Rookie Tight Ends: Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Zack Kuntz (2023 Fantasy Football)

Dynasty drafts are happening everywhere. Here is Thor’s look at the rookies at tight end. Here are his full rankings and notes.

Thor’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Sleepers | Target | Avoid
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Thor Nystrom’s Rookie Notes & Player Comps

Here are my notes and player comps for rookie tight ends.

Dalton Kincaid | Bills | 6035/246 | RAS: N/A

Player comparison: Todd Heap Kincaid’s ability to throttle up-and-down into-and-out-of route breaks consistently creates separation in the intermediate area. But you must be careful about crowding him too much within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage because Kincaid will deceive you into biting down so he can gallop past you down the seam. He’s also a natural after the catch, with good agility and toughness and a great sense of bodies around him in space. Kincaid is one of the very few tight ends who have entered the NFL in the past decade who could succeed on the outside in the NFL (Kincaid’s snap distribution last year was 55.1% in the slot, 9.5% wide, and 35.4% inline). Dynasty Outlook: Kincaid will be a difference-maker as a rookie. Buffalo doesn’t have a target vacuum outside of Stefon Diggs – I believe Kincaid will be the Bills’ second-most targeted option in 2023. The easy TE1 of a loaded rookie tight-end class and a top-3 fantasy TE prospect of the past five years.

Tucker Kraft | Packers | 6050/254 | RAS: 9.67

Player comparison: Dawson Knox Kraft is a tremendous athlete who is about to make the jump from the FCS to the NFL. When he uncoils off the snap and punches the gas, Kraft reaches top speed quickly. He dominated in the FCS on physical gifts alone. The question this spring became: What happens when Kraft plays against analogous athletes? Dynasty Outlook: Kraft was a soul stomper in the FCS. The massive jump in competition is going to require an adjustment period as he works on his routes, which he won mostly on athleticism at the sub-division level. Take a flier on Kraft in your dynasty draft by popping him a bit above his “consensus” ranking – it doesn’t speak to his actual upside.

Zack Kuntz | Jets | 6073/255 | RAS: 10

Player comparison: Mike Gesicki During the pre-draft process, Kuntz posted a perfect “10” RAS score – i.e., the best size-adjusted TE athlete ever to enter the NFL. He’s a towering presence with an enormous catch radius who can get down the seam in a hurry. And I love his aggressiveness in attacking the ball in the air downfield. Kuntz varies his tempo and footwork and cuts clean corners when snapping off a route. He accelerates quickly out of those cuts, becoming a flashing neon light to the quarterback once the separation begins. Dynasty Outlook: Musgrave and Kuntz’s profiles weren’t too dissimilar – Kuntz was the higher-ranked recruit, tested better, and had better stats, but who’s counting? – but Kuntz’s uncle didn’t play in the NFL, so he wasn’t afforded the same benefits of the doubts that Musgrave got. Kuntz suffered a season-ending injury early in 2022 after a late collegiate breakout (in Kuntz’s case, he started his career behind Pat Freiermuth at Penn State before transferring to Old Dominion). Kuntz is absolutely worth a stash in deep dynasty leagues with taxi spots.