ClutchPoints
Tight end is arguably the trickiest position to navigate in fantasy football, with so few enticing options available at the position. The 2025 season is no different, giving thousands of managers another year of headaches.
For years, Travis Kelce dominated the position and was a popular first-round target due to the positional edge he provided his owners. Now 35, Kelce remains a premier option, but is no longer the clear-cut TE1.
Instead, managers have understandably gravitated towards Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers as the first player taken off the board in most leagues. Coming off a historic rookie campaign, Bowers has looked every bit like a generational talent with elite athleticism, route-running, and ball skills. His ceiling is sky-high after receiving a quarterback upgrade over the offseason.
Behind Bowers, the traditional second tier remains. George Kittle, Mark Andrews, Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, T.J. Hockenson and Dallas Goedert are all satisfactory draft choices, with Kelce now also falling into that category. However, beyond that group, finding a serviceable option is a daunting task for any fantasy football manager who struck out early.
With 32 starting tight ends in the league, any manager can find a player who will be on the field for the majority of his team’s offensive snaps. Getting one who will put up meaningful numbers in the box score is an entirely different task. Yet, each year, a few players come flying out of left field and into fantasy relevance to bless those who spot them out of a crowd.
Predicting fantasy breakouts is often a dart throw, but a few players stick out more than others. Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, look out for these potential fantasy football darkhorses at tight end.
Ja’Tavion Sanders began his career buried on the Carolina Panthers’ depth chart behind veterans Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas. Yet, by the end of the year, he led the group with a 51.35 percent offensive snap share.
Sanders looked like he was on his way to taking over the position before he suffered a scary neck injury against the Chiefs. The injury surprisingly did not result in any absences, but it clearly affected his playing time. Sanders played over 70 percent of the offensive snaps in five of the six games before the injury, but never played more than 57.4 percent of the snaps for the rest of the season.
Entering his second season, Sanders now appears to be fully past the injury. Tremble returns to the team, but spent the entire offseason on the PUP list and was only activated on the day of the Panthers’ final preseason game. Barring any significant changes, the tight end room should be entirely Sanders’ to lose in 2025.
There are still several asterisks with Sanders, as he did not appear to be on the same page as Bryce Young in 2024. Carolina’s receiving corps also improved over the offseason, which could further complicate his role in the offense....
