Our analysts are here to share a few of the tight ends they are avoiding this fantasy football draft season. And be sure to check out their full list of players to avoid as part of our 2022 Fantasy Football Draft Kit.

• Matthew Freedman’s Players to Avoid
• Derek Brown’s Players to Avoid
• Andrew Erickson’s Players to Avoid
• Pat Fitzmaurice’s Players to Avoid
• Joe Pisapia’s Players to Avoid

Rankings noted using FantasyPros half-PPR Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) and Consensus ADP.

5 Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Avoid

Darren Waller (LV)
ECR TE5 | ADP TE5

Waller was grossly overpriced last year. Now, he’s just somewhat overpriced.

The arrival of WR Davante Adams is destined to put a dent in Waller’s target share. The veteran TE will also have to compete for targets with WR Hunter Renfrow, who established himself as an important part of the Raiders’ passing game last season.

A fourth-round ADP is too rich for a TE who’s about to turn 30 and now faces significant target competition. Waller has overcome personal demons to become a top tight end. It’s a great story. I’d just rather pay for the paperback version than the hardcover.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

T.J. Hockenson (DET)
ECR TE7 | ADP TE6

T.J. Hockenson has been a hot stater, but injuries have hampered him his first two years in the league. That aside, the Lions drafted Jameson Williams (who has real No. 1 WR upside), signed D.J. Chark and enjoyed a breakout season from Amon-Ra St. Brown, not to mention D’Andre Swift‘s pass-catching ability. Hockenson is a TE1 in theory, not necessarily in practice based on all these factors. I’d much rather take Dalton Schultz over him, who has real No. 2 target appeal in his offense or just wait on the position.
– Joe Pisapia

Pat Freiermuth (PIT)
ECR TE11 | ADP TE10

Pat Freiermuth didn’t blow the doors off the fantasy hype wagon last year as the TE16 in fantasy points per game, but he’s currently coming off the board as a top 12 option. This draft position will be challenging to pay off even though fantasy managers aren’t breaking the bank to acquire his services. Freiermuth is similar to Dawson Knox. As both of their fantasy seasons last year were powered by touchdowns. Banking on the six-point dances to repeat is a slippery slope, especially when their periphery numbers pale in comparison.

Last year, Freiermuth led all tight ends in red-zone targets, which led to seven total touchdowns (sixth-highest). Unfortunately, the chances he can come close to repeating that type of red-zone volume is minuscule. His 12th-ranked target per snap rate offers some hope, but his 23rd-ranked target share (13.0%) and 25th-finish in yards per route run (minimum 20 targets, per PFF) are heaping doses of cold water, effectively extinguishing the hope of fantasy flames in 2022.
– Derek Brown

Dawson Knox (BUF)
ECR TE10 | ADP TE9

Dawson Knox has major red flags on his profile from his impending touchdown regression to super-low target rate per route run (14%), so any role that newcomer O.J. Howard potentially earns coming in is a massive problem.

Considering Knox is being drafted in the middle range of TEs (TE9) that typically have poor ROIs compared to guys going later, the Bills’ tight end remains hands-off at his current draft price.
– Andrew Erickson

Mike Gesicki (MIA)
ECR TE12 | ADP TE12

Gesicki is not bad, but if I have to choose between him or a number of guys going later at the position, I’ll take the cheaper players. He has strong target competition in new No. 1 WR Tyreek Hill and second-year WR Jaylen Waddle, and HC Mike McDaniel could look to rely on the ground attack, given his history as a run game coordinator (2017-20).
– Matthew Freedman

FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.