Heading into 2025, the tight end position isn’t very inspiring for fantasy football, outside of a few elite names at the top. What else is new? The big three of Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack at this position.
Someone else might emerge as a weekly top option, but good luck guessing who it will be. We could see a return to form from former studs like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, or a breakout from one of the two first-round rookies, Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren. Or, we could see someone pull a Jonnu Smith and suddenly find themselves in a perfect situation to be an elite fantasy tight end after a career of mediocre results.
Until we get that breakout (which we might not), we know that tight ends outside of the top three probably aren’t difference-makers. This is what makes streaming tight ends as a strategy so appealing. If you aren’t going to get difference-making production anyway, you might as well wait until the very end of your draft to draft your tight end.
I’ll be testing this approach out in a fantasy football mock draft using the FantasyPros Draft Wizard. I’ll be drafting in a 12-team, half-PPR format, with standard lineup settings. I was randomly assigned the third pick, which was both lucky and unlucky for reasons you will soon understand. Check out the full draft board, and read on for my analysis of each pick.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Streaming Tight End Strategy (2025)
1.03: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)
Yup, you read that right. I’ve done dozens of mock drafts this offseason, and I have never once seen Ja’Marr Chase available at the third overall pick. This was even more surprising given that the team picking first overall was named “Ja’Marr Wars.” They took Bijan Robinson.
My second computerized opponent must have been a Giants fan, as they took Malik Nabers, so I was left with the massive gift of Chase at the third pick. You probably don’t need me to explain to you that this was a no-brainer, but I’ll at least mention that Chase is coming off a historic season and is the only receiver with a real chance to do it again.
2.10: Bucky Irving (RB – TB)
If Chase was a gift from the fantasy gods, this round was them laughing at me. Brock Bowers fell way past his usual average draft position (ADP) to be available to me here. In a normal draft, I’d have clicked the button without hesitation and started counting chickens.
In this draft, committed to a streaming tight strategy, I had to pass on the sophomore superstar. Thankfully, Bucky Irving, another player coming off an impressive rookie season, is a solid consolation prize. He absolutely iced Rachaad White by the end of last season and is now in place to be a workhorse for one of the league’s best offenses.
3.03: Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)
Like I said in my streaming quarterback strategy mock draft, when I’m streaming one of the two onesie positions, I like to grab an elite player at the other. This way, I don’t have to worry about ever needing to hold more than one quarterback while I am churning through tight ends at the end of my roster. Unfortunately, in this draft, this approach does force me to reach a bit.
Normally, I’m happy to grab the last of the big four dual-threat quarterbacks, whoever it happens to be. But picking all the way on the left side of the board, I can be pretty confident that none of them are coming back to me. With that in mind, I took Lamar Jackson, who stands out above even Josh Allen in any analysis of 2024 quarterback fantasy production.
4.10: Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – ARI)
I was very tempted to take Kenneth Walker III here. However, I’m a little worried about Walker, given the recent reports that he may be in more of a committee with Zach Charbonnet than expected. Instead, I’ll go with the top receiver on my board in Marvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison’s rookie season was disappointing, given the sky-high expectations, but 885 yards and eight touchdowns are still solid for an NFL debut. Drafting him here does require some projection, but I’m happy to project for a generational prospect heading into his second year who has only just turned 23.
5.03: Tony Pollard (RB – TEN)
This roster needed a running back, and Tony Pollard fits the bill. We learned just this morning that Tyjae Spears might start the season on injured reserve (IR) thanks to his ankle injury. Pollard was an absolute workhorse in his five games without Spears last year, averaging 22 carries and 17.8 expected half-PPR points per game.
Especially if Cam Ward can elevate this Tennessee offense, Pollard should be able to hold down the RB2 job on this roster.
6.10: Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
I did consider passing on Tony Pollard, simply because I love a lot of the receivers available in the middle rounds. However, I actually loved so many of them that I was hopeful some would fall to me in the late sixth.
Exactly one did, as Jaylen Waddle is the final receiver in this tier for me. His 2024 was disappointing, but Waddle’s overall resume since entering the NFL is extremely strong. He has multiple paths to smashing, too, whether the Dolphins’ offense returns to form or he overtakes Tyreek Hill to be the team’s top target.
7.03: Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT)
This was a turn of Jaylen Ws, apparently. Jaylen Warren is competing with rookie Kaleb Johnson (and apparently veteran Kenneth Gainwell). For now, he seems to be the Steelers’ clear lead rusher on early downs. Given that he has consistently been an efficient rusher and a capable pass-catcher, I love Warren’s chances to turn that role into fantasy usability in Arthur Smith’s offense.
8.10: Zach Charbonnet (RB – SEA)
I faded Kenneth Walker earlier because of reports that Zach Charbonnet was cutting into his role, so I might as well double down on that take by actually drafting Charbonnet. Even if standalone value doesn’t materialize for Charbonnet, he is still a premier handcuff behind the oft-injured Walker.
9.03: Stefon Diggs (WR – NE)
I’ve been slamming Jauan Jennings in this range in drafts all offseason. But the news that he might start the season on IR has me spooked. To be fair, the full article explains that placing Jennings on IR might actually have more to do with his continued holdout than his calf injury; I find it unlikely that the 49ers will go that far. But still, it’s enough for me to instead take Stefon Diggs.
Diggs is 31 and coming off a major injury, but he was actually effective in his stint in Houston prior to his injury. Reports out of New England on his health have been positive, and he has essentially no competition to be the top target for an ascending young quarterback in Drake Maye.
10.10: David Njoku (TE – CLE)
I agonized over taking David Njoku here. Not because I don’t like the value of the Browns tight end in the late 10th round, but because I wasn’t sure if this was late enough to count as sticking to my streaming tight end strategy. However, as much as we don’t want to admit it, any pick outside of even the first handful of rounds has a shot to end up on the waiver wire in a traditional shallow league like this.
If you’re still not sold, I was also the 11th out of 12 managers to select a tight end in this draft; that counts as streaming to me. As for the player himself, Njoku should be a startable option as long as Joe Flacco is under center for the Browns. As long as Kevin Stefanski keeps running a very pass-happy offense, he could stay hot with one of the younger quarterbacks, too.
11.03: Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND)
This pick actually came down to two different Colts receivers, as I was debating between Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs. Both receivers moved up my fantasy football rankings when the Colts announced Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for the season. Jones isn’t good, but he’s at least capable of being accurate at a roughly NFL level, which can’t be said for Anthony Richardson.
Between Pittman and Downs, I eventually landed on what is admittedly the boring option. Downs is younger and probably more talented at this stage in their respective careers. But he also essentially never plays in 2-WR sets, massively capping his ceiling. Pittman, meanwhile, played through a broken back last season and has a long track record of being an impressive target earner. If he can bounce back, I like his chances to fill in at Flex or even WR2 for this team when needed.
12.10: Luther Burden III (WR – CHI)
If Michael Pittman is a safe, fill-in player, Luther Burden is the opposite. The second-round rookie has no guaranteed role in the Bears’ crowded offense, and there’s a real chance he is a fantasy zero for his entire debut season. But if things break right, he has the upside to be a legit league winner.
Burden’s prospect profile was very exciting, and we know that Ben Johnson can make the most of his explosive talents. The only issue is that I might not have the bench slots in this shallow format to hold Burden long enough for him to break out, but that’s a bridge to cross when I get there.
13.03: Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)
Even though the theme of this draft was streaming tight ends, I wasn’t necessarily committed to taking a second tight end. But I wasn’t going to pass Dallas Goedert, whom I have inside my top 12 half-PPR tight ends, in the last round of the draft. After all, the Eagles tight end was the TE11 in points per game last season.
That’s including two games in which he played fewer than 20% of the team’s snaps. It’s also in a season where Philadelphia’s offense was absurdly run-heavy. If the Eagles pass more or either of their top two wideouts misses time, Goedert could become a weekly must-start option. When you end up streaming a position, your goal is to find players with the upside to eventually elevate themselves from streamers to weekly starters.
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Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.
