Isaiah Likely

Turn on any Coastal Carolina game over the last four years and you're likely to see a tight end haul in a touchdown. Isaiah Likely hauled in 27 receiving touchdowns since 2018 - more than any other tight end in college football. 

Likely's nose for the end zone fueled his 24% career dominator rating - the highest in the class and a mark matched only by Pat Freiermuth from 2021's tight end class. 

Touchdown equity is not the only part of his profile that is alluring. He's not just falling in the end zone. He's a terrific wide receiver playing tight end, as evidenced by his 95.2 PFF receiving grade (third), 1,513 receiving yards (first) and 2.87 yards per route run (sixth) since 2020.

Only McBride and Kyle Pitts have a higher PFF receiving grade over that span.

At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Likely fits the archetype as a pass-catching tight end at the next level - which is exactly what fantasy footballers should gravitate toward. It's rare to find tight ends who come into the league with this kind of receiving profile and mismatch potential against slower linebackers/safeties. 

However, be wary that his tweener size does create some inherent risk if he ends up on a team that doesn't know how to use him properly. He is too small to be a legitimate in-line tight end but too big to be a traditional wideout. The essence of Julius Thomas and Ricky Seals-Jones. 

Likely also won't be much of a factor in the blocking game unless he puts on substantial weight. If that does happen, be confident that Likely can fill an every-down tight end role after finishing in the 91st percentile in positively graded run-blocking rate in 2021.

Isaiah Likely impressing as pass-catcher during offseason workouts

Baltimore Ravens rookie tight end Isaiah Likely has made a name for himself during minicamp. As Jamison Hensley of ESPN writes, Likely "was the star of the final day of minicamp, when he caught several touchdown passes during red-zone drills including a spectacular one-handed grab."

Fantasy Impact

Not only has Likely drawn praise from Hensley, but his teammates have taken notice, too. Safety Tony Jefferson said, "Watch out for this guy. He's gonna be really good." Meanwhile, quarterback Lamar Jackson remarked, "It was a tremendous catch, so the sky's the limit." Likely doesn't have a chance to compete with Mark Andrews for the No. 1 tight end role, but it looks like he has a chance to emerge as the No. 2 option over veteran Nick Boyle and fellow rookie Charlie Kolar.