Taking a look at the most consistent fantasy football tight ends to draft this season, including San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle!
With just under two weeks before the NFL season kicks off, fantasy draft season is firmly upon us. While all positions are important, the tight end position is one that is often the most misunderstood. Outside of the “elite” options like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, many may have trouble on who to take. We looked at last year’s stats and broke down the most consistent fantasy football tight ends to draft this season.
You can also find a fantasy football team name here to match the tight end you draft this season!
Most Consistent Fantasy Football TEs | Consistency Fantasy Football Rankings
The best thing you can get from your tight end position is consistency. Everybody would love to have booming performances each week, but the reality is you just need to not bust at the position. We looked at last year’s stats and broke down the number of times each player had a “boom” week (Top-3 finish), “starter” week (Top-12 finish) and “bust” week (lower than TE19). This data can be found in our award-winning draft kit below!
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George Kittle Fantasy Consistency
In a surprise to absolutely no one, the most consistent tight end last year was George Kittle. With just one “bust” week and 13 weeks as a “starter,” Kittle was a “starter” for an absurd 92.9% of weeks. The best part about Kittle this year is that he has an ADP lower than both Brock Bowers and Trey McBride by a fair amount. He walks into the same situation as last year, with possibly even a bump with the departure of Deebo Samuel, and has an ADP of 37, which projects him to go in the fourth round.
The only question about Kittle, like with most tight ends, is durability. But Kittle has played 14 or more games in seven of his eight seasons in the NFL. He’s been as durable as anybody, and outside of his rookie year and his eight-game season in 2020, Kittle has never finished worse than TE5. While anything can happen, it’s hard to see a single reason why expectations shouldn’t be sky high for Kittle this year.
Trey McBride Fantasy Consistency
The second-most consistent tight end from last year is another no-brainer with Trey McBride. With just two “bust” weeks and 11 “starter” weeks, McBride was a starter 73.3% of weeks. McBride was the safety valve for Kyler Murray last year and had 10 or more targets in six of the last seven weeks of the season. Even with the addition of rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., McBride didn’t falter at all.
This year should also see more of the same for McBride. Like the San Francisco 49ers, there aren’t many changes to the Arizona Cardinals’ passing attack that would affect his bottom line. The one important stat to look at, though, is McBride’s ADP of 28. McBride certainly isn’t a bad option, but he is going almost a full round before George Kittle, who was more consistent, had more “boom” weeks, and was a “bust” less as well. McBride is an incredible option, but be wary of the price to get him when Kittle is still on the board.
Sam LaPorta Fantasy Consistency
The third-most consistent tight end last year was Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions. LaPorta finds himself with an ADP of 50 this year, a round behind Kittle, and two behind Brock Bowers and Trey McBride. He took a slight step back from his rookie season but was still outstanding, finishing as TE8 and finding his stride late in the season. Although he was shaky to start the year, he only had one week as a “bust” in the eight weeks after Week 9 that he suited up.
The big question for LaPorta this season is how he deals with the departure of Ben Johnson, the former Lions offensive coordinator. Johnson was the mastermind behind Detroit’s offensive revival, and he will surely be missed. LaPorta is an incredible player, but with playmakers all around him and talk about more Jameson Williams in the offense this year, his exact role in this offense remains a big question mark. While he will likely still carry a big role, fantasy owners should be wary of drafting LaPorta too early this year.
David Njoku
Here’s a name you probably didn’t expect to see, unless David Njoku was on your team last year. Currently going ninth amongst tight ends in ADP with 91, Njoku was a “starter” in over 63% of weeks last year, good for fourth amongst tight ends. A lot of fuss has been made about Joe Flacco being named the starting quarterback for the Browns, but that should be a welcome sight for anyone with any shares of Njoku this year.
In 2023, Joe Flacco became the starter for the Browns in Week 13 and played through Week 17. In those five weeks, Njoku finished as TE26, TE2 twice, and TE3 twice. He finished with eight or more targets and six or more receptions in four of those five weeks. While the Browns drafting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. could certainly cut into his production, he clearly has a rapport with Flacco and that should lead to a lot of consistency from Njoku this year. As a low-risk, high-reward option going late in drafts, David Njoku is a great option for teams that plan on waiting at the tight end position.
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