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Week 2 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings and Tiers: Dalton Kincaid No Matter What

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.

22 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 17, 2026
Published
Thu, September 17, 2026
31
Player insights
31
Players mentioned
Topics
Brevin JordanBrock BowersChigoziem OkonkwoColby ParkinsonCole KmetColston LovelandDallas GoedertDalton KincaidDalton SchultzDarren WallerGeorge KittleGreg DulcichHunter HenryIrv Smith
Player analysis

Player insights

31

Brevin Jordan

PositiveProjection15:45

Jordan is ranked at tight end 18 for Week 2 against the Broncos. He scored a touchdown against the Broncos last year and has scored four touchdowns in his last seven games. Ian Hartitz notes that "as long as Trevor Lawrence keeps looking like one of the best quarterbacks in football, Brevin Jordan should be along for the ride," positioning him as a touchdown-dependent tight end option whose upside is tied to Lawrence's continued strong play.

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Brock Bowers

NegativeInjury0:21

Brock Bowers is injured and excluded from Ian Hartitz's week two tight end tier list. He would rank ahead of Trey McBride if healthy and available.

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Chigoziem Okonkwo

NegativeInjury16:40

Okonkwo is ranked at tight end 21 for Week 2 against the Cowboys. Ian Hartitz advises to "keep an eye on that hamstring injury," indicating a potential health concern that could impact his availability or performance.

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Colby Parkinson

PositiveProjection13:40

Parkinson ranks sixth among all tight ends in PPR scoring per game since Week 10 of last season, with Ian Hartitz noting he has been "scoring non-stop touchdowns" down the stretch of last season. He posted a 62% route rate in Week 1, ranking tight end 26, ahead of Rams teammates Terrance Ferguson (45%), Tyler Higbee (14%), and Davis Allen (14%), suggesting he's the primary pass-game option for Los Angeles at the position.

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Cole Kmet

PositiveRole0:48

Despite a zero-point week one performance, Cole Kmet led the Bears in route rate at 88% (ahead of wide receivers and running backs), indicating he remains a focal point of the offense. Ian Hartitz emphasizes that Caleb Williams looked like an MVP candidate and the year-two Ben Johnson partnership will score heavily; the week-one goose egg was an outlier and Kmet's role is secure.

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Colston Loveland

PositiveRole0:48

Colston Loveland tied Cole Kmet for the Bears' highest route rate at 88% in week one despite a zero-point performance. Ian Hartitz stresses that the Bears scored 59 points and Caleb Williams looked like an MVP candidate; the week-one failure was an outlier and Loveland's role as a primary target remains intact.

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Dallas Goedert

PositiveProjection6:14

Ian Hartitz ranks Dallas Goedert as TE6 for week two against the Titans. Goedert has scored 15 touchdowns in his last 17 games and ranks fifth among all tight ends in PPR scoring per game since week ten of last season. Though he's only had at least 50 yards in 4 of his last 16 games, making him touchdown-dependent, Hartitz is highly confident in a TD against Tennessee: "if I had to bet yes or no, my family's life depending on it, on Dallas Goedert scoring a touchdown against the Titans, pretty sure I say yes." New offensive coordinator scheming and AJ Brown target competition support continued TD production.

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Dalton Kincaid

PositiveBreakout0:47

Dalton Kincaid earned a full-time role for the first time in week one with 77% snap share, 69% route rate, 27 targets per route run, and 23% target share. He ranked among the most efficient receivers in the league on a per-route-run basis alongside Puka Nacua, JSN, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Zay Flowers, Luke Musgrave, and Christian Watson. Ian Hartitz elevated him to TE3 (up from TE9/1 in drafts) and states he needs fewer than one hand to count tight ends he'd prefer over Kincaid for the rest of the season. For week two specifically, Kincaid ranks TE4 due to his favorable shootout matchup against the Lions and Bills.

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Dalton Schultz

PositiveProjection14:09

Schultz ranks in the top 12 tight ends since Week 10 of last season on a PPR per-game basis, posting tight end one numbers over that span. Ian Hartitz ranks him at tight end 15 for Week 2 against the Bengals and notes he profiles as the number two pass game option more weeks than not in the Nico Collins-led Texans passing attack. Additionally, the Bengals allowed the most fantasy points and targets to tight ends on paper last season and haven't changed their defensive coordinator, making them a major cheat code matchup; Schultz is a viable flyer or flex option in tight-end-premium leagues.

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Darren Waller

PositiveSleeper21:59

Ian Hartitz identifies Darren Waller as a stash candidate with the Panthers, noting that Bryce Young has limited receiving options and Waller's role could be increasing. Positioned as the secondary tight end stash recommendation for tight end premium leagues after Irv Smith Jr., Waller offers potential role growth in an offense with few pass-catching alternatives.

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George Kittle

PositiveProjection9:18

Ian Hartitz ranks George Kittle as TE9 with 47% snap count in week one coming back from injury. Hartitz expects five targets against the Dolphins in week two might be sufficient for Kittle to perform well. Kittle ranks second among all tight ends in PPR scoring per game since Week 10 of last season, demonstrating consistent elite production.

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Greg Dulcich

NegativeRole18:30

Greg Dulcich secured a full-time role in week one with a 76% route rate, ranking tight end 25, and Ian Hartitz views it as a great first data point among tight ends who were expected to see expanded roles (Irv Smith Jr., Darren Waller, Terrance Ferguson). However, the Broncos' passing offense looked poor overall, and Dulcich faces a tough matchup against Fred Warner and the 49ers' defense, limiting near-term upside despite the positive role development.

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Hunter Henry

NegativeRole16:25

Henry is ranked at tight end 20 for Week 2. Ian Hartitz notes that Eli Harold has been eating into his snaps, suggesting reduced playing time and a potential decline in his role going forward.

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Irv Smith

PositiveRole20:10

Ian Hartitz identifies Irv Smith Jr. as a potential under-owned tight-end bench stash, particularly if Laviska Shenault's rib injury is more serious than the Chargers are disclosing. Hartitz argues that Smith Jr. could be the Chargers' best pass catcher or top-three option alongside Q Jones and Trey Harris. The team's preference for multi-tight-end sets and willingness to target tight ends support his upside. Smith Jr. fits the profile of a player who could suddenly see a 75% route rate shift in a given week, making him a recommended bench stash in tight end premium leagues (20-player rosters) given the Chargers' demonstrated preference for multi-tight-end formations.

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Isaiah Likely

PositiveProjection6:14

Ian Hartitz ranks Isaiah Likely as TE5 for week two against the Rams on Monday night football. Likely's week one performance (111 yards, 2 TDs) was backed by strong usage: 68% route rate, 35% targets per route run, 29% of team targets, 28% of air yards, indicating Jackson Dart was willing to throw the football frequently. Behind only Malik Nabers in the Giants passing game, Likely is now the number two pass game option in a full-time role. Rest-of-season projection: TE6-7, definitely top 10.

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Jake Ferguson

NegativeRole14:40

Ferguson is ranked at tight end 16 for Week 2 against the Commanders. Despite the Commanders giving up two touchdowns to Dallas Goedert in Week 1, Ian Hartitz expresses concern about Ferguson's role: "just when CeeDee Lamb is active, we've seen almost nothing from Jake Ferguson over these past two seasons. Not expecting that to change." This suggests limited upside when the Cowboys' top receiver is healthy.

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Juwan Johnson

PositiveProjection11:22

Ian Hartitz ranks Juwan Johnson as TE11 with strong historical performance data; since week eight of last season, Johnson has posted a top 10 tight end finish on six separate occasions. Despite Irv Smith receiving significant targets, Juwan Johnson maintained an 81% route rate. Johnson ranks seventh among all tight ends in PPR scoring per game since Week 10 of last season, described as 'pretty impressive stuff over a growing sample size.' However, the week two matchup against Kyle Hamilton and a tough Ravens defense is less favorable than facing the Lions defense in week one, which was weakened by sidelined starting safeties.

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Keenan Allen

PositiveRole5:30

Keenan Allen had six targets in week one and is repeating his pattern of being an annoying veteran stealing targets in the Chiefs offense. Despite a full-time 88% route rate, Allen is a target thief that diminishes fantasy value for other pass catchers in the offense.

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Keon Hatcher

PositiveRole16:55

Hatcher is ranked at tight end 22 for Week 2 against the Packers. Ian Hartitz Fantasy Football praises Frank Reich's willingness to get Hatcher the ball in creative ways, including rush attempts and screens, calling it "fantastic stuff." Ian Hartitz Fantasy Football expresses a preference for Hatcher over Mason Taylor from a fantasy perspective, noting "the fantasy nerd in me wants Konyhaon Sedique to get out there cuz he has more upside than Taylor." Ian Hartitz Fantasy Football advocates for using Hatcher in the slot and two-tight-end formations to maximize his talents alongside Isaiah Williams.

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Kyle Pitts

PositiveProjection11:46

Ian Hartitz ranks Kyle Pitts as TE14 in week two, but projects significant ranking improvements based on quarterback change. Pitts could have had a 30-plus-yard chunk gain in Week 1 if Cooper Rush could throw accurately. If Tua Tagovailoa takes over, Pitts moves to TE8 due to Tua's checkdown tendency; if Michael Penix starts, Pitts ranks at TE10 behind George Kittle. Since Week 10 of last season, Pitts ranks third among all tight ends in PPR scoring per game.

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Mark Andrews

PositiveRole11:10

Ian Hartitz ranks Mark Andrews as TE10 as the number two pass game option for Lamar Jackson in a Ravens offense that looks 'pretty freaking awesome.' This contrasts with other first-time play callers like David Blough and Sean Mannion.

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Mason Taylor

NegativeRole17:20

Mason Taylor, a second-round pick from last year, is a traditional inline tight end but faces competition for snaps. He had a 62% route rate in Week 1, while Konyhaon Sedique had just 46%. Ian Hartitz notes that while the fantasy side prefers Sedique's upside, the real football side understands Taylor's role as a more traditional inline tight end, suggesting limited fantasy ceiling despite his draft pedigree.

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Michael Mayer

NegativeProjection15:10

Mayer is ranked at tight end 17 for Week 2 against the Chargers. Ian Hartitz expresses skepticism about Mayer's ability to match Trey McBride's production, stating "I just don't think that Michael Mayer is as good as Trey McBride." Hartitz also notes concern about the Chargers' passing game overall, with Kirk Cousins looking bad and his arm appearing "washed" for multiple years, which limits Mayer's ceiling.

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Mike Gesicki

NegativeProjection18:18

Mike Gesicki scored 18.8 fantasy points in week one against the Texans, ranking tight end 24, but Ian Hartitz is skeptical of repeating that performance. Hartitz states definitively that week one was likely the last time Gesicki will outscore Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and he is not buying into the week-one spike, indicating a strong fade on the performance.

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Pat Freiermuth

NegativeProjection17:58

Pat Freiermuth posted a top-six tight end performance in week one with a 74% route rate, and Hartitz ranks him tight end 23 with upside if the usage repeats. However, Hartitz expresses concern that the performance may have been a one-week anomaly and doesn't expect Darnell Washington to cede the passing game entirely, though Washington's role could diminish. The cautious ranking reflects skepticism about sustainability.

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Sam LaPorta

PositiveProjection7:00

Ian Hartitz ranks Sam LaPorta as TE7 ahead of Thursday night shootout against the Bills. LaPorta posted 83% route rate in week one with 8 targets, just behind Jameson Williams' 9 targets. In the high-flying Lions offense and passing game, LaPorta is a co-option with Williams and should be fine.

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T.J. Hockenson

NegativeProjection16:15

Hockenson is ranked at tight end 19 for Week 2 by Ian Hartitz.

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Terrance Ferguson

NegativeRole19:02

Terrance Ferguson posted only a 45% route rate in week one, ranking tight end 27, and Ian Hartitz is holding him for one more week despite the poor showing. Hartitz notes that if Ferguson had posted a route rate north of 70%, he would have ranked him tight end 12, indicating massive upside potential if usage increases. The low usage and the Rams' offensive struggles in the season-opening Australia game make him a stash-and-wait candidate. Hartitz acknowledges Ferguson had a higher route rate in the first half, suggesting possible scheme adjustments ahead.

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Travis Kelce

NegativeProjection11:46

Ian Hartitz ranks Travis Kelce as TE13. While he had a 59-yard catch in week one (his longest since a Chargers-Chiefs Thursday night game years ago) for 69 total yards, Hartitz cautions against expecting consistent chunk plays. Hartitz emphasizes he doesn't think Kelce will be ripping off 50-plus-yard chunk gains every week on short passes. Additionally, the Chiefs passing game looked 'pretty broken' overall in week one.

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Trey McBride

PositiveProjection0:27

Trey McBride ranks as the league's most productive tight end since week ten of last season on a PPR per-game basis, leading all tight ends in scoring over that span. Through week one of 2025, only Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Amon-Ra St. Brown have more PPR points per game than McBride. McBride has outscored Jamar Chase since week one of last season. Ian Hartitz expresses strong conviction that McBride is elite and will remain a top-tier tight end regardless of future Cardinals struggles or quarterback changes.

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Tucker Kraft

PositiveProjection9:18

Ian Hartitz ranks Tucker Kraft as TE8 with conditional upgrade to TE4 if healthy. Kraft ran routes on 48% of Jordan Love's dropbacks in week one despite part-time role. His average target depth improved dramatically—he got targeted three separate times on passes thrown at least 15 yards downfield (only six total last season), showing the Packers are willing to use him as a seam stretcher on flag routes. This is very encouraging after Kraft's 4.8-yard average target depth last year (lowest among top 24 scoring fantasy tight ends). If Matt LaFleur confirms Kraft is healthy and done with pitch count restrictions by Thursday, Hartitz will rank him TE4 for the week and TE3 rest of season.

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Full transcript

Episode Transcript

242
0:00It's a great day to break down the week two fantasy football tight end landscape with my rankings and tiers. Going to be
0:06going through my top 27 players at the position alongside some bigger picture questions. Looking at week one breakouts like Dalton Kincaid and Isaiah Likely
0:13and seeing just how real those actually were. Best and worst on paper matchups and some potential bench stashes who could be the waiver wire heroes of
0:21tomorrow. So with that guys, let's get into it with our big three at the top of tier number one led off by not Brock
0:27Bowers because he is injured and not going to be in this tier list. So instead, Trey McBride who, let's face it, probably a lot of alleged fantasy
0:33experts like me effed up in the first place not ranking this dude ahead. I don't know.
0:39Guys, I literally put my heart and soul into this fantasy football stuff year-round. It's my job and even I cannot figure out
0:48why March through August Ian was so committed at not letting Trey McBride be a thing. I felt like it was rational in
0:55the moment and then I look up here going into week two.
0:58Going back to week one of 2025, so this is last, you know, 19 regular season weeks.
1:04The only wide receivers with more PPR points per game than Trey McBride are Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
1:15Trey McBride has outscored Jamar freaking Chase since week one of last season.
1:21Could this turn into trouble if and when the Cardinals struggle this year, Jacoby Brissett turns back into a pumpkin a little bit, we get Kyler back in
1:30December? Maybe, I don't know. Sure wasn't a problem in week one. They looked awesome. Trey McBride is a god.
1:36He stuffed Derwin James in a freaking locker all over the place in week one.
1:41He's incredible. I will never doubt Trey McBride again.
1:48Can't believe this. Tight end number two, I'm going with Cole Kmet and Loveland guys against the Minnesota Vikings. All right? Yeah, this one got a
1:54little bit messed up in week one. If you're like me and drafted a good bit of Cole and Loveland, it was not good
1:58seeing the Bears score 59 freaking points and then getting a big fat zero in the box score. So, could have had a
2:04little bit of help. Kmet overthrew him in the middle of the field. They had an end zone target that was close to
2:08connecting, but no dice. Either way though, guys, relax. Caleb Williams looked like a legitimate MVP candidate out there. Clearly the year two version
2:16of the Ben Johnson Caleb partnership is going to score all kinds of points. We got 59 in week one.
2:21I'm pretty sure Kmet and Loveland are still good at football, okay? And the Bears know that. He literally led the team in route rate, okay? Wide
2:28receivers, running backs, tight ends, it was Kmet and Loveland at 88%. So, wasn't ideal. I get it. It was just one
2:35week. I'll be very surprised and very sad if we're still talking about this as being an issue going to week three. I
2:41don't really think people that drafted Kmet and Loveland are trying to sell the deal after one down performance. If they are, maybe try taking advantage of it.
2:47And tight end three, Dalton Kincaid. We are so back in this Texans and the big question, can we actually buy into
2:54Dalton Kincaid as a legit top five fantasy tight end moving forward the rest of the season? Again, I got him tight end three right now. If we do see
3:01Bowers back in action, he'll be up there ahead of him. But either way, that is quite the increase for someone who I
3:07think at the highest was kind of tight end nine in a lot of these drafts.
3:10Usually closer to that tight end one borderline. But hey, what we did see in week one was a true full-time role for
3:16this dude pretty much for the first time ever. 77% snaps, a very nice 69% route rate, 27 targets per route run, and 23%
3:25target share. Whatever. Just numbers on a freaking page, right? Watch the film, people. This dude mossed Derek Stingley.
3:32He caught another crosser and ran away from two defenders to set up the Bills for the eventual game-winning touchdown with under two minutes left. Even with
3:39this going out there, being bigger and faster than the linebackers can handle in coverage, he looked so good out there. He really
3:46looked so good for the better part of the last 12 months, okay?
3:49I have a chart that we'll put on the screen now. And this shows yards per route run and targets per route run. I
3:54like per route run numbers. It's the largest sample size that we have possible, okay? That's why it's better than per target and per reception stuff.
4:00That's the only reason why we use stuff on a per route run basis.
4:05Puka Nacua, JSN, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Zay Flowers, Luke Musgrave, Christian Watson, and Dalton Kincaid. Those are your most efficient wide receivers and
4:13tight ends on a per target and per yard per route run basis.
4:18Absolute madness.
4:19We have the likely number two option in the Buffalo Bills Josh Allen led offense playing tight end in a full-time role.
4:27Wheels up, baby. I do not need more than one hand to count the number of tight ends I want over Dalton Kincaid the rest
4:33of the season. My tight end three ahead of a Thursday night shootout.
4:37I got a question in my uh wide receiver tier video about where I actually will be slotting in Kincaid if he happens to
4:42be, you know, your second tight end in the wide receiver flex sort of range. I think I would start Stefon Diggs,
4:48Terry McLaurin ahead of Dalton Kincaid just cuz it's such a nice matchup for them against the Cowboys. It's a toss-up for me between Dalton Kincaid and guys
4:55like Matthew Golden and Jaylen Coker.
4:56Two guys I really like this week. I don't think I could go any lower than that in the flex ranks.
5:01Tier two guys, we got cemented tight end ones that you can still feel pretty good about, all right? I don't have too many
5:06calls for concern here. Tight end four is going to be Tyler Warren going up against the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Talked last week about the
5:12Ravens potentially becoming this new tight end stopper defense with Jesse Minter and having Kyle Hamilton at his six at his uh disposal. That was the
5:19case in week one more or less against Tyler Warren. Still found his way into the end zone cuz my man is a beast out
5:24there, but yeah, we'll see what happens here on Sunday night. Didn't love the overall returns from Daniel Jones and company, but hey, as he continues to get
5:30healthier, it would make sense if Warren continues to put up better numbers. Just keep an eye on Keenan Allen.
5:36Mr. .224, goodness gracious, man.
5:40Don't drink and drive ever, but .224.
5:43Jesus.
5:44Ah!
5:46Really freaking high. Keenan Allen had six targets in week one. He's doing this freaking bit again where he just takes away all the things we love in fantasy
5:53land and ends up being just annoying veteran stealing the targets. So, legendary career, powder blue Keenan Chargers jersey is a throwback. I get
6:01it, but yeah. Look, it wasn't a big game for warning us the Chiefs last year, 45 scoreless yards. Not expecting fireworks
6:07necessarily, but we got a full-time 88% route rate here. Talented young player, tough to move that too far down in the
6:13ranks.
6:14Tight end five, I'm going with Isaiah Likely against the Rams on Monday night football. We're going to talk about him more in a bit and whether or not his
6:20week one performance was real or a bit of a fugazi. Tight end six, I got Dallas Goedert. This dude has scored 15
6:26touchdowns in his last 17 games, all right? And he looked good out there in week one. As much as some of the
6:31touchdowns last year seemed maybe not the fluky variety, but of the is a new offensive coordinator really good at scheming this sort of stuff up variety.
6:39Hey, when you know I'm AJ Brown to compete for targets, all of a sudden those touchdowns still keep on keeping on. So, Dallas Goedert going against the
6:45Titans.
6:46He is like a touchdown dependent tight end one, which is weird to say. Usually it's like a tight end two sort of thing
6:51cuz he's only had at least 50 yards in four of his last 16 games, but you know, if I had to bet yes or no, my family's
6:57life depending on it, on Dallas Goedert scoring a touchdown against the Titans, pretty sure I say yes. Tight end six, Dallas Goedert.
7:04Tight end seven, I'm going with Sam LaPorta again ahead of this Thursday night shootout against the Bills. 83% route rate. We saw Jameson Williams just
7:11barely lead the way in targets nine to eight overall, but hey man, if they're two way two B in this high-flying Lions
7:17offense and passing game, I think LaPorta is going to be just fine. My tight end seven on the week. Key question though, going back to Isaiah
7:23Likely, just how real was this? Because again, if you guys are old enough like me to remember all the way back in 2024,
7:29this is not the first time that Isaiah Likely has had a huge season opening game and then struggled a little bit
7:34down the stretch, okay? In 2024, 111 yards and a touchdown was a freaking like toenail inch away from having a second touchdown at the end of
7:42regulation. Went on the rest of the way and finished as a tight end 20 in PPR points per game. So, was him going out
7:47there against Caleb Downs and the Cowboys and scoring twice and looking like a beast out there a big fluke? I don't think so because we actually had
7:55the usage to match it.
7:5668% route rate, all right? We prefer 70 plus, 80 plus, ideally 100, but typically at tight end we want something between 70 and 80 and anything higher
8:05than that is icing on the cake. 68 is okay. What's great though is how often Jackson Dart was willing about the
8:11football. 35% targets per route run, 29% of his team's total targets, 28% of the air yards. So, in an offense where
8:19behind Malik Nabers there's really no one to be writing home about, I do believe Isaiah Likely is now the number two pass game option in a New York
8:25Giants offense that we should be feeling good about because more often than not Jackson Dart has looked really good in his young career. So, going to be a bit
8:32of bit of a step up of competition obviously against the Rams here in week two, but I think the money has pointed
8:37to Likely having this full-time role. We saw him in week one, we saw the playmaker that we always know is in
8:42there and is capable, and we have an offense that again only has one other guy ahead of him in the pecking order.
8:47Isaiah Likely, not going to say top five for the rest of the year, definitely top 10 if I had to go ahead and just do a
8:53rest of season ranking, probably settles in around tight end six or tight end seven.
8:58Tier three, I got studs with a question mark, okay? The only reason why I have Tucker Kraft tight end eight and George
9:04Kittle tight end nine is because they were in part-time roles in the first game coming back from injury, okay?
9:08Tucker Kraft ran a route on 48% of Jordan Love's dropbacks and George Kittle was at 47%. Clear snap counts for each, but two each of their credits
9:16still managed to earn plenty of targets that along the way. Tucker Kraft's in particular were very, very interesting to me guys because last year just a 4.8
9:24yard average target depth, that was the lowest among any top 24 scoring fantasy tight end, okay? So, he was regularly tethered to the line of scrimmage and
9:32just wasn't constantly in a position to do anything other than pick up bunches of yards after the catch, which is fine
9:38when you're a beast like Tucker Kraft and you're able to again just be superhuman after the catch, but coming back from this knee injury, I just
9:46didn't love the idea of banking all my fantasy success on someone who needs to be 110% better than your average tight
9:52end to make up for these lower average target, you know, pass game opportunities.
9:57Didn't see that in week one.
9:59We actually saw Tucker Kraft get targeted three separate times on passes thrown at least 15 yards downfield. He only had six of those total
10:07last season, guys.
10:09And one of the studies I did, if you've been hanging out on this channel for a while, thank you, appreciate it. But
10:13going looking at tight ends earlier in the year, you usually don't see tight ends with that low of an average target depth
10:19wind up putting up top three seasons.
10:23Very, very encouraging stuff from Tucker Kraft getting used down the field. We know what he can do after the catch, but
10:29it was getting that evidence that the Packers are willing to use him as more of a seam stretcher, using him on those
10:33flag routes and things of that nature.
10:35Very encouraging stuff. Tight end eight for right now. If we heard on Thursday, I'm recording this Wednesday afternoon, if Matt LaFleur comes out and says
10:42Tucker Kraft, he's we're done with the pitch count, he's healthy, he's in he's in shape, he's ready to go, he'll be my
10:47tight end four. Tight end four on the week only because of Kincaid's shootout match up here going up Lions and Bills.
10:55Rest of season though, he'll be my tight end three.
10:57Mention George Kittle. Again, playing the Dolphins this week, I don't think they're going to need to keep their foot on the gas. Tight end nine because five
11:03targets against the Dolphins might be more than enough for him to be just fine, but again, waiting on those reps to catch up and Kittle will rise up the
11:10ranks accordingly. Tight end 10, I got Mark Andrews looking like the number two pass game option for Lamar Jackson and a
11:16Ravens offense that looks pretty freaking awesome out there, guys. Can't say the same about David Blough and Sean Mannion, those other first-time play
11:22callers, but Decklin Doyle really encouraging stuff in his first game.
11:25Tight end 11, I got the guy on the other sideline there, Juwan Johnson. Since week eight of last season, Johnson has a
11:31top 10 tight end finish on six separate occasions. So, I know Irv Smith got a lot of targets out there, but Juwan
11:36actually still had an 81% route rate.
11:38The problem, though, is again, this matchup against Kyle Hamilton, a tough Ravens defense, not going to be the same as again facing a Lions defense that was
11:46wilting when their offense couldn't exactly keep the ball, and also had both their starting safeties sidelined.
11:52Tight end 12, I got Irv Smith as a Fannin. Tight end 13, I got Travis Kelce.
11:56And tight end 14, I got Kyle Pitts.
11:58Look, it just comes down to Fannin unfortunately is having to deal with Kacy Charton and taking a lot of his underneath targets and Deshaun Watson
12:04under center. Kelce, it was a fun 59-yard play, all right? That was his longest catch since that freaking batshit crazy Chargers-Chiefs Thursday
12:13night game a couple years ago. Kelce went, I think, for a very nice 69 yards in that game.
12:18Watch that play again, though. Rashee Rice got away with like a 30-yard hold, all right?
12:23Maybe you disagree.
12:24I'm not trying to discredit Kelce. I don't I hate when fantasy people do that. Oh, take away their good plays, and look, they had a bad game and
12:30everything.
12:32I just don't think Kelce is going to be ripping off 50-plus-yard chunk gains every week on these short passes, all right? Can we agree on that? And
12:40otherwise, man, this Chiefs passing game looked pretty broken. A win is a win is a win. Good for you, Chiefs fans.
12:45Kenneth Walker looks great. I am worried about this passing game. We'll see how they're looking against the Colts on Sunday Night Football.
12:51And then Kyle Pitts could have, should have, would have had a 30-plus-yard chunk gain if Cooper Rush knew how to throw a forward pass. Very disappointing
12:58stuff. If we do get Michael Penix or Tua Tagovailoa under center, I would move him up to near the top of this tier.
13:06If it's Tua, I would be confident enough in him just being a I'm not going to say a bad word.
13:13I'd be confident enough in Tua checking it down constantly to Kyle Pitts. I would move him up to tight end eight. If
13:20it's Penix, I would not be as confident, and I would put him at tight end 10 behind George Kittle.
13:25Key question here, who's been the league's most productive tight ends over the last half season, okay? Since week 10 of last season, here are the top
13:31scoring tight ends in fantasy football on a PPR per game basis. Number one, Trey McBride, followed by George Kittle, Kyle Pitts. Please get us a real QB,
13:40Atlanta. Tight end four, Brock Bowers.
13:42Tight end five, Dallas Goedert, again just scoring non-stop touchdowns. Tight end six, Colby Parkinson, also down the stretch of last season scoring non-stop
13:49touchdowns. Tight end seven, Juwan Johnson, followed by Harold Landry, Cole Kmet, Brevin Jordan, Dalton Schultz and Hunter Henry. So, again, free Kyle
13:57Pitts. Keep an eye on Dalton Schultz and we'll talk about Dalton Schultz. Keep an eye on Dallas Goedert continuing to do
14:03his thing out there. Uh Juwan Johnson, tight end seven, again pretty impressive stuff over a growing sample size. And you could do worse on a flyer than
14:10someone like Dalton Schultz. There you go, Ian. Or someone like Brevin Jordan.
14:14And getting to those guys, tier four, it would be a lot cooler for you to better option, but worst case, here they are.
14:20Tight end 15, Dalton Schultz against the Bengals, guys. Again, they shut down Cade Otton in week one, but you know, let's face it, everyone shuts down Cade
14:27Otton unless the Buccaneers don't have any available wide receivers. So, Schultz again though, to his credit, we just said, since week 10 of last season,
14:34he has been posting tight end one numbers. He does profile as the number two pass game option more weeks than not
14:39in this Nico Collins-led passing attack.
14:41Tight end 16, Jake Ferguson against the Commanders. Look, gave up two touchdowns to Dallas Goedert last week. That fact's not lost on me, but man, just when
14:49CeeDee Lamb is active, we've seen almost nothing from Jake Ferguson over these past two seasons. Not expecting that to change. Tight end 17, I got Michael
14:56Mayer.
14:57I just respect Derwin James and as much as Trey McBride again had his way with the dude in week one, pause.
15:03I just don't think that Michael Mayer is as good as Trey McBride. Hot take, everyone, all right? So, he could get
15:08the targets, but I don't know. I could be I would not be surprised at all if everyone other than Ashton Jeanty just
15:12struggles to get anything going this week against the Chargers. Kirk Cousins looked bad, man. That arm has been washed, you know, for multiple years at
15:19this point. Tight end 18, I got Brevin Jordan against the Broncos. Actually scored a touchdown against them last year. He scored four in his last seven
15:26games. As long as Trevor Lawrence keeps looking like one of the best quarterbacks in football, Brevin Jordan should be along for the ride. At least
15:32you know a touchdown dependent tight end two. Tight end 19, I got T.J. Hockenson.
15:35Tight end 20, Hunter Henry. We saw Eli Harold and eating the his snaps a little bit. Tight end 21, Chigo Okonkwo against
15:41the Cowboys. Just keep an eye on that hamstring injury. Tight end 22, Konyhaon Sedique against the Packers. Guys, I love that Frank Reich was willing to get
15:49Konyhaon Sedique the ball in creative ways. A rush attempt is fantastic stuff.
15:54We love the screens and all that.
15:56Do we have to do this Mason Taylor thing though? Mason Taylor had a 62% route rate. Meanwhile, Konyhaon Sedique had just a 46% mark. So, I would like to
16:04think cuz like Omar Cooper versus Mason Taylor versus Konyhaon Sedique, I Mason Taylor is a second round pick from last year.
16:13All right? He's a good football player.
16:14He's a more traditional inline tight end.
16:16The fantasy nerd in me wants Konyhaon Sedique to get out there cuz he has more upside than Taylor, but like the real
16:21life football side of me can see what he's doing.
16:26When we lose Omar Cooper though, and this is the similar argument we kind of talked about with the Raiders and like
16:30Jack Bash versus Michael Mayer versus Jack Bash versus Ian Thomas.
16:34When it becomes Konyhaon Sedique versus Isaiah Williams, come on.
16:40Use Sedique in the slot. Use two tight end formations. Get your best 11 guys on the field. And if the guy you just
16:45drafted as 16th overall isn't one of those top 11, man, what are we doing at that point? So, no Omar Cooper should
16:52open up more YAC, more designed screen opportunities for Sedique. Those skill sets kind of overlapped a little bit, I thought, at least coming out of the
16:58draft.
17:00Tight end 22 for now. Arrows pointing up though, especially if Geno Smith and company can look as good against the Packers as they did in week one against
17:06the Titans.
17:08Key question here, what defenses have been the worst on paper at stopping tight ends? And yeah, it's the Bengals.
17:13This graph is ridiculous, guys. I got fantasy points for game allowed to tight ends on the x-axis and overall targets allowed the tight ends on the y-axis.
17:20Some teams play defense just in certain ways, particularly a lot of zone-heavy teams, where you'll see targets funnel more often to tight ends than other
17:27positions. But, yeah, that's the Bengals up there in the top right corner. Again, Kate Otten in week one didn't do anything, but let's not forget, guys,
17:34one of the biggest cheat codes we had in all of fantasy last season was starting tight ends against the Bengals. They
17:39haven't changed their defensive coordinator. I know they've added some improvements. Dexter Lawrence holding things down the line of scrimmage. Maybe they did just spend all offseason
17:46saying, "Never again. We're going to stop tight ends this year." Dalton Schultz, though, seriously, you need a flyer, you need a flex in tight end
17:53premium league, I know I'm in a couple of those situations, could be your guy this week. And finally, tier five, you
17:58never know. Tight end 23, Pat Freiermuth, 74% route rate in week one, turned in a top-six tight end performance. He'll be on the rise if we
18:06do see a repeat of that. I'm just a little bit worried it was maybe more of a one-week thing. I don't expect Darnell
18:10Washington to take a complete backseat in the passing game, but maybe he won't.
18:14Tight end 24, Mike Gesicki against the Texans, 18.8 fantasy points in week one.
18:19Probably the last time that we're going to see him outscore Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
18:24And by probably, I mean definitely. So, I'm not buying it. Tight end 25, Greg Dulcich. This one was interesting.
18:30Of all these guys that we were hoping to see get big roles, Irv Smith Jr., Darren Waller, Terrance Ferguson, Greg Dulcich got it. 76% route rate. The
18:40problem is this offense just looked completely unwatchable throwing the football for the most part. Caleb Douglas, couple nice routes out there. I
18:47still maintain some optimism for Chris Bell.
18:50Maybe Dulcich can get something going if he keeps his full-time role. It's a great first data point. Good luck getting open against Fred Warner,
18:56though. And then tight end 26 and tight end 27, we got the Rams here, Colby Parkinson and then Terrance Ferguson.
19:02Parkinson had 62% route rate last week.
19:04Terrance Ferguson just 45%. Tyler Higbee and Davis Allen were down there at 14%.
19:09So, again, guys, if we had seen Ferguson north of 70% bad performance though, I probably would have gotten him up to
19:19tight end 12. I bet I could have moved Fant and Kelce Pitts down. They have enough problems going on there. I could
19:25talk myself into the Rams against the Giants. Ferguson, he'll see more targets. Tight end 12. Can't do it.
19:33I want to keep him stashed for one more week. Let's see what happens.
19:37It was weird. Season opening Australia game.
19:40The offense wasn't any good.
19:43He had a much higher route rate in the first half. I just wonder what happened there.
19:49If, you know, you had Jordan Mason, you need to get a running back.
19:54All right. I'm not saying Ferguson is impossible to cut in fantasy leagues of all shapes and sizes.
19:59I would like to keep him for one more week. It's not looking good though. This takes me to the key question though, who
20:03are the best prospective under-owned tight end bench stashes? Ferguson still applies. Irv Smith Jr. though, guys.
20:10The usage wasn't good in week one.
20:13Hayden Hurst and the Joker led the way, but Charlie Kolar was not the lead starting tight end like a lot of us
20:18thought he might be.
20:20Gaskin wasn't used much, but when he was, he was getting thrown the football.
20:25And we have Laviska Shenault banged up with a rib injury. The Chargers are trying out Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
20:30Mike McDaniel's a smart dude.
20:32Irv Smith Jr. though?
20:34Without Laviska Shenault, man?
20:38Is he the best pass catcher on the Chargers? Top three at least with Q Jones and Trey Harris? He might be.
20:45We can't start Gaskin this week.
20:48But you you you see my line of thinking here?
20:51If Shenault is more banged up than the Chargers are letting on, we know the Chargers like living in multi-tight end sets anyway.
20:59They've been willing to throw Gaskin the ball. They just also have Hayden Hurst and Kolar there.
21:03I think Irv Smith Jr. just fits the profile of someone where we could look up one week and be like, "Oh man, that's a shift. That's a 75%
21:10route rate." It's not going to be for every league. If you're in your traditional 14-15 player situation, one tight end, I get it.
21:19Tight end premium, you got those 20-player rosters going on, get around the gas and on that bench and let's see what happens. Only other guy would be
21:25Darren Waller. I think we could maybe see his role increasing. Bryce Young looked pretty good in week one behind T-Mac and Jaylen Coker, not a ton of
21:32options to get the football to. That would be the one other guy I'm interested in and stashing. But, guys, that's going to wrap up this week's
21:38rankings and tiers. I will be back Friday breaking down all the relevant entries and giving you guys maybe, just maybe, a few winning bets along the way.
21:44Probably not. I am not a good gambler, but we got some fun tools I like to show off anyway for people who actually are
21:49good gamblers trying to win a little money, trying to have a little bit of fun here uh watching football over the
21:53weekend. So, if you like the video, please like the video. Hit that subscribe button, it always helps as well. Best of luck in week two,
21:59everyone. If you won week one, congrats.
22:01Let's keep that train moving. If you didn't, America loves a comeback. As always, please don't tell anyone about this channel. Don't do it. We got to
22:08keep this a nice, tight community and only us will know the secret. So, you know, just playing around. If you want
22:13to tell people, you can. But, either way, hey, appreciate you tuning in. I'm Ian Hartitz. Until next time, take care, everybody.

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