Fantasy Football Sleepers | 4 TEs Being Drafted Too Low in the FFPC

by Aditya Fuldeore · Best Ball Plays & Strategy

As we enter re-draft and Best Ball season, draft boards and player ADP start to take shape. Every year, there are a few players that go under the radar with paths to smash their ADPs. In this piece, I discuss a few fantasy football sleepers at tight end. These players are being drafted too low in drafts that fantasy gamers should look to target on platforms like the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

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Juwan Johnson

Last season, Juwan Johnson achieved five top-8 TE finishes. While he had games with low Snap Shares and fantasy output, this season he has minimal competition at TE and prior usage in the Saints’ offense to justify drafting him. While new addition Foster Moreau is new QB Derek Carr‘s former teammate, Johnson still has the lead TE spot. Moreau has yet to see more than 60 targets in a season. Johnson saw 65 targets last season, getting 185 (No. 7) Slot Snaps.

The fact that the Saints want to use Johnson out of the slot is a good indicator that he will get ample receiving usage. He was No. 2 in receiving yards on Saints last year, catching passes from Andy Dalton for most of the season. Now with Carr, expect more deep target usage for Johnson. Carr had 72 (No. 5) Deep Ball Attempts last season, while Johnson had a 9.4-yard (No. 6) Average Target Distance. Currently going around pick 130 in FFPC drafts, he is an upside play at the shaky tight end position. If you are scrounging for a TE late, Johnson has the potential to be a top-three option in the Saints’ offense.

Chigoziem Okonkwo

If you’ve monitored the fantasy tight end landscape for the past year, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard about Chigoziem Okonkwo‘s potential. He’s one of the fantasy football sleepers on a lot of people’s radar. The second-year tight end had a top-8 finish in three of his last six games last season. The Titans currently have a sparse receiving group, with Treylon Burks leading the way. Despite competing with Austin Hooper last season, Okonkwo was No. 2 on the team in receiving yards and top-5 in both targets and receptions. Now slated to be the team’s starter with minimal target competition, Okonkwo is a top-three receiving option for whoever Tennessee’s QB is this season.

With a 92nd-percentile Speed Score, Okonkwo can get downfield quickly. He was top-2 among tight ends last season in Yards Per Route Run, Yards Per Target, Yards Per Reception, and Target Rate. The volume in Tennessee combined with Okonkwo’s prior efficiency sets the table for upside. Currently being drafted just after pick 100 in the FFPC, he is an upside grab. Amongst the disheartening landscape of tight ends in fantasy football, chase Okonkwo’s potential for volume and efficiency.

Trey McBride

As a second-round rookie last season, Trey McBride saw just 39 targets. He played behind veteran Zach Ertz, who fit more of Arizona’s veteran offensive direction. However, the team finished with four wins, and released DeAndre Hopkins with Kyler Murray and Zach Ertz both injured this offseason. The Cardinals have no choice but to play their younger talent, including McBride, who came out of college with an 85th-percentile Speed Score at 6-4, 245-pounds. Arizona ran 39.1 (No. 4) Team Pass Plays Per Game last season. Even if the team shifts to a run-first offense in Murray’s absence, expect ample pass volume from a team that will play from behind often.

Trey McBride Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile

With Hopkins gone, the receiving corps in Arizona is less competitive for McBride. Marquise Brown will get his share of targets, but no other receiver on the team profiles as a target hog. Ertz is 32 and coming off an ACL/MCL tear, opening the door for McBride. If he gets the top-12 Route Participation and Target Share that Ertz got last year, McBride has the ability to finish as a top-10 TE. Currently going around pick 170 in FFPC drafts, McBride has the path to volume that makes him one of the more compelling fantasy football sleepers at that ADP.

Sam LaPorta

Selected in the second-round of the 2023 draft, Sam LaPorta joins a rising Lions offense. Detroit averaged 34.6 (No. 10) Pass Plays Per Game with a receiving corps led by Amon-Ra St. Brown. Now LaPorta seemingly replaces T.J. Hockenson, who was dealt last season. He will catch passes from Jared Goff, who had a 93.5 (No. 9) True Passer Rating last season. Expect LaPorta to handle Goff’s short yardage throws in addition to Jahmyr Gibbs and the running backs.

LaPorta played for Iowa, a school that has produced several NFL tight ends, including Hockenson. He saw a 27.0-percent College Target Share as a senior, hauling in 58 receptions in 12 games. LaPorta also has an 11.16 (90th-percentile) Agility Score and 108.4 (85th-percentile) Speed Score. He has the athleticism to beat linebackers in coverage and showcased the ability to handle diverse routes in college. LaPorta now enters a Detroit TE room with minimal competition and high draft capital. He currently has an ADP around pick 150 in the FFPC. LaPorta will see volume in a good Lions offense and is going multiple rounds after fellow rookie Dalton Kincaid, who has a more complicated path to targets.

💵 Sign up at the FFPC ➔ Click Here! to get $25 OFF your first team with promo code: UNDERWORLD.