- Chig Okonkwo was the fantasy sleeper after his rookie season: Okonkwo’s efficiency was off the charts as a rookie, but he wasn’t able to mix great play with high route totals until the 2024 fantasy playoffs.
- Brenton Strange takes advantage of his opportunity: Strange started eight games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Evan Engram’s absence, and showed he could handle a larger role.
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Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Finding a sleeper tight end can be difficult this season. Fourteen tight ends have an ADP in the first 121 picks. The other 18 teams are full of tight ends who have proven over time that they won’t be a top-12 fantasy tight end, while others are in two or three-man rotations.
While there were some noticeable rookies outside of Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, most have some level of competition on the depth chart. Despite this, there are a few tight ends who are flying under the radar and fit the criteria of being a sleeper.
The average draft position listed is from a consensus between ESPN, Sleeper and Yahoo! for where the player is picked on average in a 12-team, redraft league.
Last updated: Wednesday, August 20
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans (ADP: 19.01)
Chig Okonkwo was a fourth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 as an undersized tight end with excellent speed and athleticism. Over the last three seasons, the only tight ends who have been faster are Jonnu Smith and Darren Waller, based on NGS tracking data.
Okonkwo started his career third on the Titans' depth charts. Austin Hooper was the primary receiving tight end, Geoff Swaim was the primary blocker, and Okonkwo was the primary backup in both. He was excellent on a per-play basis, finishing with a high target rate on his limited routes. His 2.62 yards per route run was tied for the most by a tight end in a season in the last three seasons. He was tied with George Kittle from this season, and the third-place tight end finished with 2.23 yards per route run.
The Titans moved on from both Hooper and Swaim for 2023, adding Trevon Wesco to be their blocking tight end. They drafted Josh Whyle and had Kevin Rader also play notable snaps. The Titans' run-first offense limited his routes even though he was on the field for a high percentage of pass plays. His 403 routes were the 18th-most among tight ends despite playing every game. His big plays disappeared, and he was remarkably average. His yards per route run were cut in half, but his routes more than doubled, leading to a slight increase in fantasy points.
The Titans gave Josh Whyle a more prominent role in 2024 and swapped out Wesco for Nick Vannett. The Titans ran more plays in 2024 and asked the tight ends to stay in and block less often, leading to more routes run by their tight ends but a lower percentage of those were by Okonkwo. He started avoiding more tackles, but his quarterbacks weren’t necessarily taking advantage. His 0.71 avoided tackles per game was the sixth-most among tight ends.
Okonkwo’s role in the Titans' offense evolved as the season progressed. He averaged 57.4% of Tennessee's offensive snaps over the first 10 weeks of the season, and that increased to 72.4% over the next seven weeks before suffering an abdominal injury early in Week 18. He caught a 70-yard touchdown pass in Week 12, leading to a higher target rate over the rest of the season. In the fantasy playoffs, he caught 22 passes for 182 yards, along with a 17-yard run. While he couldn’t be used as a fantasy starter throughout the fantasy regular season, his 43.9 fantasy points during the playoffs were the fourth-most behind Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta and George Kittle despite not scoring a touchdown.
After the season, head coach Brian Callahan had plenty of great things to say about Okonkwo’s development as a tight end, which is a promising sign for his future.
The Titans opted not to re-sign Vannett but instead drafted Gunnar Helm in the second round. Helm has already surpassed Josh Whyle on the depth chart, but it seems like Helm will largely be used in two-tight-end sets.
Ideally, Okonkwo will pick up exactly where he left off last season. In his last two healthy games, Okonkwo played 76% of Tennessee's snaps in 11 personnel, 87% of the 12 personnel snaps, and 100% of the 13, 21 and 22 personnel snaps. If Okonkwo continued this for the whole season, that would be excellent for his fantasy potential. Through two weeks of the preseason, Okonkwo has played 22 of a possible 23 snaps, suggesting his role will be just as big, if not bigger.
Okonkwo would have finished 16th in fantasy points per game among tight ends if he had his late-season route rate mixed with his season-long production per route.
The Titans made several changes to their wide receiver room, adding Tyler Lockett, Van Jefferson and several Day 3 and undrafted rookies. That, mixed with Calvin Ridley, gives Okonkwo minimal competition for targets relative to all other tight ends in the league.
Okonkwo will be in his second season with Brian Callahan as head coach. His offense looked very different in Tennessee compared to the Cincinnati Bengals without Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. The Titans ran the ball much more often and were more willing to throw to tight ends.
There is a chance the Titans will be more pass-heavy this season with Cameron Ward at quarterback. Ward had a low deep target rate, low first read rate and great accuracy on short passes, which is all good news for Okonkwo. However, Ward also doesn’t have a lot of experience throwing to tight ends. There is a chance Okonkwo finishes second on the team in targets, but that depends completely on his ability to gain chemistry and Ward's trust.
Okonkwo has shown he has the speed and big-play ability to be a fantasy starting tight end and has had the playing time to be a fantasy starter. He didn’t put that all together until the last few weeks of last season. Okonkwo can be a top-12 fantasy tight end next season if he keeps the playing time he had to end last season and gains chemistry with Cameron Ward.
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars (ADP: 16.08)
Brenton Strange was a late second-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, where he was third on the depth chart behind Evan Engram and Luke Farrell. Strange didn’t do anything noticeable from a grades perspective and caught five passes for 35 yards and a touchdown on the season. Strange surpassed Farrell on the depth chart at some point during the 2024 offseason, as Strange played 19 snaps to Farrell's 14 in Week 1.
Engram suffered an injury during warm-ups of Week 2, causing him to miss four games. Strange became the starter and averaged 73.9% of Jacksonville's offensive snaps during that four-week stretch. He didn’t receive a high target rate, but he scored twice and had a game with 65 receiving yards. His 36 fantasy points during that stretch were the ninth-most among tight ends. Engram returned in Week 6, bringing Strange back to a backup role. He typically played more than 35% of the offensive snaps and managed one game with five receptions for 59 yards.
Engram missed the last four games of the season, allowing Strange to return to the starting lineup. He averaged 69.4% of the snaps during those four games. He had two strong games with 11 receptions for 73 yards and four receptions for 60 yards. Additionally, he had two quiet games. He scored 30.5 fantasy points during those four weeks, which was 17th best. He ultimately had 8.3 fantasy points per game as a starter, 19th among tight ends. He had a very high 50.6% single coverage open target rate.
The Jaguars released Engram and lost Farrell in free agency. This has moved Strange into the clear lead tight end for the Jaguars. The Jaguars added multiple veteran tight ends this offseason, but Engram has been the clear lead, every-down tight end through two preseason games.
The Jaguars were one of the few teams to make a change at their top tight end spot. The Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets all added rookie tight ends, while the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers added veteran tight ends who will be at least 30 years old by the start of the season. It’s fair to call Strange one of the very few non-rookie sleeper options at the position.
The Jaguars have also made changes to their wide receiver room. Brian Thomas Jr. became one of the top wide receivers in the league as a rookie, and Jacksonville spent its second overall pick on Travis Hunter. Strange will be the third receiving option on the team at best.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a new head coach in Liam Coen. While Coen has generally had a balanced offense with a lead tight end, the tight end position hasn’t been a high priority in the offense. Cade Otton was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ lead tight end last season, and he finished eighth in offensive snaps. Otton had the best season of his career, mainly due to a three-game stretch with 25 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but that only happened when the top two wide receivers were injured. He averaged 31.1 yards per game and scored one touchdown over his 11 games. Tyler Higbee finished fourth in the league in snaps in 2022. Higbee averaged 9.2 fantasy points per game when Cooper Kupp was healthy and 9.9 without him. The Los Angeles Rams didn’t have a clear second wide receiver option, like the Buccaneers in 2024 or the Jaguars this season.
Strange will be catching passes from Trevor Lawrence, as he has throughout his NFL career. Lawrence had a high rate of throwing to tight ends with Engram. That will ideally help influence the offense and allow him to have a higher target rate than Coen’s past tight ends. However, Lawrence also has a very high first read rate, and Doug Pederson had no problem designing passes for tight ends. It’s unlikely Strange will have that high of a first read rate.
Brenton Strange didn’t show enough to be a consistent fantasy starter in his eight starts last season, and he now has more competition for targets due to a new offensive coordinator that’s had a lot of success with wide receivers. However, Strange is one of the few sleeper veteran options for someone who wants to take a swing late in a draft. Strange could be a great waiver wire target in-season if Brian Thomas Jr. or Travis Hunter suffers an injury.
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens (ADP: 15.07)
Isaiah Likely was a fourth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2022, joining a crowded tight end room of Mark Andres, Josh Oliver, Charlie Kolar and Nick Boyle. Likely made his mark in the preseason, catching all 12 passes thrown his way for 144 yards and a touchdown on only 30 routes, and four of those receptions came on contested catches.
As a rookie, he emerged as the second receiving option behind Andrews. He was great at getting open and was generally strong given his opportunities, but he dropped too many passes. He started Week 18 when the Ravens were resting their starters, and Likely caught eight passes for 103 yards while playing passes with quarterback Anthony Brown.
In his second season, his role was generally smaller over the first half of the season. The team changed offensive coordinators, and Todd Monken embraced a significant increase in 11 personnel use, which left Likely off the field more often. This included some games where his offensive snaps were in the single digits.
However, Andrews suffered an ankle and fibula injury in Week 11, allowing Likely to become the new primary tight end for the last six regular-season games and playoffs. Likely averaged 13.9 PPR points per game during that stretch, fifth-best among tight ends. This was in part thanks to five receiving touchdowns. While his target rate decreased significantly, his avoided tackle rate increased, helping him improve his yards per route and yards per game.
Likely had the best game of his career in Week 1 of the 2024 season, catching nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Both he and Andrews played over 50 offensive snaps, but that was the only game all season where both exceeded 50 snaps. He ended up playing 60% of the Ravens' offensive snaps over the season but was inconsistent from a fantasy perspective. He had five more touchdowns on the year and a 75-yard game, but it was never clear if it was safe to start him.
Both his 73.2 receiving grade last season and the 73.3 he achieved over the previous two seasons combined rank 12th-best among tight ends. His 13% touchdown per reception rate over the last three seasons is the highest rate among tight ends, while his 0.31 avoided tacklers per reception is the best among tight ends over the last two seasons.
The Ravens utilized a unique but predictable tight end rotation throughout the 2024 season. Andrews and Likely split time in 11 personnel, as Andrews played 64% of Baltimore's offensive snaps and Likely took the other 36%. In 12 personnel, it was Andrews and Likely 95% of the time as the duo. In 21 personnel, it was mostly Charlie Kolar, followed by Andrews, while Likely played less than 20% of the snaps. The Ravens used more 22 personnel than the rest of the league, and Likely and Kolar were playing over 84% of the time.
We should expect a similar rotation to be the most likely scenario. Likely should constantly be on the field in 12 personnel. He has the highest run-blocking grade of the three, so continuing to play in 22 personnel also makes sense. The big question is how much he can move the needle on 11 personnel, as that will be the key for him to go from a few random great weeks to a potentially fantasy starter. The Ravens added DeAndre Hopkins this season, which could lead to an increase in 11 personnel usage.
One reason for optimism is Likely is the younger up-and-coming tight end, while Andrews is older and potentially declining. His head coach, John Harbaugh, said he wants to see Likely be an All-Pro. Considering there are only two tight ends in each conference, that would either mean Likely makes it over Andrews, or they both make it over Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce, David Njoku and others. In order for Likely to make it over Andrews, he would likely need more playing time in 11 personnel.
Likely is also one of the very few handcuff tight ends. Typically, if a tight end suffers an injury, people pick up the best available player rather than that tight end’s replacement. If Andrews were to suffer an injury, Likely would be a must-add tight end in every league where he’s available.
Likely will be in his third season of Todd Monken’s offense and his fourth season with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. While there are general drawbacks of being in a run-first offense with a quarterback who loves to run, the Ravens have one of the elite offenses in the league, and they have consistently prioritized the tight end position. The pros here far outweigh the cons, as the Ravens' tight ends, dating further back with John Harbaugh, have had significant fantasy value.
Likely’s limiting factors are his playing time competing with Mark Andrews and his talent, not the rest of his surrounding cast.
Likely is a fun tight end whose ranking is wholly based on his upside. His rate of being a top-six fantasy tight end is relatively high, while his rate of being a top 18 is relatively low. It’s less than a 50% chance that Likely becomes the Ravens' primary tight end, but if that happens, he should be a fantasy starter. In most fantasy leagues, that’s more valuable than some tight ends who are assured the starting job, but we know they don’t have the talent or situation to be a top-12 option.
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