Jul 22, 2025; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson (87) during training camp at the River Ridge Fields. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
This just feels right. There's a major hole in the sports world when the NFL isn't in session. And I don't just mean the draft or training camps or the preseason; I'm talking about real NFL football taking place in earnest.
A big part of that is sifting through the fantasy world and becoming familiar with the expected top performers in Fantasy Football 2025. With a position like tight end, there are always fewer impact players than other positions, making it more important to put time into knowing lesser performers who you may need to use for a week at a time.
Let's look at three tight ends to start and three to sit in Week 1 of the NFL season. This won't include any must-start players, like Brock Bowers or George Kittle. Instead, we're looking at guys who will be worth starting some weeks but not in others due to their lack of top-end talent, counting more on the team they are playing against to provide fantasy value.
Use the FantasySP defensive rankings to see which teams are most vulnerable against each position, presenting good matchups.
Start
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders
On a team with a wide range between the ceiling and floor of many of their skill players, Henry is one of the steadier hands New England has. That doesn't make him a great fantasy option: in his four years with the Patriots, Henry has only been a top-10 fantasy TE once, and that was in 2021 when he caught nine touchdown passes.
Last year with Drake Maye as his quarterback was his best year by many measures, though, as his 97 targets, 66 receptions, and 674 yards were all career highs (he only scored two touchdowns, lowering his fantasy impact). The wide receiver group lacks top-end talent again unless Stefon Diggs can return from a major knee injury as strong as ever, so Henry could be in line for a similar workload.
That would play well against the Raiders, who last year tied for the seventh-most points allowed and gave up the third-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. They were better against the pass on both a per-attempt and per-game basis, finishing in the middle in each category, but Vegas was vulnerable against the men in the middle. The Raiders also lost essentially their entire starting group at linebacker and their best safety in Tre'von Moehrig, so there could be more trouble from tight ends this year.
With Evan Engram off to Denver, Strange moves into the top role in Jacksonville. Strange is a similar player to Engram in that he is more of a pass catcher at tight end than a blocker, so he should be able to step in and offer much of the same. With Engram appearing in only nine games last season, Strange caught 40 passes for 411 yards and two touchdowns.
There's a new head coach and play caller in town in Liam Coen, so that will shake up the offense a bit. Last year in Tampa Bay, where Coen came from, tight end Cade Otton was second on the team with 59 receptions and 600 yards. Part of that is because Chris Godwin missed more than half the season, but it shows that the tight end will likely be involved.
The Panthers allowed more points than any other team last season and gave up the 10th-most passing yards per game and fourth-most yards per attempt. Specific to tight ends, they allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to the position, behind only the Bengals. Carolina made a few additions on defense, but they are much the same team on that side of the ball and unlikely to make big improvements, making Strange an intriguing player in Week 1.
This is a risky one, as Waller sat out all last season in supposed retirement before choosing to come back for 2025. He was a star receiver at the position with the Raiders, particularly in 2019-2020, when he combined for 197 catches, 2,341 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Those are also the only seasons in which he played more than 12 games, as injuries have been a consistent issue.
We're only looking for him to have one good game here, not an entire season, so I'm not as worried about those injuries for the soon-to-be 33-year-old. The riskier side is that he did sit out that whole season and is now with a new team where he will be at best third in the receiving hierarchy (behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle).
He starts out with about as good a matchup as possible by 2024 numbers, as the Colts were ninth worst in points per game allowed, seventh worst in passing yards per game allowed, fifth worst in yards per pass attempt allowed, and fifth worst in fantasy points per game given up to tight ends. Every arrow is pointing up in terms of pass catchers taking advantage of Indianapolis.
The Colts did make some improvements, including bringing in Charvarius Ward at cornerback and Cam Bynum at safety, two guys who will help directly against the pass. The pass rush still looks a little weak, though, meaning quarterbacks could have time to once again pick apart the secondary. I want to see improvement from the Colts before I actually believe it.
Dec 22, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) reacts to scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn ImagesSit
Barner is the listed starter on the depth chart, but the rookie Arroyo could make an impact as a pass catcher. Arroyo is seen as a field stretcher who can move around the formation in the passing game, and while his blocking could use refinement, he's the likely future of the position in Seattle. Both guys are set up for failure in Week 1, though.
San Francisco is a hard team to analyze because they were missing so many guys with injury last year and now have a lot of roster turnover from their best days. Not all the players who were hurt are now gone, making it a bit of mix and match when evaluating their 2025 team.
Based on last year's numbers, though, the 49ers allowed the eighth-fewest yards per pass attempt, fifth-fewest passing yards per game, and seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. Fred Warner still patrols the middle of the field, one of the guys tasked most often with stopping tight ends, so things don't look great for opposing TEs.
Seattle also switched from high-floor Geno Smith at quarterback to higher-ceiling but lower-floor Sam Darnold. I'm projecting Darnold to step backward, closer to his work before last season's breakout with the Vikings, and that would leave his tight ends with a less favorable outlook. Given the tough defense and the questions at quarterback, I'm not interested in either tight end from the Seahawks (something that might be true all season).
Ferguson had a tough 2024. He missed three games, but his numbers were still way down, losing 12 catches, 267 yards, and five touchdowns from 2023 (he didn't score any TDs in 2024). His yards-per-catch average dropped from 10.7 to 8.4. A big part of that can be explained by the absence of Dak Prescott, who didn't play after Week 9, but it's a disappointing performance from a tight end who was supposed to be on the upswing.
Prescott is back, but so is the stout defense of the Eagles. Philadelphia allowed the fewest yards per pass attempt last season, and it wasn't even close. They were also in the top two in fewest points per game and passing yards per game allowed, making Philly as good as any group in the league. It's not a surprise that they went on to win the Super Bowl. Many of the same impactful defensive pieces are back, though there was some turnover on the depth chart.
This is a case of a middling player against one of the best defenses in football who shut down his position last season. There's really no reason to count on Ferguson in Week 1, though he could have some value when better matchups come around.
For the first six seasons of his career, Smith looked like an unimpactful NFL player, able to hold onto a roster spot but not worth considering as a fantasy player. Then he set career highs in most categories in 2023 out of nowhere, finishing with 50 receptions and 582 yards (his three TDs that year were tied for his second most behind an outlier eight touchdown catches in 2020).
Well, Smith blew those numbers out of the water in 2024, accumulating 88 receptions on 110 targets for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. Each of those was by far a career high aside from the touchdowns, as mentioned above. He was in a different offensive system in Miami, but it was really a shock to see Smith go crazy to a level he never has before.
Now in Pittsburgh, Smith has the same offensive coordinator (Arthur Smith) that he did with the Falcons in 2023, his first year of improved performance. Maybe there's something there with Smith; the team did sign him to a one-year, $12-million extension, so they must be planning for him to have a real part in the offense.
Week 1 might not be the time to expect a big performance, though. The Jets allowed the sixth-fewest yards per pass attempt and eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends last year. New York was just average overall as a defense, but they excelled against the pass, giving up the fourth-fewest pass yards per game.
With a guy who has recent success but an inconsistent career against a defense that should again be at least average, this probably isn't the right time to count on Smith. He could be a big part of the offense, especially as DK Metcalf is the only experienced and impactful wide receiver, but I'm waiting for a better matchup to get Smith into my lineup.
