The tight end position has always been top-heavy in fantasy football. This year, we have three elite options to choose from before we start to see warts on players that give us a reason to pause. When drafting a TE, you have to either commit to spending solid draft capital and taking an elite option over some very good running backs and wide receivers or take a gamble on a player further down the draft board and risk having to stream the position if they don’t pan out. There isn’t a perfect strategy, as both options present unique risks and benefits. I’m personally only targeting a few TE’s this year and am comfortable streaming the position and hunting touchdowns if the board doesn’t fall in a way where I get one of my guys<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All statistics are provided via the Fantasy Points Data Suite<\/a>, the best tool in fantasy football, unless otherwise stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking a tight end early is usually not a winning strategy. Only one has ever paid off a second round or higher ADP: prime Travis Kelce. A lot of folks argue that having an elite TE is a positional advantage, but in order for that positional advantage to be a net positive when you’re drafting one this high they need to have an outlier of an outlier season. Brock Bowers is an outlier amongst outliers. The Georgia product was the best tight end in the NFL as a rookie, hauling in 112 catches on a staggering 153 targets. He put up 1194 yards, 5 touchdowns and finished as the TE1 in fantasy. Having Bowers in your lineup was basically like having an extra WR1 in your TE spot, putting up the 2nd most targets, 8th most yards and XFP\/G, and 10th most FP\/G from week 5 on. He ran 56.1% of his routes out of the slot last season, the 15th highest mark amongst all pass catchers and 6th highest amongst TE’s. He posted a very solid 2.09 YPRR in the slot, matching superstar receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s number in his natural position. He also ran hot as an outside receiver, putting up 2.11 YPRR, higher than Tee Higgins, Terry McLaurin and DK Metcalf. He obviously shined when lined up as an inline TE, putting up the 6th best YPRR in a traditional TE role. There isn’t much in the way of him having another 150+ target season and being the focal point of the Raiders passing attack. 2024 was a year of volume for Bowers, but he still has room to grow as a fantasy producer. He was a YAC monster in college and was dangerous with the ball in his hands. He led all TE’s in YAC as a rookie largely due to his low aDOT rather than his tackle breaking ability that he displayed at Georgia. He only had 7 MTF on his 113 catches, a number that I fully expect to rise in 2025. He only caught 1 of his 7 EZTGT’s last season and scored his other 4 touchdowns from outside the red zone, including his first career touchdown<\/a> where he mossed a defender and burned the angle from another defensive back, scoring from 57 yards out. Bowers is as good of a bet as any TE outside George Kittle to bring in double-digit touchdowns in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This thought stems from the Raiders receiving the biggest quarterback upgrade from last season of any team as they are going from Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder to Geno Smith. Amongst 47 QB’s with at least 100 DB’s in 2024, Smith ranked 4th in CPOE and 5th in Catchable throw%. Gardner Minshew, who had the most starts for the Raiders last season, ranked 27th and 32nd in those categories. With improved quarterback play, Bowers is primed to find another gear. It’s possible that we could be drafting a player capable of putting up a prime Kelce season in 2025. If that happens, you won’t be able to take Bowers outside of the first round in fantasy drafts for the next half decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTargets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Brock Bowers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Rank: TE1, Consensus ADP: TE1<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
George Kittle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Rank: TE3, Consensus ADP: TE3<\/h6>\n\n\n\n