While recently combing through the expert consensus rankings (ECR) at tight end, several players stood out as bounce-back options, with strong cases to finish with a fantasy football revival in 2025. These players represent a buy-low opportunity at their current average draft position (ADP), and managers would do well to keep in mind their names as we begin to enter the heart of draft season.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Bounce-Back Tight Ends
Jake Ferguson (TE – DAL)
Jake Ferguson represents the biggest layup when pointing out players that have to finish higher in 2025. Drafted as a top-10 option heading into last year, injuries derailed any hope he had to repeat his breakout season in 2023, when he finished as the TE8 with a phenomenal 71/761/5 split.
Ferguson suffered a Grade 2 knee sprain in early September against Cleveland that forced him to miss Week 2, then experienced a sharp statistical decline after quarterback Dak Prescott was placed on injured reserve (IR) in November with a gruesome right hamstring injury.
Despite backup Cooper Rush doing his best to keep the team afloat within the division, Ferguson was asked to run fewer routes in favor of assisting with blocking, and his efficiency tumbled as a result. Failing to surpass 40 receiving yards in any game after Week 9, Ferguson finished the year on a sour note, missing time with a concussion, and ultimately ended as the TE25 on the year.
Still just 26 years old and now fully healthy, Ferguson returns as a top target for Prescott to utilize, alongside CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Fantasy managers should look for Ferguson to continue working underneath as a safety outlet for Prescott on short routes, moving the chains on third down, and being a larger presence around the goal line. Provided that he and Prescott both stay healthy, we expect a return to TE1 territory for Ferguson, with his 2023 totals being well within reach.
Dallas’ lack of a running game and participation in a strong division will force the Cowboys to throw early and often, with plenty of targets heading his way. By ADP, Ferguson ranks as the TE16, and that represents a significant discount.
Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF)
The image that many Buffalo fans are stuck with from 2024 was Dalton Kincaid’s brutal fourth-and-five drop against Kansas City, a catch that would have allowed the Bills to play in the Super Bowl. That play summed up his sophomore campaign to a tee — frustrating and so close to being much better.
Bitten by not only the injury bug yet again (he played in just 13 games due to knee and shoulder issues), but significant lapses in concentration (Kincaid had an 8% drop rate on 75 targets), it was difficult for Kincaid ever to establish himself as a top option for Josh Allen. The rise of wideout Khalil Shakir and Buffalo’s insistence on keeping Dawson Knox in a timeshare situation provided further hindrances for Kincaid’s prospective breakout.
Why the optimism that things will change this year? Hope.
From a top-down perspective, things largely remain the same in Buffalo. The Bills should continue to be one of the league’s most potent offenses, and can sustain several players at high levels of fantasy relevance. Yes, Allen’s presence as a runner around the goal line caps the touchdown/scoring ceiling for receiving options on this team. Yes, Knox remains a thorn in the side for Kincaid, sapping away some of his snaps. But we knew all of that last year as well.
Kincaid has been vocal about improving his conditioning and eliminating mental lapses heading into this season, and from a pure athletic standpoint, the former first-round selection is elite. Even with his drop issues in 2024, the team continued to lean on him in key situations and wanted him to succeed.
Should Buffalo wish to reduce some of the wear-and-tear on Allen and reduce his rush attempts this season (especially in obvious situations around the goal line), Kincaid stands to benefit more than any other player. If he can get off to a strong start and prove he needs to be on the positive side of the committee situation in Buffalo, we could see a top-seven finish for him. His ADP stands at TE14, and that is his absolute floor. I’d invest in Kincaid on the cheap.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn