If there is one position that always has the opportunity for sleepers to hit it’s TE- and it’s no different ahead of the 2024 season. Being able to find a player in the later rounds that you can use pretty much week in week out is great. Infact, that is kind of the ‘goal’. Streaming a TE week to week is fine, but the true ideal is to find that diamond in the rough. If you want examples, you only have to look to last season:
- Sam LaPorta was TE17
- Jake Ferguson was TE28
- Trey McBride was TE32
All of those ended up finishing as TE1’s for fantasy last season, and LaPorta was THE TE1. If you grabbed one of these guys late, you put yourself in great position to win your league. The rationale for each of them are below, but the players are:
Pat Freiermuth (PIT, TE15)
Friermuth is a popular TE sleeper selection, with him falling just outside the TE1 range. Last season he and the Steelers had a lot of stink on them, after struggling all over their offense. It didn’t help that the team were constantly rotating through different QB options. It’s not like we haven’t seen Freiermuth be great for fantasy- he was in 2022. Had a great target share (nearly 100 targets on the season), and caught 63 passes for 732 yards.
For 2024, the Steelers offense has to better doesn’t it!? Whoever is throwing the ball between Russell Wilson or Justin Fields feels like an upgrade on the QBs that were throwing the ball last year. And the team also invested in their offensive line, using their first and second-round picks (OT Troy Fautanu and C Zach Frazier) to bring in some upgrades, as well as a fourth-round selection in Mason McCormick. That should mean far less of a need for Freiermuth to do any blocking.
There is opportunity here for Freiermuth too, with Diontae Johnson having left the team during this offseason (and his large target share). The expectation is that George Pickens steps up to be the WR1, but he doesn’t really profile to be a target-hog in the same way as Johnson. We have also seen both Wilson and Fields target the TE position in their career. Freiermuth also has a nice matchup to start the season against the Falcons.
Jonnu Smith (MIA, TE26)
Smith had some buzz on him before he signed for the Patriots in 2021, working as a decent redzone weapon for the Titans. After spending two seasons with the Patriots behind Hunter Henry, and little fantasy relevance, he has a bit of a turnaround with the Falcons last season. Despite Kyle Pitts being ahead of him in the depth chart, he carved out a nice role on the Falcons offense with 70 targets (catching 50 for 582 yards and 3 TDs).
If there has been a hole on the Dolphins offense, it has been the lack of TE threat. Miami brought in Smith on a two-year, $10m deal, so have some commitment to him. Miami make plenty of redzone trips, and are more than happy to air the ball out. There are already established targets in the offense (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle) who will continue to take out a chunk of the targets in the offense, but Smith ticks the boxes to be a TE sleeper. A matchup against Jacksonville to start the season is a decent matchup to target too.
Colby Parkinson (LAR, TE33)
Parkinson is the absolute roll of the dice at the position. Similar to Smith above, he is on a new team for the coming season and has the vast majority of targets in the offense going to his lead wide receivers. Parkinson was snapped up quickly by the Rams from their divisional rivals on a 3-year, $22.5m contract. Being part of a Seahawks timeshare at the position meant that his box score for last season wasn’t great.
But, he was on the field a decent chunk, especially towards the end of the season. During the final 5 weeks on the season, he was able to get 14 targets for 11 receptions for 97 yards and 2 TDs. Promising, but not great. But, with the Rams he has a clearer path to success, with Tyler Higbee on the PUP list to start the season. Parkinson is completely free, and being massively overlooked- grab him as a last round selection. Or, as a free agent pickup for a team that moved someone to IR. The Lions matchup to start the season isn’t a bad one either, which gives him a good opportunity to start the season well.
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