Brock Bowers | Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Wrapping up the Rookie Report Card series for the 2024 season, we have finally gotten to tight ends. I already handed out my final grades for quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers – although we had such a big receiver class, I had to cover it as a two-parter, with half the class in part one and half the class in part two.
Before we get into the grades, I want you to take a quick look at the changing ADP of the 2024 rookie tight end class in the image below. It’s a bowl of spaghetti. (I left out Brock Bowers; his ADP was between 10 and 59, so he was far and away “different” from the rest of the pack).
I loved this image as an illustration of how fickle dynasty owners are, especially regarding rookies and tight end rookies in particular. Erick All was TE2 in October of 2024! Ben Sinnott is having an off-season resurgence after falling off of a cliff back in August. Ja’Tavion Sanders‘ ADP is somehow looking at its second-lowest point over the last calendar year. There are plenty of fun little nuggets in there if you look around a bit, and I thought you might enjoy it, so I included it here; now, let’s get to the grades.
Brock Bowers, TE LV
2024 stats: 112 receptions on 153 targets for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns with five carries for 13 yards
Bowers was a complete and total stud right of the gate. He finished as TE1 overall as a rookie, a rare feat, despite rookie Sam LaPorta finishing as TE1 last year too. There isn’t much to add here; it’s a fantastic rookie season to kick off what looks to be the start of an equally amazing career.
Ben Sinnott, TE WAS
2024 stats: five receptions on five targets for 28 yards and one touchdown
Sinnott was one of my biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. I didn’t have him ranked too far below Bowers heading into the season, and instead, he got five targets all year. Boo. The rookie TE2 during draft season, Sinnott finished as TE76 and 52nd among all rookies. There is some hope for down the road, though, as 34-year-old Zach Ertz ended the season as TE7 in this same offense, so there is a role for Sinnott to step into that has been productive for fantasy purposes.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR
2024 stats: 33 receptions on 43 targets for 342 yards and one touchdown
Sanders and Theo Johnson below had very similar rookie campaigns and are getting very similar grades from me. There were weeks where I plugged Sanders into my lineups and he was usable- which is always good news when bye weeks and injuries start piling up in-season. I like the player and most of the supporting cast and staff around him. The only thing that makes me pump the brakes a little bit is Sanders being tied to Bryce Young. Young seemed to finally turn the corner as the season was coming to a close, but we’ve seen enough bad from him not to have complete confidence in an offense led by him in 2025. If he blossoms into a fantasy viable, productive starter, Sanders could get one of the most significant bumps on this offense moving forward.
Theo Johnson, TE NYG
2024 stats: 29 receptions on 43 targets for 331 yards and one touchdown
Johnson and Ja’Tavion Sanders above had very similar rookie campaigns and are getting very similar grades from me. There were weeks where I plugged Johnson into my lineups and he was usable- which is always good news when bye weeks and injuries start piling up in-season. While I have certain reservations about Sanders, Johnson has very different concerns for me. Playing alongside Malik Nabers, we already know Johnson will never be a high-volume part of the Giants’ offense. Additionally, we have no clue what the Giants will be doing at quarterback in 2025 or beyond. Furthermore, even if the Giants get their QB situation squared away, will there be an entirely different front office and coaching staff in place with no ties to Johnson? I like him as a prospect and think he showed enough on the field as a rookie to give him a decent leg up on any competition in 2025, but after that, he might be a victim of many things outside of his control.
Erick All, TE CIN
2024 stats: 20 receptions on 22 targets for 158 yards
All only played in nine games as a rookie and was TE39 through week nine. Not a bad pace for a player many seemed to think of as an afterthought. Grading his nine-week sample as a C seems fair. He has as much upside as anyone not named Bowers among this rookie class, but his injuries are a concern, as he has torn his right ACL twice in 13 months. If he can stay healthy, he can become a key part of this Joe Burrow-led Bengals offense in the future. The talent is there, he just needs his body to cooperate.
Jared Wiley, TE KC
2024 stats: one reception on one target for seven yards
I only included Wiley here because everyone got excited when he landed with the Chiefs, thinking he would get some of aging Travis Kelce‘s crumbs. Instead, he did nothing at all. We often see this with anyone drafted by the Chiefs. They get an unreasonable bump in rookie drafts and often do nothing. No thanks.
Cade Stover, TE HOU
2024 stats: 15 receptions on 22 targets for 133 yards and one touchdown
Stover is a classic “better for real football than fantasy” tight end. Aside from Bowers, I wouldn’t be shocked if Stover had the longest career of anyone in this class. He’s worth rostering because he’ll be on the field and will get some looks from time to time, but I can’t imagine a world where he is ever more useful than being a bye-week fill-in or last-minute waiver add.
AJ Barner, TE SEA
2024 stats: 30 receptions on 38 targets for 245 yards and four touchdowns
For multiple reasons, Barner might end up one of the more surprising rookies this year and one of the bigger steals in the 2024 class. Noah Fant only missed three games. Tyler Lockett didn’t miss any games, nor did Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his breakout season. DK Metcalf only missed two games, and despite the Seahawks offense having their entire arsenal of weapons at their disposal all season, Barner was third on the team in touchdowns and finished as TE35. He has earned the right to get more snaps and targets in 2025 and beyond. He might be a sneaky cheap option in tight end premium leagues for the next couple of seasons.
Like a true degenerate, John has over 20 years of fantasy experience across all sports. Nowadays he primarily focuses on dynasty and redraft football, fantasy golf, and fantasy hockey and has written about each across multiple platforms for nearly 5 years. He loves rookie mock drafts and can always find a negative, pessimistic angle on all your favorite players.
Wrapping up the Rookie Report Card series for the 2024 season, we have finally gotten to tight ends. I already handed out my final grades for quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers – although we had such a big receiver class, I had to cover it as a two-parter, with half the class in part one and half the class in part two.
Before we get into the grades, I want you to take a quick look at the changing ADP of the 2024 rookie tight end class in the image below. It’s a bowl of spaghetti. (I left out Brock Bowers; his ADP was between 10 and 59, so he was far and away “different” from the rest of the pack).
I loved this image as an illustration of how fickle dynasty owners are, especially regarding rookies and tight end rookies in particular. Erick All was TE2 in October of 2024! Ben Sinnott is having an off-season resurgence after falling off of a cliff back in August. Ja’Tavion Sanders‘ ADP is somehow looking at its second-lowest point over the last calendar year. There are plenty of fun little nuggets in there if you look around a bit, and I thought you might enjoy it, so I included it here; now, let’s get to the grades.
Brock Bowers, TE LV
2024 stats: 112 receptions on 153 targets for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns with five carries for 13 yards
Bowers was a complete and total stud right of the gate. He finished as TE1 overall as a rookie, a rare feat, despite rookie Sam LaPorta finishing as TE1 last year too. There isn’t much to add here; it’s a fantastic rookie season to kick off what looks to be the start of an equally amazing career.
Ben Sinnott, TE WAS
2024 stats: five receptions on five targets for 28 yards and one touchdown
Sinnott was one of my biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. I didn’t have him ranked too far below Bowers heading into the season, and instead, he got five targets all year. Boo. The rookie TE2 during draft season, Sinnott finished as TE76 and 52nd among all rookies. There is some hope for down the road, though, as 34-year-old Zach Ertz ended the season as TE7 in this same offense, so there is a role for Sinnott to step into that has been productive for fantasy purposes.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR
2024 stats: 33 receptions on 43 targets for 342 yards and one touchdown
Sanders and Theo Johnson below had very similar rookie campaigns and are getting very similar grades from me. There were weeks where I plugged Sanders into my lineups and he was usable- which is always good news when bye weeks and injuries start piling up in-season. I like the player and most of the supporting cast and staff around him. The only thing that makes me pump the brakes a little bit is Sanders being tied to Bryce Young. Young seemed to finally turn the corner as the season was coming to a close, but we’ve seen enough bad from him not to have complete confidence in an offense led by him in 2025. If he blossoms into a fantasy viable, productive starter, Sanders could get one of the most significant bumps on this offense moving forward.
Theo Johnson, TE NYG
2024 stats: 29 receptions on 43 targets for 331 yards and one touchdown
Johnson and Ja’Tavion Sanders above had very similar rookie campaigns and are getting very similar grades from me. There were weeks where I plugged Johnson into my lineups and he was usable- which is always good news when bye weeks and injuries start piling up in-season. While I have certain reservations about Sanders, Johnson has very different concerns for me. Playing alongside Malik Nabers, we already know Johnson will never be a high-volume part of the Giants’ offense. Additionally, we have no clue what the Giants will be doing at quarterback in 2025 or beyond. Furthermore, even if the Giants get their QB situation squared away, will there be an entirely different front office and coaching staff in place with no ties to Johnson? I like him as a prospect and think he showed enough on the field as a rookie to give him a decent leg up on any competition in 2025, but after that, he might be a victim of many things outside of his control.
Erick All, TE CIN
2024 stats: 20 receptions on 22 targets for 158 yards
All only played in nine games as a rookie and was TE39 through week nine. Not a bad pace for a player many seemed to think of as an afterthought. Grading his nine-week sample as a C seems fair. He has as much upside as anyone not named Bowers among this rookie class, but his injuries are a concern, as he has torn his right ACL twice in 13 months. If he can stay healthy, he can become a key part of this Joe Burrow-led Bengals offense in the future. The talent is there, he just needs his body to cooperate.
Jared Wiley, TE KC
2024 stats: one reception on one target for seven yards
I only included Wiley here because everyone got excited when he landed with the Chiefs, thinking he would get some of aging Travis Kelce‘s crumbs. Instead, he did nothing at all. We often see this with anyone drafted by the Chiefs. They get an unreasonable bump in rookie drafts and often do nothing. No thanks.
Cade Stover, TE HOU
2024 stats: 15 receptions on 22 targets for 133 yards and one touchdown
Stover is a classic “better for real football than fantasy” tight end. Aside from Bowers, I wouldn’t be shocked if Stover had the longest career of anyone in this class. He’s worth rostering because he’ll be on the field and will get some looks from time to time, but I can’t imagine a world where he is ever more useful than being a bye-week fill-in or last-minute waiver add.
AJ Barner, TE SEA
2024 stats: 30 receptions on 38 targets for 245 yards and four touchdowns
For multiple reasons, Barner might end up one of the more surprising rookies this year and one of the bigger steals in the 2024 class. Noah Fant only missed three games. Tyler Lockett didn’t miss any games, nor did Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his breakout season. DK Metcalf only missed two games, and despite the Seahawks offense having their entire arsenal of weapons at their disposal all season, Barner was third on the team in touchdowns and finished as TE35. He has earned the right to get more snaps and targets in 2025 and beyond. He might be a sneaky cheap option in tight end premium leagues for the next couple of seasons.
Like a true degenerate, John has over 20 years of fantasy experience across all sports. Nowadays he primarily focuses on dynasty and redraft football, fantasy golf, and fantasy hockey and has written about each across multiple platforms for nearly 5 years. He loves rookie mock drafts and can always find a negative, pessimistic angle on all your favorite players.
Source link
Read More
Read More
Visit Our Site