-2022 NFL Schedule -Strength of Schedule
MOCK DRAFT
Ask the Commish.Com 2022 Draft Kit
No rookie tight end flew up the dynasty rankings more than Pat Freiermuth, who made his case as a fringe fantasy TE1 in Year 1. The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie ramped things up in Week 6 after an injury to Eric Ebron and never looked back. Baby Gronk was the TE7 from that time forward, averaging 11.3 fantasy points per game seventh). He would go on to finish the year as the TE13 overall despite running a route on just 56% of dropbacks. When starting and healthy, Freiermuth ran a route on 67% of dropbacks - a rate that would have ranked 15th-highest at the position in 2021. That's the bare minimum usage fantasy drafters should expect to see from the Penn State product with Ebron gone in free agency.
The Miami product enjoyed a decent rookie season, finishing with a 19% target rate per route run and four top-12 weekly finishes over his last nine games. Jordan also dominated the receiving usage over the team's last two games, running 40 routes to Pharaoh Brown's 18 and Anthony Auclair's five. It's a great sign that Jordan should lock down the primary receiving role at tight end in Houston, especially with Jordan Akins signing with the New York Giants this offseason. It's easy to envision Jordan carving out a solid receiving role in a lackluster/unproven receiving corps behind Cooks. He's an athletic tight end with YAC-ability that I will gladly draft as my second or third tight end across any squad.
Granson figures to compete for playing time with the Colts this preseason. The second-year tight end won't have a chance to see every-down work unless he tops Mo Alie-Cox on the Indy depth chart. The upside feels minimal with Granson, who wasn't a big enough breakout player at SMU before he came to Indianapolis. At best, Granson is a bench player in Dynasty leagues.
Until Farrell finds meaningful playing time, Fantasy managers shouldn't bother adding him to rosters.
McKitty caught six of eight targets for 45 yards across 11 appearances during the 2021 campaign. McKitty didn't play until after the Chargers' Week 7 bye, but the third-round rookie appeared in every game after that, notching double-digit offensive snaps in all but one contest. However, he didn't really get involved in the passing game until Donald Parham suffered a concussion Week 15. From Weeks 15-18, McKitty drew at least one target in each game and caught five of six targets for 38 yards. With starting tight end Jared Cook set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, McKitty could be in store for a larger role in Year 2.
Fourth-rounder acquitted himself well in the latter part of his rookie season after Washington was hit with injuries at TE.
If Kyle Pitts' ADP is lower than it was in 2021, he will be a screaming value. At just 21 years old, Pitts finished third among tight ends in receiving yards (1,018) through 17 weeks of the season and third in route participation (80%) through 18 weeks. The rookie fell short of lofty preseason expectations, though, as he scored just one touchdown. Any other pass-catcher that compiled at least 1,000 receiving yards caught at least four touchdowns. And per PFF's expected fantasy points model, the Falcons tight end should have scored 5.6 touchdowns. With positive regression for Year 2 in his favor, draft the uber-talented Pitts aggressively everywhere in 2022.
While Fantasy managers again dreamed last offseason of the long awaited Ian Thomas breakout year, he ended up splitting production with an interesting third-round rookie out of Notre Dame in Tremble. Tight end is a difficult position for rookies to excel playing in their first season, and Tremble's production was nothing to write home about, with the Notre Dame product seeing no more than four targets in a game until the finale, never reaching 40 yards in a game and only scoring once all season. That leaves him off the Fantasy radar in most leagues heading into 2022, though TE premium formats may want to keep him on the watch list to see if more targets emerge after an offseason preparing as the starter.
Long will be the No. 4 tight end for the Dolphins this season behind Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen, and Long is not worth drafting in most leagues. As a rookie in 2021 with Miami, Long averaged just 1.0 PPR points per game. It's doubtful he'll have an expanded role barring several injuries, and Long should not be rostered in most formats this year.
Davidson was signed to the Vikings' active roster Saturday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Davidson was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 Draft and has yet to play an NFL game. With Chris Herndon possibly out Sunday against the Bears due to COVID, Davidson will get a chance to provide depth at tight end Sunday.