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Each season, players in the NFL come in hoping to have a good campaign. While there are situations where a player comes up short of expectations, there are others who exceed it too.
Each fantasy season, there are a few breakout players (who nobody saw coming) that put themselves on the radar for the following campaign.
Let’s look at some tight ends who broke out this season and have likely seen their value increase heading into 2021 drafts.
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T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions
After securing 32 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns on 59 targets in 12 games during his 2019 rookie season, Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson broke out in 2020 and doubled his production in a couple of different categories. He secured 67 receptions for 723 yards and six touchdowns on 101 targets in 16 games.
The TE proved to be quite a factor in this Lions passing offense in 2020 as he finished second on the team in receptions, yards, targets, and touchdowns. He also finished quite high in terms of productivity.
Overall, Hockenson finished seventh among NFL tight ends in reception yards per game (45.2), eighth in targets per game (6.31), sixth in receptions per game (4.2), fourth in receptions, and third in reception yards.
Hockenson proved he deserves a large role heading into his third season. Look no further than the fact that he went from finishing 32nd among tight ends in 2019 to fifth in 2020. Going from Matthew Stafford to Jared Goff shouldn’t affect the TE’s value much at all considering Goff is still a capable and productive QB. Hockenson’s stock is on the rise and he is an ascending player. He should be in the TE1 tier for 2021 drafts.
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team
On a team with not many proven receiving options, it was TE Logan Thomas who emerged as a solid pass-catcher for the Washington Football Team in 2020. Thomas was drafted in 2014 but has only played in four NFL seasons with 2020 being far and away his best one.
The big tight end finished with 72 receptions for 670 yards and six scores on 110 targets in 16 games. This was a huge breakout season for someone who didn’t even eclipse 16 receptions, 28 targets, 173 yards, and one touchdown in a season before.
Thomas finished third on the team in receptions, tied for second in targets, second in yards, first in touchdowns, and second in yards per game (41.9). The TE mostly came in second to standout receiver Terry McLaurin. Overall, Thomas finished seventh among fantasy tight ends in 2020, which is a meteoric rise considering he put himself on the map after years of obscurity in the NFL.
Even among NFL tight ends, Thomas ranked fourth in receptions per game (6.88), fourth in receptions per game (4.5), third in receptions, and seventh in yards. The TE should certainly be on the radar of managers in 2021 drafts considering his breakout year this past campaign.
Hayden Hurst, Atlanta Falcons
After two rather underwhelming seasons in Baltimore to begin his NFL career, Hayden Hurst excelled in his first season with the Falcons in 2020. The TE recorded career-highs in receptions (56), targets (88), yards (571), and touchdowns (six). Hurst ranked third in receptions and targets, fourth in yards, and second in touchdowns on Atlanta.
Overall, the TE is poised to build on his successful 2020 season in which he finished a respectable 11th among fantasy TEs after finishing 56th in 2018 and 34th in 2019 with the Ravens.
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys
In his third NFL year, Dalton Schultz broke out in a big way, getting 63 receptions for 615 yards and four scores on 89 targets in 16 games. The third-year player only mustered 13 receptions for 122 yards on 19 targets in 27 games during his first two seasons in the league.
He finished third on Dallas in receptions, fourth in targets, fourth in yards, fourth in touchdowns, and fourth in yards per game (38.4). Nevertheless, the big point to take away here is that Schultz proved he can be a legit NFL tight end and that he can be an important point of an offense.
Schultz finished tied for fifth in receptions among NFL tight ends and 11th in yards, notably. He also finished the season ranked at 17th among fantasy tight ends. Based on his stellar 2020 production and the fact that he has engraved a better role for himself on Dallas in 2021, Schultz should be on the radar as a solid backup tight end heading into 2021 drafts.
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers
After an offseason full of pundits claiming Aaron Rodgers had no weapons in the passing game aside from Davante Adams, it was TE Robert Tonyan who stepped up as an unlikely valuable weapon for the talented QB.
To put things in perspective, Tonyan played his third NFL season in 2020 and recorded better numbers in this past season alone than he did in his first two combined. By a big margin too. In 27 games played during the 2018 and 2019 season, the Indiana State product managed 14 receptions for 177 yards and two scores on 21 targets.
In 2020, he broke out with 52 receptions for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns on 59 targets. He finished second in receptions, third in targets, third in yards, and second in touchdowns on Green Bay this past season.
Another notable thing is Tonyan finished tied with Travis Kelce for most touchdowns scored among NFL tight ends. In addition, he finished third among tight ends in fantasy. He is a free agent this offseason, so it’s worth noting where he plays in 2021 before assessing his draft value. Nevertheless, Robert Tonyan deserves to not be overlooked in 2021 drafts come that time.
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