A veteran tight end who suffered a significant injury in the playoffs is the top tight end to avoid at their fantasy football average draft position (ADP) on Underdog. That player is joined by a tight end in his late 20s, stuck in an offense with a pair of target hogs at wide receiver.
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Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Avoid
George Kittle (TE – SF) | Underdog ADP: 121.7
Sadly, George Kittle tore his right Achilles during Wild Card Weekend in the playoffs. He had surgery to repair his Achilles on January 14th.
Achilles injuries are often devastating for players, and Kittle is on the wrong side of 30. However, the higher location of Kittle’s Achilles tear is favorable, relatively speaking. Kittle could return in September.
Still, Kittle needs to avoid setbacks, could still miss early-season contests and presumably will need time to shake off the rust. He could also be less effective, given the severity of Achilles injuries and Kittle’s age.
The veteran tight end was also limited to 11 games in the regular season in 2025 because he injured his hamstring in Week 1 and landed on injured reserve (IR) for five games from Week 2 through Week 6. Kittle was also out for Week 17 with an ankle injury. He’s not a stranger to missing a game or two a season.
Kittle performed efficiently last year. According to the Fantasy Points data suite, among 59 tight ends with at least 125 routes in the regular season and playoffs, Kittle was fourth in yards per route run (2.26 YPRR).
Kittle was only 15th in route participation rate (69.7%), eighth in air yards share (18.4%) and sixth in target share (18.8%). While those marks are decent or better, he was only tied for ninth in expected half-PPR points per game (10.4).
Kittle is the TE11 in Underdog ADP. That price is steep for a player who could miss time, is a candidate for a dip in production and was only slightly better than that in expected half-PPR points per game last season.
Jake Ferguson (TE – DAL) | Underdog ADP: 127
Jake Ferguson was the TE8 in half-PPR total points (147.1) and the TE13 in half-PPR points per game (8.7) last season. He’s the TE12 in ADP, putting him one spot higher than his half-PPR points per game finish. That wouldn’t seem like an egregious ranking at a blush, but Ferguson’s scoring was heavily front-loaded in 2025.
Ferguson scored at least 10.8 half-PPR points in seven of his first eight games. He tallied 11.2 half-PPR points per game before Dallas’ Week 10 bye. Ferguson recorded only 5.8 half-PPR points per game in his final eight games last season, and he didn’t reach double-digit scoring in any of those contests.
Among 59 tight ends with at least 125 routes last season, Ferguson was 16th in route participation rate (69.4%), tied for 31st in air yards share (9.4%), 46th in average depth of target (4.7-yard aDOT), 16th in target share (16.0%), tied for 17th in targets per route run (0.21 TPRR) and 42nd in yards per route run (1.26 YPRR). Even Ferguson’s torrid start to the season couldn’t elevate his underlying metrics out of mediocre or worse territory.
Ferguson’s numbers were also inflated by CeeDee Lamb spraining his ankle in Week 3. Lamb played only seven offensive snaps in Week 3, and he was out in Week 4 through Week 6. Excluding Week 3 through Week 6, Ferguson recorded the following stats in the other 13 games:
- 69.8% route participation rate
- 5.1-yard aDOT
- 8.7% air yards share
- 14.1% target share
- 0.18 TPRR
- 14.9% first-read rate
- 52 receptions (4.0 per game)
- 396 receiving yards (30.5 yards per game)
- 1.07 YPRR
- 4 receiving touchdowns
George Pickens isn’t expected to go anywhere, with ESPN’s Todd Archer saying, “It is a certainty they will use the tag” on Pickens. Lamb and Pickens are target hogs and dynamic players. Ferguson is just a guy at tight end. Ferguson doesn’t warrant a pick much earlier, if any earlier, than 150 in Underdog drafts.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.