We're always looking for more playmaking tight ends to pick from in Fantasy football, and we're hoping the 2020 NFL Draft will provide a nice injection of talent. No tight ends went in the first round, but we started seeing them come off the board shortly after, and we'll break down the Fantasy landing spots of all of the relevant picks right here. We'll be updating this throughout the weekend.
Pick No. 43: Cole Kmet to the Bears
p> The Bears have invested plenty into the tight end position in recent years, so it certainly seems like something GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy want to make a focal point in the offense. That hasn't quite happened yet, but between the signing of Jimmy Graham and the selection of Cole Kmet with the No. 43 pick Thursday night, they're certainly taking another swing this offseason.
Of course, the presence of Graham makes it hard to see how the rookie out of Notre Dame will be Fantasy viable. It's always tough for rookie tights ends to establish themselves, and Graham figures to see a sizable role, even at his age. Kmet figures to take on a backup role for a year, before getting the chance to start in 2021.
And he could be a viable starting option eventually. Kmet is a strong athlete for the tight end position, especially for someone who stands 6-foot-4, 262 pounds. He's a big target who broke out as a junior, hauling in 43 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns. The physical tools are certainly there, but the collegiate production profile doesn't exactly scream "Day 1 Star."
And that's OK because he'll get some time to develop. Fantasy players in redraft formats should be able to let Kmet land on the waiver wire after Draft Day, with the hope he can be a midseason add if things go right. Otherwise, he's more of a Dynasty target, someone worth looking at around the third round in rookie-only drafts.
Picks No. 91 and 101: Patriots select Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene
The Patriots had more picks than they could use in this draft so they've used them to move up whenever they felt they had to get their guy. Late in the third round, those guys were tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. Any time a tight end is drafted in the first three rounds, we perk up. For some people this is especially true if the team that acquires them is New England.
While I mostly believe the Patriots tight end thing is myth outside of Hall of Fame talents like Rob Gronkowski, there's no denying that Asiasi has given us reason to be intrigued. He's a mountain of a man at 279 pounds, yet he still ran a respectable 4.73 40-yard dash. He earned a good target share in his final year at UCLA and his career 14.6 yards per reception is a very good indicator.
Rookie tight ends are almost never good, but Asiasi has the athleticism and route-running ability to make you think he may have a long-term future as a borderline Fantasy starter at tight end. While you ignore him in redraft, he's worth a third-round pick in rookie drafts and makes an enticing bench tight end with upside.
He'll be even more enticing when the Patriots obtain a quarterback.
Keene is not quite as interesting. At least not at first blush. Keene was a linebacker before he converted to fullback and now he's a tight end. In other words, he sounds just like a Bill Belichick football player. There's no telling what Belichick has in mind for him, but he never recorded even 400 receiving yards in a season, so it seems very unlikely he'll have a role that's relevant in Fantasy any time soon. Keene is only worth a stash in a very deep Dynasty league.
Pick No. 94: Packers draft Josiah Deguara
The Packers didn't give Aaron Rodgers the wide receiver we'd all hoped they would, but after their third-round pick no one can say they didn't try to give him something.
Josiah Deguara caught 39 passes for 504 yards and seven touchdowns as a fifth-year senior for Cincinnati in 2019. His target share over each of the past two seasons was impressive for a tight end, which may be because he was a converted receiver. Just don't let that make you think he's not a good blocker — he may be a better blocker than a pass catcher.
Deguara should battle Jace Sternberger for the role of No. 1 tight end in his rookie season. I'd bet on Sternberger earning more targets just because he's a year ahead of Deguara, but the key will be one of these guys winning convincingly. Sharing tight end targets would make both useless in Fantasy.
You can ignore Deguara in redraft leagues and he's best left for the later rounds in Dynasty or rookie-only drafts. Rodgers doesn't have a great history with tight ends or rookies.
Pick No. 105: Saints draft Adam Trautman
Jared Cook isn't getting any younger, so the Saints moved up into the back of the third round to draft his possible replacement, Adam Trautman from Dayton. Trautman has immense upside, especially if Drew Brees lasts longer in New Orleans than Cook.
Trautman isn't fast, but he's quick enough to get open against linebackers and he was extremely productive in college. In his senior year at Dayton he caught 70 passes for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns. Those are monster numbers for a tight end. But that wasn't his only good year, he scored nine times in his junior year.
You could legitimately make an argument for Trautman as the best tight end in this class and he'd be my favorite in a rookie draft, though not until the third round of a rookie draft. In redraft, you can ignore Trautman both because of Cook and the history of rookie tight ends. He's most valuable in leagues with taxi squads, because his first year will likely be a waste.
Pick No. 115: Browns draft Harrison Bryant
As a prospect, I liked Harrison Bryant as much as any tight end in this class. He was a productive pass catcher at Florida Atlantic, catching 65 passes for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns in his senior year. Bryant isn't a burner, but 4.73 40 is above average at the position. He may need to bulk up just a little bit to play inline, but he could function as a move tight end early in his career.
The landing spot in Cleveland is abysmal in the short-term, but rookie tight ends generally aren't good anyway. Kevin Stefanski's system went two-tight end more than almost any team in the league, so as soon as Austin Hooper or David Njoku is out of the picture, Bryant should have an opening to get on the field.
Long term I could see Bryant developing into a top-12 Fantasy tight end, and I wouldn't be afraid to draft him in the fourth round of a rookie draft.
Pick No. 118: Broncos draft Albert Okwuegbunam
In the fourth round, the Broncos continued to add weapons for Drew Lock with tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. Okwuegbunam caught 17 touchdown passes from Lock at Missouri in 2017 and 2018 and added six more in 2019 without Lock. But his athleticism far outshines his college production. Okwuegbunam ran a 4.49 40 at 258 pounds, putting him among the elite at his position.
Okwuegbunam will struggle to earn playing time and targets early on in Denver, because Noah Fant is far more polished and already has a year under his belt. But his athleticism and rapport with Lock should give you some reason for optimism. You can start considering him in the fourth round of rookie drafts if you're thin at tight end.
Pick No. 133: Seahawks draft Colby Parkinson
The Seattle Seahawks make no secret of how much they like tight ends. They had Will Dissly and Jacob Hollister on the roster, but didn't let that stop them from giving Greg Olsen a significant chunk of change. And on Saturday, they added another piece, spending a fourth-round pick on Colby Parkinson.
Parkinson was productive at Stanford, scoring seven touchdowns in his sophomore season and earning a 20% target share as a junior. He has enough size and athleticism, but neither is really a strength. Neither is his blocking, which will keep him off the field in Seattle, where it's a prerequisite. His biggest strength might be his height — he's a giant at six-foot-seven.
Parkinson is not a bad developmental pick at the end of a deep rookie draft, especially if it's tight end premium. He's a good route runner, and Dissly, Hollister, and Olsen all have injury histories. Olsen is probably gone after 2020 and either of Dissly or Hollister could be as well.
Pick No. 136: Rams draft Brycen Hopkins
Like the Seahawks, the Rams don't seem to have a need at tight end. Tyler Higbee was a monster down the stretch in 2019, and for most of his career most people have thought Gerald Everett was even better. But that didn't stop them from spending a fourth-round pick on Brycen Hopkins.
Hopkins was a three-year starter at Purdue, but he didn't break out out until his senior year when he caught 61 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. Hopkins earned an 18% target share in that season, which is pretty great for a college tight end. He's above average athletically and he grades out favorably as a run blocker.
This move may signal that the Rams shift last year to targeting tight ends more often will stick. But as long as Higbee and Everett are on the roster, Hopkins probably won't see the field. As a developmental prospect, he doesn't have a ton of upside and should only be drafted late in tight-end premium drafts.
Pick No. 190: 49ers take Charlie Woerner
It's hard to get excited about a tight end who scored once in his collegiate career, but hey at least it's one more than Dawson Knox had! Woerner is more of a blocking H-back than a traditional tight end. It's assumed he could develop into a part-time blocker for the Niners and a good special-teams contributor.
Pick No. 206: Jaguars take Tyler Davis
Jacksonville doesn't really have great tight end depth, but added Tyler Eifert, and Josh Oliver is an upside pass-catcher. But there's an outside chance Davis can make an impact — he was a quarterback in high school who played three years at UConn before becoming a graduate transfer to Georgia Tech. Per Georgia Tech's website, he's 6-4, 250 pounds and caught 17 balls for 148 yards and a score this past year, but had previously racked up 47 catches for 500 yards and seven scores at UConn.
Pick No. 251: Seahawks take Stephen Sullivan
You might think this is goofy, but Sullivan was Dave Richard's favorite tight end prospect following the Senior Bowl practices. Sullivan didn't play much at LSU but was absolutely competent on the Senior Bowl field, blocking well and getting open with both speed and quickness. A four-star recruit out of high school, the converted receiver will need time and coaching if he's ever going to build on what he did at the Senior Bowl. A final-round pick in Dynasty leagues might be all his value stands at, but there is some potential there as a "move" tight end in the mold of Evan Engram.
