3 TE2s With Top-5 Potential (2025 Fantasy Football)

Tight End remains the most top-heavy position in fantasy football. For years, the TE landscape has been headlined by the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews. These players commanded early-round draft capital but delivered consistent production and a weekly positional advantage over your opponents. In 2025, managers will be faced with the same decision: invest in an elite TE early or hope to land a breakout candidate in the later rounds?

The mid-tier TE options have historically offered poor returns. These players typically possess more upside than the true late-round options, but they also carry the same level of risk and uncertainty. In 2024, those who invested 5th-8th round picks on Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram or Jake Ferguson would have been better served bolstering their depth at RB or WR.

With this in mind, many managers will opt for the late-round TE strategy. The goal is to identify skilled pass-catchers with a realistic path to steady volume at a minimal cost. This article highlights players who, while currently ranked as TE2s, can provide top-5 production over the course of the 2025 season.

TE2s With Top-5 Fantasy Football Potential

Isaiah Likely (TE – BAL)

Following a monstrous 9 receptions for 111 receiving yards and a touchdown in the season opener against the reigning Super Bowl Champions, Isaiah Likely seemed primed for a true breakout season. However, the promising TE failed to replicate this level of production over the course of the season, serving a secondary role in the Baltimore offense. Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews all out-targeted Likely in 2024.

Likely’s lack of usage has historically been explained by the presence of perennial Pro Bowl TE Mark Andrews. That being said, Likely began to outperform the aging Andrews last season. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), he averaged more yards after catch per reception and forced more missed tackles than the veteran. Likely also set career highs in receiving grade and yards per route run. We may very well see a changing of the guard in the Baltimore TE room in 2025. The resulting increase in Likely’s target share will prove to be very beneficial from a fantasy football perspective.

"I think there's a chance that we're talking about Isaiah Likely as one of the 8 or 10 best tight ends in football in the next couple of years."@FieldYates on Isaiah Likely's future in the league ???? pic.twitter.com/KpEQ7aib1I

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 27, 2025

The Baltimore Ravens’ offense figures remain one of the league’s most potent units in 2025. Franchise QB Lamar Jackson is coming off an MVP-caliber season and has thrived under Todd Monken’s system. Per PFF, the team ranked 1st in overall offense, 2nd in passing and 1st in rushing in 2024. Opposing teams will need to account for the constant threat posed by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson’s rushing ability. As a result, Isaiah Likely will continue to build upon his impressive efficiency and can emerge as a stellar fantasy football contributor in 2025.

2025 Fantasy Football Draft Kit

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN)

Mike Gesicki has been a reliable pass-catching option over the course of his career. During his 2024 season in Cincinnati, he was presented with an excellent opportunity to be Joe Burrow‘s primary short-area target. Gesicki accrued 665 receiving yards and maintained good levels of efficiency while doing so. Having recently inked a 3-year, 25.5-million-dollar extension with the Bengals, Gesicki will look to carry the momentum of his productive 2024 season into a fantasy football breakout in 2025.

Joe Burrow has consistently targeted the TE position at a high rate. According to PFF, Burrow led the entire NFL in throws 0-9 yards downfield. This bodes well for Gesicki, who was targeted an average of 7.8 yards downfield in 2024 (PFF). Gesicki’s lucrative contract would suggest that he’ll monopolize a great deal of the short-area targets in this system. Tanner Hudson, Erick All and Drew Sample all drew a minimum of 20 targets last season. I expect a significant portion of this volume to be headed Gesicki’s way in 2025.

Gesicki’s efficiency metrics are an encouraging sign for his breakout potential in the upcoming season. Among TEs with a minimum of 50 targets, the veteran ranked 12th in yards per route run, 9th in catch rate and 15th in yards per reception (PFF). Playing a supporting role to the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Gesicki will continue to find himself in advantageous matchups and will remain an effective per-touch option.

Cincinnati’s porous defensive unit will lead to favourable game scripts for Gesicki and the rest of the Bengals passing attack. The team conceded the 7th most points per game across the 2024 NFL season. Offseason issues regarding Tre Hendrickson’s pending contract extension and Shemar Stewart‘s holdout are certainly concerning. The team also parted ways with well-regarded defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo earlier in the year. All signs point towards another year of defensive shortcomings in Cincinnati. In turn, Gesicki’s target volume will increase.

Gesicki is primed to earn a featured role in one of the league’s most dynamic offensive systems. Currently being ranked as the TE22, he’s certainly worth a speculative late-round draft selection.

Tyler Warren (TE – IND)

Tyler Warren’s 2025 context is eerily similar to Brock Bowers‘ situation prior to the 2024 season. Warren earned 1st round draft capital following a spectacular 2023 season during which he averaged 2.93 yards per route run and earned a PFF receiving grade of 93.1. Uncertainty at the QB position and ambiguous target distributions make Warren’s landing spot in Indianapolis far from ideal. However, Bowers’ 2024 finish as the overall TE1 shows that undeniable talents can often overcome suboptimal circumstances. As the TE15 in expert consensus rankings, Warren’s fantasy football potential is sky-high.

Tyler Warren: TE1 in the 2025 Rookie Class

➖104 Receptions
➖1,233 Yards
➖8 TD’s

Notable Information:

➖2.8% Drop Rate (135 Targets)
➖61.9% Contested Catch Rate (21 Targets)

Dude has absurd hands, excels as a blocker, dominates in contested catches, and he’s 6’6, 257 lbs.. pic.twitter.com/NOFjQbAuIB

— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) January 15, 2025

Whether Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones earns the starting role in this offense, the Colts’ QB play will be subpar in 2025. Neither of these signal-callers earned PFF passing grade above 67.5 in 2024 and both have been wildly inaccurate when targeting receivers downfield. To account for this, Shane Steichen is likely to limit most passing attempts to the short-to-intermediate areas. This bodes well for Warren’s usage in his rookie year. During his final season at Penn State, he had an aDOT of 6.3 yards and averaged an impressive 7.0 yards after catch per reception (PFF). The Colts are likely to prioritize Warren’s yards-after-catch prowess rather than the deep ball.

Warren has a very clear path to consistent volume in the Colts’ system. Josh Downs has been a consistent playmaker throughout his young career and figures to maintain a prominent role. However, the ancillary pieces of this offense do not pose a great threat to Warren’s workload. For one, Michael Pittman appears to have fallen out of favour with the new Indianapolis coaching regime. According to PFF, he set career lows in catch rate and yards after catch per reception in 2024. Alec Pierce remains a bit-part option in this WR room and has now failed to eclipse 66 targets in two consecutive seasons. The team has historically employed a TE-by-committee approach that involved the likes of Mo Alie-Cox, Kyle Granson and Will Mallory. Tyler Warren will immediately usurp these options and monopolize the vast majority of the available TE targets in this system.

All things considered, Tyler Warren is an extremely dynamic option who is more than capable of overcoming the offensive context in Indianapolis to deliver top-5 production in 2025.