy points were his highest output of the season and his second game with over 7.0 fantasy points.
This week, Johnson and the Giants visit the Big Easy to take on the winless Saints. New Orleans has been a mid-range matchup for tight ends so far this year, but with enough targets available, he should be able to be an excellent value.
Dart seems to be ready to run a rush-focused attack, but with Johnson’s role in the short passing game could potentially give him a high floor, especially in DraftKings’ PPR format.
A.J. Barner, Seattle Seahawks ($3,100)
Whether you go with Barner or anyone else from this game between the Seahawks and the Bucs, the uniforms enough are enough to make sure to watch the contest.
Barner will be sporting the Seahawks’ blues as he tries to continue his emergence as a fantasy football sleeper at tight end.
Last week, he hauled in all three of his targets against the Cardinals for 32 yards and a touchdown. It was his second touchdown of the season, and he has caught seven of his nine targets for a total of 81 yards.
Would he be a better value if he got more targets? Sure! His price would also likely be higher, though.
He’s trending in the right direction, and he is establishing a solid connection with QB Sam Darnold ($5,100), who has made tight ends fantasy relevant in his previous stops in his career.
Barner has played at least 85% of snaps in three of his four games this year, so even though Elijah Arroyo ($2,600) is involved and a dynamic option as well, the Seahawks are still getting plenty of work for Barner.
He isn’t a “safe” play, but he’s a great fantasy football sleeper this week against the Bucs, who have allowed 4.8 catches for 40 yards per game to the position so far this year.
Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers ($2,900)
The Panthers were limited on pass catchers in Week 4 against New England, so I had Tremble in my picks as a fantasy football sleeper last week. He stepped up with five catches on eight targets for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Even though WR Xavier Legette ($3,500) will be coming back from a two-game absence with a hamstring injury, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders (ankle) and Jalen Coker (quad) will still be out, leaving more work for Tremble.
Last week, he played a season-high 75% of snaps, and he’s in another favorable matchup against the Dolphins, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to the position this season.
Tremble still doesn’t bring the field-stretching potential that Sanders offers when healthy, but he has a solid rapport with Bryce Young ($4,900), who has been teaming up with him for the past few seasons.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets ($2,800)
Taylor has jumped right in as the Jets primary tight end in his rookie year out of LSU. He was a second-round pick and has played at least 70% of snaps in every game this season.
His workload has increased as the season has gone on. He only had one target in Week 1 and two targets in Week 2, with one catch in each game. In Week 3, his targets jumped to six from fill-in QB Tyrod Taylor. He caught four of those passes for only 18 yards, but took a huge step forward in his involvement.
With Justin Fields ($5,600) back under center last week, Taylor stayed very involved with five catches on seven targets. He set a career-high with 65 yards, surpassing his total from the first three weeks.
Fields, Taylor and the Jets are still looking for their first win of the year as they host Dallas this week. Taylor is also looking for his first NFL touchdown, but he’s a strong play under $3,000, especially since the Cowboys have been very beatable through the air.
Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans ($2,500)
Another rookie claims the final spot in my fantasy football sleeper tight ends for this week. Helm was the Titans’ fourth-round pick out of Texas.
Helm has been playing around 40% of snaps each week for Tennessee, well behind starting tight end Chig Okonkwo ($3,300). Despite limited playing time, he’s caught seven of his eight targets for a total of 64 yards.
He’s getting attention for lots of positive things and could get more work going forward according to offensive coordinator Nick Holz:
He’s a high-risk play at the minimum, but he has enough upside to be worth a flier play. He’s a boom-or-bust option, but he could have a breakthrough game at some point this season since the Titans often have to play from behind and go pass-heavy.
This week, Cam Ward ($4,600) will try to connect with his fellow rookie Helm in a favorable matchup against the Cardinals.
