Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates: Tight Ends (2025)

We’ve been tackling breakouts at each position this draft season, and the tight end position might be the most critical breakout position. The pickings are slim when it comes to elite tight ends. Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle round out the high-end options, and while you can certainly find production in the next tier of players, finding that true breakout tight end at value can pay off big for your fantasy team.

Fantasy Football Potential Breakouts: Tight Ends

Tyler Warren (TE – IND)

The Colts announced Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback, and that’s great news for Warren! Short yardage accuracy has been a consistent issue for Anthony Richardson, but that type of production is Daniel Jones’ strong suit, and Warren should be the biggest beneficiary of Jones being the starter.

Warren’s path to being the Brock Bowers of 2025 is real. The Colts have overall strong depth at receiver, but don’t have a true, defined first-look in the offense. At the very least, Warren figures to take on a prominent role and compete consistently for being the second look in the offense. For tight ends, that’s all we need.

Volume is the key for Warren. The Colts’ offense under Shane Steichen hasn’t consistently pushed volume to tight ends, and the Colts averaged the fifth-fewest targets to tight ends in 2024. However, the Colts haven’t had the opportunity to feature a tight end because they’ve never had an actual TE1 talent. Warren finally provides a strong, true receiving option at tight end.

Tucker Kraft (TE – GB)

When there’s ambiguity and unreliability within a receiving corps, sometimes the easiest answer for the most reliable pick is the tight end. Kraft goes overlooked in fantasy because he’s not a high-volume pass catcher. Despite finishing as the TE9 overall and TE12 in average points per game in half-PPR, Kraft had just 70 targets – only 18th in the league behind players like Tyler Conklin and Mike Gesicki. Kraft’s success came from being extremely productive with those targets – 7 touchdowns and 11 catches over 20 yards. He’s a big play, red zone target with reliable hands and the lowest drop rate of any Packers’ pass catcher.

The Packers have to push Jordan Love towards more reliable targets. The addition of Matthew Golden will certainly help, but Kraft has clear, built-in chemistry with Love. With a mild increase in targets, Kraft has a legitimate chance of hitting double-digit touchdowns in 2025.

Brenton Strange (TE – JAX)

Strange’s overall 2024 numbers don’t pop because he was playing behind Evan Engram, but he showed significant upside in multiple games and gave the new Jags’ regime enough confidence to move on from Engram, placing Strange as the clear TE1. Strange isn’t a player you’re drafting in the majority of leagues because the Jags’ offense isn’t lacking for receiving options. However, he’ll offer a strong weekly streaming option at tight end and has true breakout potential. Strange had four top-10 weekly finishes, coming through both volume and touchdowns.

The tight end role in Liam Coen’s offense isn’t designed to be heavily featured as one of the top looks. However, as we saw last year when the Buccaneers suffered significant injuries to their receiving corps, Coen will pivot the offense to feature a tight end as the first look if necessary. Otton had a fantastic run with three straight top-five finishes and double-digit targets, including an overall TE1 week. Strange has a legitimate chance to offer weekly streaming value, plus the potential of extreme upside if the offense calls on him.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE – CAR)

If you thought there was no way I would discuss a breakout player deeper than Strange, you’ve underestimated me. When the Panthers drafted Sanders in 2024, I was actually very pumped for his landing spot. Sanders is essentially just a large receiver – not a particularly skilled blocker, but a strong receiving threat with excellent speed, reliable hands – a potential matchup nightmare. His rookie season wasn’t overly impressive, but it did provide a glimpse of what he can offer when the Panthers’ offense pushes more volume.

I anticipate another strong leap in development for Bryce Young this year in a Panthers’ offense that will continue to increase volume as their young defense develops. The Panthers’ receiving corps is oddly crowded. The addition of Tetairoa McMillan gives them a true WR1, and they have depth with Xavier Leggette, Jalen Coker and Adam Thielen. However, there’s room for Sanders to earn consistent volume. Sanders is the long shot on this list, but he’s easily in the best circumstances. The Panthers have one of the league’s easiest strength of schedules and the second-easiest schedule for tight ends. Sanders has a path and a real opportunity to be a sneaky breakout candidate.