When should I draft a TE in fantasy football? Draft strategy, 2024 rankings and more explored

Tight ends are always one of the most challenging positions to navigate during each fantasy football season. The position often lacks overall depth and general elite options, but the 2024 NFL season has seen their total value increase.

More tight ends are becoming capable of massive fantasy scores as the position has been surging. Here's the best way to approach them in drafts this season.

When should I draft a TE in fantasy football this year?

According to the ADP rankings for the 2024 fantasy football season, Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta have separated themselves from the rest of the tight ends. They are clearly the top two choices in most drafts this year, with both going in the third round of most formats, based on their current ADP.

While they both make for valuable picks, the third round is generally a bit early to target tight ends when fully optimizing a draft strategy. One of the most beneficial ways to approach positional preferences in traditional leagues is to use the first three rounds to target elite running backs and wide receivers.

Using this strategy, if Kelce or LaPorta are available in the fourth round, they are excellent choices in fantasy football drafts.

They are followed by a trio of tight ends with fifth-round ADP in Mark Andrews, Trey McBride, and Dalton Kincaid. McBride and Kincaid are rising stars in extremely favorable situations this year, while Andrews has been one of the most consistently reliable veterans.

Some of the best sleepers who can be targeted a bit later based on their ADP are Jake Ferguson and Pat Freiermuth. Ferguson has an ADP in the eighth round, while Freiermuth puts his in the 12th round. Both have shown promising signs of outperforming their ADP, especially considering their situations this year.

Sportskeeda's Who Should I Draft tool is one of the best ways for managers to make sure they are making the best picks at the right time. It can be utilized during 2024 fantasy drafts to find the most valuable tight-end options.

Fantasy Football PPR Rankings for 2024

Kelce and Kittle

Fantasy Football TE rankings

1. Travis Kelce
2. Sam LaPorta
3. Dalton Kincaid
4. Mark Andrews
5. George Kittle
6. Trey McBride
7. Kyle Pitts
8. Jake Ferguson
9. Evan Engram
10. Dalton Schultz
11. Pat Freiermuth
12. David Njoku
13. TJ Hockenson
14. Brock Bowers
15. Luke Musgrave
16. Dallas Goedert
17. Cole Kmet
18. Hunter Henry
19. Mike Gesicki
20. Greg Dulcich
21. Tyler Conklin
22. Cade Otton
23. Ben Sinnott
24. Juwan Johnson
25. Noah Fant
26. Ja'Tavion Sanders
27. Chigoziem Okonkwo
28. Hayden Hurst
29. Jonnu Smith
30. Theo Johnson
31. Jelani Woods
32. Colby Parkinson