Tight Ends With Upside (2022 Fantasy Football)

Here are mid- and late-round targets that carry upside into the 2022 fantasy football draft season.

Tight Ends With Upside

Albert Okwuegbunam (DEN)

Albert Okwuegbunam tied for the third-highest target rate per route run in the NFL last season (23%). Now entrenched as the presumed full-time starter with Noah Fant traded to the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, the uber-athletic tight end can break out in Year 3.

It bodes well in Albert O’s favor that Noah Fant finished last season as the TE12 while the duo played in 14 games together.

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Hayden Hurst (CIN)

Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst is hardly a world-beater, but it’s hard to not view him as a winner post-draft. The former Falcon is in sole possession of C.J. Uzomah’s vacated role from last season offers some fantasy appeal.

Uzomah’s 78% route participation ranked fourth-highest among tight ends in 2021

Every-down tight ends on the field that often in high-scoring environments will stumble into fantasy scoring. It’s a highly coveted role primed to ooze fantasy points. However, being on the field doesn’t always translate to the requisite fantasy production especially in offenses loaded with other weapons. Uzomah’s 13% target rate per route run ranked last among tight ends with at least 40 targets in 2021. Hurst’s 15% target rate wasn’t much better.

It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that Hurst is the clear-cut late-round tight end to target in 2022, but he is well worth targeting late in drafts. Hurst is just one year removed from a TE9 overall finish in 2020.


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