2024 Post-Draft Dynasty Rookie Rankings: Tight End
My rookie wide receiver rankings are listed below along with tiers for the class. For more detailed breakdowns of every prospect, check out my Pre-Draft Tight End Rankings for a detailed breakdown of the players.
Brock Bowers’ landing spot was as bad as it gets for year one. Davante Adams will hog targets per usual and Jakobi Meyers is a solid WR2. Bowers will even have to compete with second-year tight end Michael Mayer for snaps. The good news is that it may not last long. Adams is an aging veteran on an expensive deal. For a rebuilding team, he’s going to be an obvious trade/cut candidate in the near future. Mayer may be a roadblock for Bowers as a rookie, but the Raiders didn’t draft Bowers to be a part-time player. I fully expect Bowers to be ascending to fantasy stardom by the end of his second season.
Sinnott will be parked behind a veteran in 2024 as well, but his competition will be even easier to dust. Zach Ertz averaged a dismal 1.01 yards per route run last year, was cut midseason, and is now the only thing standing between Sinnott and a starting job. We will be projecting Sinnott for more fantasy points than Ertz by Thanksgiving.
On a barren Carolina depth chart, Sanders could open the year as a starter. That’s where the positives end for him. The Panthers have plenty of wideouts capable of earning targets and were arguably the worst offense in the NFL last year. Most importantly, Sanders bombed the combine and fell to the fourth round despite a strong production profile. That’s a clear indictment of his athleticism from NFL evaluators and a major red flag for his dynasty outlook.
Darren Waller’s status is up in the air. At this point, retirement seems like the most likely outcome. Daniel Bellinger was a serviceable starter as a rookie and will get the first crack at Waller’s vacated job. That puts Theo Johnson in the TE2 chair this year. Johnson is a freak athlete who only played a part-time role at Penn State. He will likely spend his first NFL season learning the ropes as a backup, but it’s safe to assume he will draw some breakout hype heading into his second season.
The Bengals doubled up at tight end on Day Three with Erick All in the fourth round and Tanner McLachlan in the sixth. All had one modestly productive season in four years at Michigan and transferred to Iowa for the 2023 season. Though his counting stats—21-299-3—don’t look special, that was good for a 43 percent dominator in the seven games he played. He also averaged 2.63 yards per route run. All tore his ACL in the middle of the season and his recovery will keep him out of the early offseason practices. He should be able to suit up for the Bengals’ opener. His impressive final season and the fourth-round capital make him an intriguing stash in dynasty leagues.
McLachlan didn’t do much over four years at Southern Utah and transferred to Arizona for two more seasons of college ball. He immediately found a role as a pass-catcher and posted 984 yards and six touchdowns on 79 grabs over two seasons. However, All ran circles around him in the advanced metrics. I want as many shots as I can get on landing Joe Burrow’s top tight end, so a few of my dynasty teams will wind up with McLachlan as a flier, even if All looks like a better prospect on paper.
