The 2022 fantasy football season is upon us. Finding fantasy football sleepers is never easy, but late-round selections often dictate success. The goal of this article is to identify five tight ends that are being selected below their current ADP that may end up winning your league. This is a continuation of the positional sleeper rankings series.
Cole Kmet, TE, Bears
ADP-TE12
The Chicago Bears are in full rebuild mode. Gone is Allen Robinson, Jimmy Graham, and most of the defense.
Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle, and recently acquired N’Keal Harry round out the receivers for the Bears.
The Bears, top to bottom, may have the worst roster in the NFL. Coming off a 93 target, 612-yard sophomore season, Kmet could play a larger role for the Bears in 2022.
Kmet should immediately be inserted as the number two receiving option for the Bears behind Darnell Mooney.
The Bears should be forced to throw regularly with their roster. Cole Kmet scored zero touchdowns last year and has a huge opportunity finish in the top 10, possibly top 5 tight ends in fantasy football.
Evan Engram, TE, Jaguars
ADP-TE21
Evan Engram is one of the players that fantasy owners hate to look at. The oft injured stone hands TE has been picked up and dropped more times than anyone can count. While many fantasy owners have been burned by Engram in the past, this may be the year to give him another chance.
New head coach Doug Pederson emphasizes the tight end position. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert both have had recent success and Ertz finished as a top five tight end in four of the five seasons with Pederson.
An upgrade at quarterback will also help Engram. Engram has dealt with bottom tier quarterback play the entirety of his career in New York. Enter Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has upgraded weapons at his disposal with the addition of Christian Kirk, but still lack depth.
Expect Engram to remain a polarizing tight end that may actually pay off for patient fantasy owners.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Broncos
ADP-TE22
The Denver Broncos had an insane offseason. The Broncos traded for Russell Wilson and changed the trajectory for the entire offense. A combination of Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater severely limited the Broncos in 2021. Okwuegbunam has an opportunity to gain major playing time with the departure of Noah Fant.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett said, “[Okwuegbunam is] going to be one of those move tight ends. He’s going to be more of a receiver right now.”
The Broncos have a deep wide receiver room with Sutton, Patrick, Jeudy, and Hamler. With all the mouths to feed in Denver it may be difficult for Okwuegbunam to fully break out. Expect him to be a monster in the red zone and could end up breaking out with high touchdown numbers with Russell Wilson at the helm.
David Njoku, TE, Browns
ADP-TE23
Gone is Austin Hooper and the dreaded two tight end offense for the Browns.
Zac Jackson of the Athletic reports the Browns are expecting David Njoku to “take a major step forward” this season. With no proven weapons outside of Amari Cooper, look for Njoku to carry the load as the second option for the Browns.
Entering his sixth season the Browns signed Njoku to a huge extension. Production for Njoku is dependent, obviously, on the status of Deshaun Watson. If Watson can avoid a lengthy suspension, expect Njoku to put up numbers way ahead of TE23.
Robert Tonyan, TE, Packers
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Tonyan is coming off a major injury. Aaron Rodgers will be searching for reliable receiving options with the loss of Davante Adams. In 2019 Robert Tonyan had 52 catches for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns.
As of today, Tonyan may not be ready for the start of the season.
Tonyan has a huge opportunity as one of the more reliable targets for Rodgers. Do not hesitate to take a chance on the Green Bay tight end if you wait on the position in your draft.