Dynasty Players to Avoid: Tight Ends (Fantasy Football)

We’ll have you covered as you prepare for your 2025 dynasty drafts. In order to dominate your dynasty draft, check out our expert consensus dynasty draft rankings. And sync your dynasty league to practice with fast and free dynasty mock drafts. Below, we dive into dynasty draft picks our analysts are lower on compared to our expert consensus rankings.

Dynasty Draft Advice: Players to Avoid

T.J. Hockenson (TE – MIN)

T.J. Hockenson missed seven games in 2024 while recovering from the devastating knee injury he sustained in December 2023. Upon his return, he had 41 catches for 455 yards in 10 games but didn’t score any touchdowns. Hockenson has been a trusted brand name at the TE position, but he’s entering his age-28 season and has missed 26 games over the last four seasons. Hockenson must share targets with Vikings WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and those targets will be coming from a quarterback who’s never started an NFL game, top 2023 Minnesota draft pick J.J. McCarthy.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Jonnu Smith (TE – PIT)

His first seven NFL seasons were unremarkable, but Jonnu Smith authored a stunning fantasy breakout in Year 8, establishing career highs in targets (111), catches (88), receiving yards (884) and touchdowns (8). Smith finished TE4 in overall PPR fantasy scoring and TE5 in fantasy points per game. Smith went nuclear late in the season, averaging 6.9 catches and 67.1 yards per game from Week 11 on. He scored seven TDs in those eight games and was TE1 in PPR fantasy scoring over that stretch, averaging 18.6 points per game. But a trade in late June sent Smith to the Steelers, where he’ll share TE targets with Pat Freiermuth. That isn’t necessarily a fantasy death sentence, since Steelers OC Arthur Smith loves using his tight ends, and the Steelers don’t have much firepower. Still, it’s hard to see a path for Smith to remain a top-10 fantasy tight end.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Here are our latest Dynasty Draft Rankings from our consensus of fantasy football experts. You can find the latest Dynasty Draft Rankings and sync your fantasy football league for specific advice.