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Once you reach the late rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft high-upside fliers that can provide a great return on value. You can afford to take risks on a variety of different players, including prospects, forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even skilled players with potential playing time concerns.
It's essential to have at least a handful of sleeper targets at each position heading into your fantasy football drafts, no matter the format. Here are some late-round tight ends for you to consider drafting this season.
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Albert Okwuegbunam, Broncos, Fantasy Football Outlook
Third-year tight end Albert Okwuegbunam is set to take over as the starting tight end in Denver after Noah Fant was dealt to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade. But maybe not so fast, as the Broncos took UCLA TE Greg Dulcich with the 80th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The rookie likely fills a reserve role behind Albert O but could take away a few targets as early as this season. Nonetheless, Okwuegbunam will still compete with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, and KJ Hamler for targets, while Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon III also get a few out of the backfield. The Broncos only threw the ball 31.8 times per game last season, good for eighth-least in the league.
That could very well change this season with Wilson at the helm, but it also might not. Subsequently, it's hard to see Albert O commanding more than 4-5 targets per game given all the competition surrounding him. Last season, he started one game for Fant, catching 4-of-5 targets for just 25 yards on an 81% snap share.
The starting tight end in a Russell Wilson-led offense will still have his moments, but those could be few and far between with a ton of mouths to feed. Consider Okwuegbunam a high-end TE2 this season with upside to finish as a low-end TE1 should any of the top pass-catchers be forced to miss any time.
C.J. Uzomah, Jets, Fantasy Football Outlook
Uzomah is coming off the best year of his NFL career and parlayed it into a multimillion-dollar deal with the spend-happy New York Jets. Always regarded as a block-first tight end who was an unsung hero in Cincinnati's rushing attack, Uzomah's 49 receptions, 493 receiving yards, and five touchdowns were all career-highs in 2021 as he found a niche in Cincinnati's offense despite his blocking responsibilities and the team's loaded receiving corps.
What Uzomah's role in New York's offense is unclear as the Jets also signed Tyler Conklin from Minnesota, so they might be utilizing several two-tight-end sets. That is no help to Uzomah's fantasy value, and neither is going from Joe Burrow as his QB to Zach Wilson.
Uzomah will also have to find targets with Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Braxton Berrios, and first-round pick Garrett Wilson looking for passes in this evolving offense. Uzomah's true value for the Jets will be as a veteran blocker and he cannot be counted on as more than a TE2 for fantasy in 2022.
He is a humongous upgrade over what the Jets had at tight end the past couple years, but his fantasy ceiling is probably a 50-600-6 final line.
Austin Hooper, Titans, Fantasy Football Outlook
Austin Hooper spent the last two seasons in Cleveland after beginning his career with the Atlanta Falcons. In those two seasons with the Browns, Hooper found himself splitting reps with both David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. He went from averaging 6.4 targets per game in 2018 and 2019 with the Falcons, to averaging just 4.5 targets per game in 2020 and 2021 with the Browns.
Now he's in Tennessee, with his tight end competition being Geoff Swaim, who has never had more than 40 targets in a season, and rookie fourth-rounder Chig Okonkwo out of Maryland. With A.J. Brown now in Philadelphia and Julio Jones a free agent (for the time being), Hooper will compete with Robert Woods, Treylon Burks, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for targets in 2022.
Historically, since having Derrick Henry at running back, the Titans have been a run-first team. However, that could change this season if the Titans aren't leading in most games. They could be forced to throw more often, which could lead to more targets for a guy like Hooper. Ryan Tannehill may have no choice but to lean on the veteran tight end with Woods coming off ACL surgery and Burks being just a rookie.
His opportunities in Tennessee should be closer to what they were in Atlanta than what they were in Cleveland. Don't sleep on Hooper as a late-round tight end with an opportunity to produce as a top-15 option in 2022.
Jonnu Smith, Patriots, Fantasy Football Outlook
The New England Patriots signed former Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith to a four-year, $50 million deal, $31 million guaranteed during the 2021 offseason. New England also added former Los Angeles Chargers tight end, Hunter Henry to a three-year year, $37.5 million contract to enhance their tight end corps.
Smith disappointed in his first year with the Patriots, hauling in 28 catches (on 45 targets) for 294 yards and a touchdown with nine carries for 40 yards over 16 games. The 26-year-old averaged 8.3 YAC per reception and owned just 9% of the team's target shares. Henry was rookie quarterback Mac Jones' favorite red zone target and caught nine touchdowns last season.
He eight of 17 red-zone targets from Jones the previous year. New England will use more two tight end sets, and Smith reportedly could take on a share of fullback/H-back duties with Jakob Johnson signing with the Raiders, increasing his fantasy value. There is a ton of competition for targets in New England's offense between Henry and wide receivers DeVante Parker, Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, and Nelson Agholor.
Between a timeshare with Henry, and inconsistent volume, Smith, at his current FFPC ADP of 323, is a late-round flier at best in tight-end premium leagues.
Tyler Higbee, Rams, Fantasy Football Outlook
Everything lined up for Higbee to be a top-10 fantasy tight end in 2021. He had Matthew Stafford replacing Jared Goff as his quarterback, and longtime tight end teammate Gerald Everett took his talents to the Seattle Seahawks, so Higbee no longer had to share his playing time and targets with him. Fantasy managers were thinking he could duplicate what he did in 2019 when he racked up four consecutive 100-yard games.
Instead, Higbee turned in his second straight mediocre statistical season. Higbee's 61-560-5 was fine if you had him as the backup tight end on your fantasy roster, but his numbers did not win anyone any fantasy titles. The Super Bowl champion Rams did not add a tight end in the offseason that can seriously threaten Higbee's target total, and the swap of Odell Beckham Jr. for Allen Robinson as the No. 2 WR on the team should not affect Higbee, either.
This probably means Higbee's numbers will either stay along the same lines or get a slight bump upward. There is always a chance that L.A. head coach/offensive mastermind Sean McVay finds a way for Higbee to re-emerge as the playmaking tight end he was in 2019.
But more likely than not he will be a TE2 for fantasy purposes who you can plug in when he faces a below-average defense or when a Rams receiver is hurt and Higbee may get more looks from Stafford.
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