NFL Player News

The Chiefs selected Wiley in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 131st overall.

Travis Kelce isn't going anywhere, but it makes sense for the Chiefs to add some depth behind the 34-year-old future Hall of Famer. Wiley was blocked from being a factor at Texas by fellow draftee Ja'Tavion Sanders. However, the former's transfer to TCU in 2022 put him on the map. Wiley caught four touchdowns that season, then got more involved as a senior with 47 grabs for 520 yards and eight scores. He has good speed (4.62) for his size (6-foot-6) and will be able to develop behind one of the best to ever do it. Dynasty players should note that Wiley will turn 24 as a rookie, however.

The Texans selected Stover in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 123rd overall.

Stover is a solid tight end prospect who established himself as a reliable target in the Ohio State offense over the years despite the Buckeyes having elite star power at receiver. He started all but one game over his final two seasons in Columbus and racked up 77 catches for 982 yards on 101 targets to go with 10 touchdowns. Stover is more pass catcher than blocker, which helps his fantasy appeal. However, the landing spot is tricky for him with Dalton Schultz under contract and Brevin Jordan beginning to break out. It may take some time for Stover to carve out a role in H-Town but the talent is there.

The Seahawks selected Barner in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 121st overall.

Barner tallied just 64 receptions, 610 yards and five touchdowns across 20 collegiate starts with both Indiana and Michigan over his four seasons, but it's fair to dream about what the tantalizing 6-foot-6 frame coupled with the tight end crop's largest wingspan could do as a pass catcher at the NFL level. Barner is a bit lean (251 pounds) for his height and didn't showcase the type of wild athleticism that so many of his peers did at the NFL Combine, but the Big Ten pedigree will always attract a certain organizational philosophy regardless if the production is there. Expect Barner to compete with a number of veteran flotsam for the No. 2 TE job behind the newly re-signed Noah Fant.

The Bengals selected All (knee) in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 115th overall.

Despite tearing the ACL in his right knee in October and requiring surgery, All still became the sixth tight end off the board in this year's draft. All actually led Iowa in receiving yards (299) and touchdowns (three) in 2023 despite playing in just seven games, but that may be more of an indictment of the Iowa offense. The injury prevented All from testing at the NFL Scouting Combine or Iowa's pro day, and his lengthy injury history -- including spinal surgery in 2022 -- is a concern. However, All's numbers when healthy during his five-year college career were always impressive dating back to his time at Michigan, where he began his career before transferring to Iowa. Cincinnati has an interesting tight end room that lacks star power, so if he's 100 percent at some point in 2024, All could get onto the field.

The Giants selected Johnson in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 107th overall.

With Darren Waller's status for the upcoming season up in the air, targeting tight end made sense for the Giants. Johnson is one of the most athletic tight end prospects in this class with 4.57 speed on a 6-foot-6, 259-pound frame. His combine workout firmly put him in the top five at the position. However, when scouts see those types of workout numbers, they wonder why the on-field production wasn't better. Johnson topped out at 34 catches for 341 yards as a senior, though seven of those catches went for touchdowns. His YPT mark lagged behind, though, checking in at 6.4 in 2023. If Johnson can maximize his tools, he can be an asset in the Giants passing game. If Waller does retire this offseason, Johnson should be on the fantasy radar. However, fantasy managers shouldn't forget the presence of 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Bellinger as a contender for the starting role.

The Panthers selected Sanders in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 101st overall.

Sanders was wildly considered to be one of the draft's top tight ends after Brock Bowers, so the Panthers have to be ecstatic to land the athletic pass catcher to kickstart Day 3. While Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas have carved out specific niches with the offense, neither posses the kind of game-breaking traits that Sanders displayed as a pass catcher at Texas (fourth most yards after the catch among FBS tight ends in 2023). It wouldn't be surprising at all to see the redshirt junior immediately become the team's de-facto starting tight end as a rookie, even if it means Sanders yields plenty of blocking reps to the likes of Tremble and Thomas in specific packages.

The Cardinals selected Reiman in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 82nd overall.

Reiman will likely do a lot of blocking at the pro level, and he certainly won't be stealing any targets from Trey McBride (or even Elijah Higgins), so his fantasy upside with Arizona seems pretty close to zero. With that said, Reiman could be an excellent player for real football purposes. At 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, the Illinois product is both ridiculously massive and improbably athletic for his build (4.64-second 40-yard dash). Defensive coordinators won't enjoy matching up with Reiman.

The Commanders selected Sinnott in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 53rd overall.

Even with the Zach Ertz addition, tight end was a glaring need in Washington. Sinnott is the second tight end off the board, and rightfully so. He was one of the top producers at his position in his final year at Kansas State with 49 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns on 76 targets. In fact, that made him the Wildcats' leading receiver by nearly 100 yards. The production put him on the draft radar, but his combine performance made him a legit second-round prospect. Sinnott runs a 4.68 40 with top percentile scores in his jumps and in the cone drill. That blend of production and athleticism will get him on the field in the nation's capital sooner rather than later, especially with only Ertz standing in his way.

GM Tom Telesco said Thursday that he excepts Mayer to "take a leap this year" even though the Raiders drafted fellow tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13 overall, Nick Walters of KTNV Las Vegas reports.

The Raiders presumably plan to use a lot of multi-TE formations, but the new competition for snaps and targets is nonetheless terrible news for Mayer's fantasy value. He and Bowers were arguably the most productive tight ends in college football over the past half-decade, with Mayer recording 2,099 yards and 18 TDs in three seasons at Notre Dame and Bowers putting up 2,538 and 26, respectively, over three seasons for Georgia. While Mayer is both taller and heavier, Bowers is faster, more agile and an earlier draft pick (Mayer went 35th in 2023). On the bright side, Telesco said there's "no concern" about the foot injury that brought Mayer's rookie season to an early end after 14 games (12 starts) and a 27-304-2 receiving line, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.

The Raiders selected Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 13th overall.

Despite investing a high second-round pick in tight end Michael Mayer in 2023, the Raiders couldn't pass up on Bowers in the first round. Bowers is the highest-drafted tight end since Kyle Pitts in 2021 and has an impressive prospect profile. Athletic enough to run from the slot and split defenders down the seam but physical enough to play in-line and block, Bowers is the complete package. He led Georgia in receiving in all three of his seasons in Athens and left school with the second-most touchdown catches (26) in program history. A hamstring injury prevented Bowers from testing at the combine and his measurements (6-3, 243) are not that of a prototypical tight end. However, the film and standout production paint Bowers as a weapon in the passing game and that will be his primary function in the Raider offense. Given Bowers' skill set and high draft capital, he projects to be the primary tight end over Mayer right away.