A pair of Florida tight ends have been the biggest upward movers at the position of late. Cade Otton and Jonnu Smith have been putting up big numbers, making it reasonable to wonder if they might also be top-10 tight ends next season.
With Otton, the injuries to Tampa Bay’s wide receivers (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin) caused him to move into a more prominent role. He’s caught 30 passes and 3 TDs in his last four games. He won’t continue to produce at that rate, but now that the Bucs have a better understanding of his abilities, I think he’ll permanently fill a more significant role in that passing game.
Otton averaged 2.8 catches a year ago and averaged only 3.2 catches in his first six games this season. For the 2025 season, I think we’re now more likely looking at something like 4.5 catches per game. If I’m in a keeper league, I think I would take Otton before some guys I previously had far ahead of him, including Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert and Evan Engram. (Engram’s been sucking in a lot of balls the last two years, but Jacksonville is headed for a complete reboot, with Doug Pederson’s tight end friendly offense being dismantled.)
Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, Jonnu Smith has become a significant cog for the Dolphins, catching 30 passes and 3 TDs in the last six weeks. In those games, he’s caught more passes than both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Smith has played well enough of late that I think it’s fair to compare him to guys like George Kittle and Travis Kelce. While Kelce is great, he’s 35. He’s slipped some, making me wonder if he’ll even be playing in 2025. Smith is almost as good (statistically) as Kelce right now, and I feel better about what he might be doing in the 2025-26 seasons. Kittle is really good, but he’s 31 and has been plagued by injuries.
I turn my attention to dynasty leagues every Saturday during the regular season, rotating between the four notable positions. I’m assuming PPR scoring and 12 teams, with each rostering about three tight ends, controlling their rights indefinitely. Rookies are tagged with black dots.
Unlike our in-season rankings, this list is put together by hand. That is, I just put the players in a list and started moving them around until it felt right. The trusty old gut feel.
With it being a dynasty league, there’s constant weighing of what a player is now versus what he might be in 2025, 2026 and beyond. While the preference is to grab younger players when possible, there’s also considerable value in having good players right now.
Consider, as an example, 34-year-old Taysom Hill. I’m not sure he’ll give you anything in 2025, but he’s good right now. That makes him a consideration, I think, to be picked ahead of rookies like Ja’Tavion Sanders, Theo Johnson, Erick All and Ben Sinnott, who currently have little or no value but might be something in the future. Those who select Hill, of course, will be able to pick up some other prospect-type tight end later who might not look all that different than those young guys. (Jared Wiley, for example, looked pretty good in the preseason, making me wonder if he might eventually replace Kelce – Wiley probably isn’t rostered in most dynasty leagues.)
Anyway, below is my stab at it. Let me know which guys you think are way too high and way too low.
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Next week: Wide receivers
| DYNASTY TIGHT ENDS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
| 1. | LV | • Brock Bowers | 21.9 |
| 2. | ARI | Trey McBride | 25.0 |
| 3. | DET | Sam LaPorta | 23.9 |
| 4. | MIN | T.J. Hockenson | 27.4 |
| 5. | CHI | Cole Kmet | 25.7 |
| 6. | GB | Tucker Kraft | 24.1 |
| 7. | TB | Cade Otton | 25.6 |
| 8. | BUF | Dalton Kincaid | 25.1 |
| 9. | DAL | Jake Ferguson | 25.8 |
| 10. | CLE | David Njoku | 28.4 |
| 11. | ATL | Kyle Pitts | 24.1 |
| 12. | SF | George Kittle | 31.1 |
| 13. | MIA | Jonnu Smith | 29.3 |
| 14. | KC | Travis Kelce | 35.1 |
| 15. | PIT | Pat Freiermuth | 26.1 |
| 16. | BAL | Isaiah Likely | 24.6 |
| 17. | BAL | Mark Andrews | 29.2 |
| 18. | PHI | Dallas Goedert | 29.9 |
| 19. | JAC | Evan Engram | 30.2 |
| 20. | CAR | • Ja'Tavion Sanders | 21.7 |
| 21. | NE | Hunter Henry | 30.0 |
| 22. | NYG | • Theo Johnson | 23.7 |
| 23. | NO | Taysom Hill | 34.3 |
| 24. | CIN | • Erick All | 24.2 |
| 25. | SEA | Noah Fant | 27.0 |
| 26. | HOU | Dalton Schultz | 28.4 |
| 27. | WAS | • Ben Sinnott | 22.4 |
| 28. | CIN | Mike Gesicki | 29.1 |
| 29. | WAS | Zach Ertz | 34.0 |
| 30. | NYJ | Tyler Conklin | 29.3 |
| 31. | KC | • Jared Wiley | 24.1 |
| 32. | GB | Luke Musgrave | 24.2 |
| 33. | IND | Kylen Granson | 26.7 |
| 34. | TEN | Chig Okonkwo | 25.2 |
| 35. | LV | Michael Mayer | 23.4 |
| 36. | LAC | Will Dissly | 28.4 |
| 37. | LAR | Davis Allen | 23.8 |
| 38. | KC | Noah Gray | 25.6 |
| 39. | JAC | Brenton Strange | 23.9 |
| 40. | BAL | Charlie Kolar | 25.8 |
—Ian Allan