Everyone knows to draft Brock Bowers and Trey McBride in the second or third round of fantasy football drafts. Leagues are won by finding those under-the-radar guys who significantly outperform their cost. With training camp and preseason underway, player values are starting to solidify. Based on current average draft position (ADP), here are my favorite TE sleepers for this season.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
It’s tough to find true tight end sleepers because the position tails off after the first six to eight guys. In the absence of obvious breakout candidates, why not the rookies?
Colston Loveland’s offensive situation does not appear conducive to a massive rookie season. He will be competing for targets with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III. Those passes will be thrown by Caleb Williams, who needs to take a significant step forward as a sophomore if there is to be any hope of all these guys returning value.
So, why am I touting Loveland? I’m not touting him. This is more of a value proposition.
Historically, only a handful of tight ends matter every year. You can primarily stream 10 fantasy points per game. In 2024, a total of five TEs averaged more than 13 ppg. One averaged around 12 ppg. Then, we had around 10 in the 9-11 ppg range. The difference between those guys is negligible.
Loveland is an elite prospect with early-first-round draft capital. If I’ve punted the TE position, I’d rather take the swing on the talented unknown in the rookie. If it doesn’t work out, the person I pick up will be no worse than the one I could’ve drafted. But the person I could’ve drafted would have had less upside than Loveland.
Colston Loveland on who he modeled his game after pic.twitter.com/e5xOWKTSnw
— Ficky (@itsfickybaby) April 25, 2025
Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
By no means should you go into a draft hoping to get Brenton Strange as your TE1. But if it happens by accident, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
Strange takes over as the Jaguars’ primary tight end following Evan Engram’s departure. Last season, we got a glimpse of what that looks like.
Strange played eight games with Engram sidelined due to injury. In those eight contests, Strange averaged 8.5 PPG. Those are closer to streamer-level numbers. With a full offseason as the clear TE1, plus Liam Coen bringing innovative concepts to what was a poor offense, we could see Strange take off this season.
At a TE21 ADP, Strange is quite literally free, available in the last round of fantasy drafts. If you punt entirely on the tight end position, he should be the guy you target.
Mason Taylor, TE, New York Jets
Once upon a time, the Jets had a logjam at the pass-catcher position. There were too many guys and not enough offense. This year, it’s the complete opposite.
Garrett Wilson remains entrenched as the WR1. He will dominate targets likely at a career-best level. Beyond him, though, there’s very little. Currently, Josh Reynolds and Allen Lazard project to be the WR2 and WR3. Why can’t Mason Taylor emerge as the second option in this passing game?
The Jets have no real incumbent at tight end. Maybe the guy ends up being Jeremy Ruckert. In that case, you drop Taylor. But what if Taylor impresses right away and earns the TE1 role? Justin Fields is capable of supporting two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. The only one we know for sure is Wilson. This is a no-risk, pure upside play.
