Startups. Startups. Startups. It is dynasty startup SZN! I know we all return to redraft fantasy football in the summer months, and the best ball streets are blazing, but this is also the time for dynasty startups. There are wonderful values to be had right now in startups, so let’s kick off the discussion of the best values at the tight end position.
Before you enter another dynasty fantasy football startup, read up on my top five tight end values and run a handful of startup mock drafts with our fantasy football mock draft simulator.
Startups. Startups. Startups. It is dynasty startup SZN! I know we all return to redraft fantasy football in the summer months, and the best ball streets are blazing, but this is also the time for dynasty startups. There are wonderful values to be had right now in startups, so let’s kick off the discussion of the best values at the tight end position.
Before you enter another dynasty fantasy football startup, read up on my top five tight end values and run a handful of startup mock drafts with our fantasy football mock draft simulator.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Values: Tight Ends
Let’s dive into my best dynasty startup draft values among tight ends.
Mason Taylor represents a huge value in Dynasty for early and often volume that could lead to a big value spike. Taylor could become the No. 2 target in the passing attack quickly, with only Josh Reynolds and Allen Lazard as his closest competition for targets.
I wasn’t nearly as enamored as many with Taylor as a prospect. His athleticism was solid, with a 4.68 40-yard dash and an 83rd percentile three-cone. I can’t shy away from the pathway to a major role in this offense, though. Even if we project the Jets to be run-heavy, the passing volume should still be there in this offense.
If the Jets finish with 500 passing attempts in 2025 (this would have been the fifth-fewest passing attempts in 2024) and Taylor can secure a 17% target share in an uninspiring depth chart, he would finish with 85 targets (this would have been the 11th-most last year). Grab Taylor where you can.
It’s like everyone forgot about Evan Engram’s 2023 campaign. Yes, he had a down 2024 season as he dealt with hamstring and shoulder issues. In the season prior, he was the TE4 in fantasy points per game, ranking 13th in yards per route run, fourth in receiving yards per game and 15th in first downs per route run, per Fantasy Points Data.
Engram is under contract with Denver for the next two seasons, and he could easily return to top-five production in 2025 with Bo Nix tossing him passes as he competes for the team target lead with Courtland Sutton. If that happens, Engram will crush his current average draft position (ADP). If you’re truly playing in a 2-3 year window in dynasty, Engram should be a standout value smash for you in startup drafts.
The Rams now have their heir apparent to impending free agent Tyler Higbee. I expect Terrance Ferguson to get his feet wet in his rookie season and assume the starting role in 2026. At tight end, high-end athleticism is so highly correlated to high-end production. Ferguson checks that box emphatically with a 9.32 relative athletic score (RAS), a 4.63 40-yard dash and 91st percentile or higher marks in the vertical and broad jumps.
Last year, Ferguson also crushed it in nearly every efficiency metric, ranking 14th in yards per route run and receiving grade, third in yards after the catch per reception and 22nd in missed tackles forced, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). Ferguson is a wonderful value who will only see his dynasty standing improve as we move through 2025.
Elijah Arroyo is headed to Seattle after the team called his name in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Miami Hurricane is an athletic mismatch weapon who will push Noah Fant for snaps from the jump if his blocking is up to snuff. Fant is an unrestricted free agent after this season, so while the outlook for 2025 has its worries, it should be wheels up for Arroyo in 2026.
If Cooper Kupp also proves in 2025 that he doesn’t have much left in the tank, he could be gone as well, which would leave Arroyo as the second target in the passing attack behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In his final season in college, Arroyo ranked 23rd in yards per route run and second in yards after the catch per reception among tight ends (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). Arroyo could easily find himself as a borderline TE1 in dynasty in 2026.
Harold Fannin Jr. received strong draft capital for a tight end (third round) when the Browns selected him as the heir apparent to David Njoku, who will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Fannin’s raw athleticism might keep him from ever becoming a truly elite option in fantasy, but he now has a path, the athletic juice and receiving chops to become Zach Ertz 2.0.
Fannin ranked first and third in yards per route run and first and fifth in missed tackles forced over his last two collegiate seasons, per PFF. I wasn’t heavily invested in Fannin in the pre-NFL Draft process, but he’s had an awesome run out with draft capital and landing spot. He is one of the best values at the tight end position in dynasty.
*All data utilized in this article courtesy of FantasyPros, Fantasy Points Data, Pro Football Focus and PlayerProfiler unless otherwise specified. All ADP cited per DLF May Superflex ADP.
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