Fantasy Football Sleepers: Three Tight Ends To Watch in 2023
In season-long fantasy football, the tight end position could be the toughest one to peg. If you miss out on the elite tight ends, you may be left scratching your head. Since the tight end position can be such a wasteland for fantasy purposes, we’re going to look at three players new to the NFL scene who could put up solid numbers in their rookie seasons.
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Sam LaPorta – Detroit Lions
Believe it or not, Jared Goff threw the sixth most passes of any quarterback in the NFL. Yes, Amon-Ra St. Brown is going to get his. After him, the Lions have Mr. Marvin Jones at the ripe old age of 33. Beyond that, there’s Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond.
During the 2022 regular season with Iowa, LaPorta averaged 54.6 yards per game with a total of 53 receptions.
LaPorta should be fantasy-relevant right out of the gate, at least for the first third of the season. With Jameson Williams serving a six-game suspension for gambling, LaPorta will have that window to prove his target-worthiness in this offense.
Dalton Kincaid – Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills plucked the first tight end off the draft board- Dalton Kincaid, the only tight end to be selected in the first round.
Last year in Utah, he put up 890 yards on 70 receptions. He’s an imposing competitor whom some are already comparing to Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz.
The beauty of drafting Kincaid is being able to fill your tight end position with someone who is effectively being used as a slot receiver. And it isn’t inconceivable that Kincaid finishes the season as the best pass catcher on this team not named Stefon Diggs.
Michael Mayer – Las Vegas Raiders
In his final year with Notre Dame, Michael Mayer was a dominating offensive presence. He converted 67 receptions into 809 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. The second-highest number of receptions by one player was 30. The second-highest receiving yards by one player was 361. No other player had more than three receiving touchdowns.
While Mayer will begin the campaign behind Austin Hooper, Hooper is nearing 30 years of age, he had middling numbers last year with Tennessee, and he only scored twice all season (both touchdowns came in the same game against Green Bay). It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to envision Mayer establishing himself on this Raiders offense.
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