Training camp is short. And with the restrictions on the number of padded practices, it’s shorter than ever. Not only are some of these guys battling for a starting job, but they’re battling to make the team. They are fighting to stay in the league. And, at tight end, they are doing it at one of the most difficult positions to learn and understand.

That’s why, in this article, we are not only going to look at which tight ends could be the “starter”, but what type of role they might have. The days of having one starting tight end then a bunch of backups is over. You’ve got a “room” of guys that all do different things. And some of those jobs are obviously better for fantasy football than others.

Anyone who has a copy of the Fantasy Alarm 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Guide and has read our Yin & Yang Tight End article knows this stat: for seven straight years now, a tight end has come from outside of the top 17 in ADP to finish top 5. Most recently, it was rookie Sam LaPorta, who actually finished as the TE1. They are out there. And they often come from these uncertain tight end battles during training camp. So, let’s dig into the action and make our best assessment.

 

 

 

Las Vegas Raiders - Michael Mayer vs. Brock Bowers

This is a prime example of how modern tight end “battles” are different than they were in the past. Because tight end isn’t necessarily a linear depth chart like, say, quarterback or kicker. It seems clear what they want to do – Michael Mayer will be the traditional inline tight end that skews blocking and Bowers will be more of a slot/move tight end that lines up at wide receiver.

Picture the Eagles a few years back: Michael Mayer is the Dallas Goedert and Brock Bowers is the Zach Ertz. The real question is about snaps. How often are each of the guys on the field? Are they both going to essentially be full-time players, with Mayer at TE and Bowers at WR along with Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams? That would be nice. 

Bowers is built more like a “strong Jordy Nelson” than he is a traditional tight end, so it’s entirely possible. And presents an enticing upside.

 

 

 

New York Giants - Daniel Bellinger vs. Theo Johnson

The reason it’s so rare to get breakout rookie tight ends is that the battle is fought on TWO fronts. First, the rookie needs to become the top pass-catching TE on the team. “Starting” isn’t enough – he needs to run more routes than the rest of them. And then he also needs to be a top two target on the team, including all the wide receivers and backs. That’s a tall order.

So, the first thing we ask ourselves is, in this tight end room, who skews blocking and who skews passing? Daniel Bellinger in his rookie year was used more like a two-way tight end, but last year, with Darren Waller on the team, he blocked on 22.6% of his pass plays, which is useless for fantasy. It’s rare we see guys transition into that role then come back to be fantasy-relevant, though it has happened in the past with guys like Martellus Bennett.

Theo Johnson, on the other hand, is an athletic specimen with a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) that’s actually in the top 10 of the last 1,000 tight ends, per RAS creator Kent Lee Platte. It’s also been reported that, despite just coming off the PUP list, Johnson is already getting some first team reps. The floor may be low, but we’ll bet on the ceiling of the unproven rookie. 

 

 

 

Denver Broncos - Greg Dulcich vs. Lucas Krull

Why did I leave Adam Trautman out of this battle? Well, that’s simple: we are focusing on fantasy football and he actually lost that battle already last year. From Week 8 on, he was essentially the blocking tight end with Lucas Krull running more routes than him. It’s clear they want two separate roles, a blocking TE and a pass-catching TE, and we have no interest in the blocking TE.

The Dulcich vs. Krull battle is where it gets interesting because Jerry Jeudy is now gone, which leaves a void for the second pass catcher in this offense. And, as we’ve seen in the past with Jimmy Graham, Sean Payton has some tricks up his sleeve for a “Joker” tight end that plays out of position at WR. I’m not saying the winner of this job will be Jimmy Graham, but he could be used in a similar fashion.

There was a little steam for Lucas Krull early on this spring with Sean Payton in May saying folks would “know who 85 is”. But, since returning from injury, there has been even more smoke regarding Greg Dulcich, with insiders saying there are “big expectations” for this year. Which leaves the battle open to some degree.

How I’m dealing with it in fantasy is pretty simple. Greg Dulcich himself is going crazy late in drafts at TE39 per our composite ADP. And Krull goes even later than that. So, you can likely grab Dulcich with your last pick and, if Krull gets the job, pivot to him if he’s looking like he might be the guy. 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Chargers - Hayden Hurst vs. Will Dissly vs. Donald Parham

This one is intriguing. Because we know that Greg Roman’s offense has produced great tight end seasons. In fact, it has produced a top five all time tight end fantasy season with Mark Andrews. Not only is Gerald Everett gone, but Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler are also gone. The opportunity is there.

In OTAs, Hayden Hurst was practically a focal point of the offense, catching 7 of 7 one day (6 of 6 from Justin Herbert). But there has also been some talk of Will Dissly being the starter in 11 personnel. Donald Parham was described by Greg Roman as a “big target” recently. And Stone Smartt, our favorite underdog, has just kind of been mixing in a bit.

Here’s how we are looking at it. Will Dissly is a great blocker. But, if he’s the starting tight end, all that means is the Chargers don’t have a tight end we care about in fantasy. He was already slow with a 4.87 40 and has since had three incredibly serious leg injuries. The way I see it, either Hayden Hurst (or Stone Smartt) emerges as a fantasy-relevant player, or no one does. There are 32 teams, so not every team will have a tight end we start in a 10-12 team league.

 

 

 

Washington Commanders - Zach Ertz vs. Ben Sinnott

It’s a tale as old as time. The team has an older, incumbent, pass-catching tight end that doesn’t block. And a young up-and-coming TE that has to wait his turn. We saw it with the rookie year of Cole Kmet on the Bears with Jimmy Graham stealing random red zone targets. We saw it last year with Zach Ertz and Trey McBride. We saw it with Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. And now, we have Zach Ertz vs. Ben Sinnott. We might just call this a “Zach Ertz” situation moving forward.

The thing is, Zach Ertz played in this offense with Kliff Kingsbury fairly recently. And he was getting 6.5 targets per game. Last year, he was actually on pace for over 100 targets. So, we can’t rule that out. He’s never had much breakaway speed, so don’t expect 1,000 yards or anything without a TON of targets, but he could hold down the job.

We’re rooting for the rookie though, naturally. We saw what happened when Trey McBride got his chance last year. Ben Sinnott was the second rookie tight end off the board in the second round and he obviously offers much more athleticism at this stage than Ertz. So, we’ve got our fingers crossed that he can win that job at some point. But don’t be surprised if Zach Ertz offers some fantasy-relevant weeks early on either.

 

 

 

NFL Training Camp Battles: 2024 Fantasy TE Honorable Mentions

This one might have been more of a battle had Tucker Kraft not torn his pectoral muscle. Now he’s set to miss most of training camp. Musgrave earned the job last year and was getting 7-8 targets at times, but Kraft filled in nicely and had a couple of 6-target games. If they split the job, Musgrave would skew pass downs, so he’s the best bet either way.

The math is simple here. Last year, with Woods out, they rotated the tight ends, and no one was fantasy relevant. Either Woods comes back to take over a meaningful role or he just ends up part of the rotation and there’s no one we can use. So, the bet is on Woods.

There might not be room for a fantasy relevant tight end here with the addition of Diontae Johnson. But we’re betting on the rookie Sanders if we are betting on anyone. Guys like Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas have been there for years with weak target competition and have not popped, so why would they now?

Tyler Higbee will miss the start of the season after ACL surgery and could miss a decent amount of action. The Rams still have Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, so targets could be thin, but there’s an opportunity for someone to start at least. After the money they spent on Colby Parkinson, that would be my guy.

T.J. Hockenson could miss the start of the season after ACL surgery. Robert Tonyan is dealing with back spasms. That opens the door for someone to start the season at TE, though it probably only matters in NFL DFS. Mundt had the better role last year, so go with him.

Juwan Johnson could miss the start of the season after foot surgery. Foster Moreau is likely the inline blocking tight end. Jesper Horsted is a converted WR just like Juwan Johnson which is why they signed him after Johnson went down. But the rookie Dallin Holker is kind of intriguing after leading all of college football in receptions. Keep an eye out.

 

 

 

2024 NFL Training Camp Battles: Fantasy Football