2024 Fantasy Football draft prep: Tiers 5.0 shows you where to grab Trey McBride, Dalton Kincaid

If there's a position that's changed drastically from last year to this year, it's tight end. The league has added several young, outstanding, impactful pass-catchers who can help differentiate Fantasy rosters. That's a change from what we previously experienced which was Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews at the top of the heap, then George Kittle almost on par, then a bunch of other fledgling tight ends who, on a good week, would deliver 10-to-12 PPR points. 

Now there are more tight ends with high expectations, and if they pull through then there will be more Fantasy lineups with good tight ends. That's great, but it doesn't make those lineups as unique as they were as recently as two years ago. Back then, having Kelce meant having a huge edge over other managers. Now? Kelce is getting older and other tight ends are getting better. That edge isn't as huge. 

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If you draft a tight end early, you're hoping to have a discernible advantage over maybe half of your league. The TEs in Tiers 1 and 2 will cost a top-60 pick (no one is a top-20 pick -- that's a change from 2023) and the payoff, if your tight end is productive, should be very good.

If you draft a tight end in the middle rounds, you'll still come away with what should be a competitive player, just not one who has as much week-to-week upside. The Tier 3 guys will be taken between 60th and 80th overall and carry more upside than downside. 

And if you wait for a tight end and draft one late, you should still find one who can hit that 10-PPR mark in at least half of the weeks. It's not anywhere near the same as the Kelces and LaPortas of the world, but then again neither is the cost. Tier 4 tight ends will start flying around 90th overall. 

The depth at receiver and running back does make it easier to take a tight end early this year, in my opinion. And I would rather target a TE early than a QB. 

Should you consider taking two tight ends? Depending on who you take I like the idea a lot because it adds a chance to unearth a good player you could either use as a flex, trade away for lineup help elsewhere or, if it comes down to it, replace the main tight end you drafted. Brock Bowers, T.J. Hockenson, and Pat Freiermuth are the three I'd really focus on. Zach Ertz is more of a late-round streaming option. 

Pre-draft homework: 

* Do receptions count for MORE than what they do for WRs and RBs? If they do then prioritize tight ends and even consider taking two top-10 TEs.  

* If you believe in a lot of running backs and a lot of wide receivers this year, you should prioritize tight end. 

* If you do not believe a tight end can finish first or second on his team in targets, then you either should stream him just to see how the season begins or you should not draft him at all.

Dave's Tiers updated through Aug. 30: QB | RB | WR | TE | K/DST

Tight end tiers PPR & non-PPR