The month of August officially means the return of football and with it will come the fantasy football drafts as managers work their way toward winning a championship.
While a championship doesn’t happen immediately at the draft, getting a solid foundation is the start. Part of that process could be waiting on a tight end and grabbing a bargain late in the draft. Heading into the 2019 season, there are a few options to consider.
Here are four bargain tight ends to target late in your drafts (all ADP data courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator):
Delanie Walker — Tennessee Titans — ADP: 11.07 (TE12)
It feels like it has been a while since Walker had fantasy relevance, but that is simply because he missed the entire season in 2018. Before that, Walker had been a constant fixture in the fantasy tight end landscape.
There are some understandable concerns with drafting Walker late in drafts, especially if you’re depending on him to be your only tight end. However, it could pay off. Given the value Walker has despite the injury concerns, the soon-to-be 35-year-old could wind up being the top option in the Titans passing attack—albeit likely not a very good one.
From 2014–17, Walker recorded at least 800 receiving yards each season. In his three Pro Bowl years (2015–17), Walker finished no worse than the TE6. In an offense that is littered with young talent, Marcus Mariota will have to lean on his tight end to produce.
With Walker going in the 11th round, deciding to wait on a tight end that is going to see a massive target share on his offense could pay off.
Austin Hooper — Atlanta Falcons — ADP: 12.11 (TE14)
I know it’s hard to get excited about Hooper given all the weapons Matt Ryan has to target and the fact that his ceiling is capped unless the injury bug hits. But targeting late-round tight ends get tricky, and Hooper finished as the TE6 in half-PPR scoring. There’s no reason he should be going as the TE14 in August.
Even with Calvin Ridley likely to take some more targets away from Hooper, we saw that Ryan isn’t afraid to target his tight end. Hooper finished the 2018 season with 88 targets—good for seventh-most among tight ends. From Week 10 on, Hooper was the fifth-most targeted tight end in the NFL. His 71 receptions were the fourth-most at the position, giving him value in PPR leagues that might not be there after the 12th round. Hooper’s 13 red-zone targets were sixth-most among tight ends.
There is a bit of concern with touchdown upside in the Falcons offense, but Hooper is going to get peppered with targets in the middle of the field, and he will find his share of red-zone targets as well. That’s hard to come by at the end of the 12th round.
Mark Andrews — Baltimore Ravens — ADP: 13.08 (TE15)
If you’re a fantasy football manager and you’ve decided to simply stay away from the receiving corps of the Ravens. Good for you. Nothing was ever wiser. But, there is an asset in Andrews that could pay huge dividends for those looking for a late-round tight end.
Of all the late-round tight ends, Andrews is the favorite. He’s been talked about by almost every analyst covering fantasy football. Finishing as the TE17 during his rookie season, there were promising flashes of potential shown. Obviously it’s a small sample but over the final three weeks of the season, Andrews was the TE8 in half-PPR scoring.
We saw that Lamar Jackson still has a ways to go in terms of becoming a consistent passer, but there is some high upside for Andrews in the 13th round if he winds up becoming the favorite target for a young quarterback looking to become more consistent in an offense that should be running plenty of plays in 2019.
Jack Doyle — Indianapolis Colts — ADP: 13.10 (TE17)
Want my favorite tight end bargain? Look no further than Doyle. Following a rough 2018 season that was riddled with injuries and eventually seeing him placed on the injured reserve after playing just six games, Doyle is back to health ready to be one of Andrew Luck’s favorite targets.
Even with the new weapons coming in and Eric Ebron still in the room. Even with the fact that the Colts want to run the ball more. Doyle is expected to lead a Colts tight end room that is featured heavily in Frank Reich’s offense, and he’s going to be the one to get the most opportunities.
As a do-it-all tight end, Doyle was a workhorse for the Colts. In the six games he appeared in, He averaged 81.6% of the offensive snaps. He’s going to be on the field a ton while commanding short-range targets in an offense designed to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly.
Doyle isn’t far removed from the 80-reception season in 2017—which came without the benefit of Luck. As long as he stays healthy, Doyle is one of my favorite sleepers to crack the top 10 at the position, despite his current draft position stating he should be an afterthought.
