Sleeper shines a spotlight on three of the best rookie tight ends for the upcoming fantasy season.

Rookie Spotlight: The Top 3 Tight Ends to Target in 2024

The rookie tight end class is top-heavy, with several intriguing sleepers to go along with a generational talent as the headliner. Last year, Sam LaPorta and Luke Musgrave arrived much sooner than expected for fantasy football purposes, and this year’s group has the potential to do the same.

Here, we’ll cover the top three rookie tight ends in the 2024 class: Brock Bowers, Ben Sinnott and Ja’Tavion Sanders. As we have been doing in previous editions analyzing the top rookie QBs, RBs, and WRs, we’ll take a close look at their college careers and NFL landing spots, along with their rookie season and long-term fantasy expectations.

Catch up on our other rookie positional breakdowns here:

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders 

College Career

As an 18-year-old freshman, Bowers not only started in his first college game, but he led Georgia in both receptions and receiving yards – against Clemson, no less. He surpassed 100 receiving yards in his next game and parlayed that momentum into 882 freshman receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Those two freshman-year figures for Bowers were both better than any of Kyle Pitts’ college seasons, and Pitts was previously regarded as a near-perfect tight end prospect.

More impressive is the target competition Bowers had to contend with during his time at Georgia. That freshman season, Bowers out-produced three future NFL wide receivers and eventual 2024 draft picks: Ladd McConkey (Los Angeles Chargers, 34th overall), Adonai Mitchell (Indianapolis Colts, 52nd overall) and Jermaine Burton (Cincinnati Bengals, 80th overall).

Overall, Bowers led his team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in all three college seasons. He also won the John Mackey Award for being the nation’s top tight end as a sophomore and junior, in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

NFL Landing Spot

In a stunning move, the Raiders made Bowers the 13th pick in the draft, despite selecting tight end Michael Mayer at 35th the prior year. Bowers is slightly built for the position at 6’4” 243 pounds, so there’s reason to believe he won’t play a traditional tight end role in this offense.

More than anything, Bowers is a weapon who is particularly electrifying with the ball in his hands. His 193 career rushing yards and five scores on the ground are evidence of Georgia’s desire to simply get him involved whenever possible.

There’s offensive uncertainty in Las Vegas, with a strong chance that Bowers’ long-term quarterback is not currently on the roster. Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell will battle it out in training camp, but neither inspires much confidence.

Rookie Season Expectations

There is significant target competition for Bowers in 2024. While it’s assumed he’ll play ahead of the second-year Mayer, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers make for one of the NFL’s better wide receiver duos. Pair those mouths to feed with questionable quarterback play, and it’s understandable why Sleeper would project 10 tight ends to have more receiving yards than Bowers.

Fantasy managers drafting Bowers at his seventh-round Sleeper ADP (77th overall) are hoping for a significantly better outcome than the 62 receptions and 692 receiving yards projected for him.

Long-Term Outlook

Bowers already carries similar dynasty value to Dalton Kincaid and Travis Kelce, even though he’s yet to play an NFL snap. Only tight ends LaPorta (second-round Sleeper ADP of 16th overall) and Trey McBride (third-round Sleeper ADP of 36th) go well before Bowers (fourth-round sleeper ADP of 45th) in dynasty startups. Bowers can catch up to LaPorta with either a strong rookie season or news of a 2025 QB upgrade in Vegas.

His Sleeper ADP in rookie drafts is 1.04 in 1-QB leagues, only after the WR trio of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. In superflex/2-QB rookie drafts, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels also go ahead of Bowers.

Ben Sinnott, Washington Commanders 

College Career

Sinnott redshirted at Kansas State in 2020. The next season, he had five total touches across 12 games, though it’s notable that he had more carries (three) than receptions (two). He finally started in ‘22, though he still finished fourth on the team with just 447 receiving yards.

Sinnott put it all together last year, and he led the team with 676 receiving yards and six touchdowns. While he didn’t get off to a roaring start in college, tight ends rarely lead their team in receiving, and he was a 2023 semifinalist for the Mackey Award.

NFL Landing Spot

Athleticism is the best predictor for how successful a tight end will be at catching passes in the NFL. Sinnott tore up the NFL Combine, with the same 40-yard-dash time as Kelce (4.68), along with the best vertical (40”) and broad jump (10’ 6”) among the 2024 class. The Commanders selected him in the second round (53rd overall), and he’s immediately paired with an exciting QB prospect in Daniels.

Terry McLaurin is the Commanders’ only proven target hog in town, so Sinnott has a chance to emerge as the team’s second pass-game option.

Rookie Season Expectations

Zach Ertz has blocked the paths of Dallas Goedert and Trey McBride previously in fantasy, but Sleeper projects Sinnott (431 receiving yards) to vastly out-produce Ertz (250). Still, Sleeper’s projection would keep Sinnott off the fantasy radar as the overall TE21.

Fantasy managers can take a late-round flier on Sinnott (13th-round Sleeper ADP of 149), hoping he’s this year’s LaPorta, but he’s most likely someone who will sit on waiver wires during the season.

Long-Term Outlook

As an athletic tight end with the expectations that come with being a second-rounder, Sinnott has a wide range of outcomes. He’ll probably produce more similarly to Cole Kmet and Pat Freiermuth than LaPorta and McBride, though his speed and agility resemble that of the two fantasy superstars.

Sinnott is currently valued similarly to Isaiah Likely and Musgrave in dynasty startups, going off the board as TE17 (12th-round Sleeper ADP of 140). He’s a late round-two pick in rookie drafts, going off the board between the 2.10-2.12 in 1-QB and superflex/2-QB formats.

Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers 

College Career

Sanders didn’t record a catch as a freshman, but he did play all 12 games as a special teamer, which is no small feat for an 18-year-old at Texas. His 2022 sophomore season was incredibly impressive, and he finished second on the team in receptions (54) and third in yards (613).

Sanders once again finished third on the team in receiving as a junior, though his 682 yards were compiled on a whopping 15.2 yards per reception. Sanders played with strong target competition from fellow 2024 draftees too, as both Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs, 28th overall) and Georgia-transfer Mitchell overlapped during his time at Texas. He was a Mackey Award semifinalist in both seasons as a starter.

NFL Landing Spot

Sanders was expected to be the second tight end off the board, so his draft-day fall to the Panthers (fourth round, 101st overall) was unexpected. Sanders joins Diontae Johnson (trade with the Steelers) and Xavier Legette (first round, 32nd overall) in this new-look Panthers offense that’s trying hard to set QB Bryce Young up for success.

Rookie Season Expectations

Sleeper projects 32 receptions and 355 yards for Sanders – high numbers for a fourth-round rookie, but only enough to make him the overall TE25.

Because of all the moving offensive pieces in Carolina, there’s a slight chance Sanders can sniff fantasy relevance as a TE streamer in 2024.

Long-Term Outlook

In dynasty, Sanders will likely take a similar path to Young. If the second-year signal caller takes a step forward each of the next two seasons, there’s a good chance he’s bringing the talented Sanders with him. Cade Otton and Chigoziem Okonkwo are two tight ends holding similar long-term value to Sanders, and fantasy managers aren’t exactly excited to start either on a week-to-week basis.

Sanders goes around 3.03 in both 1-QB and superflex/2-QB rookie drafts on Sleeper. The odds of fourth-round tight ends hitting are low, but Sanders’ college production profile gives him a reasonable chance to break the mold.

Fantasy Impact for 2024

The 2024 rookie TE class is shallower than last year’s, but Bowers is a legitimate candidate to end the season as the dynasty TE1. Sinnott and Sanders are both paired with young passers, which adds uncertainty and upside to their profiles.

Join a mock draft on Sleeper to better prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season, and to find out which rookies you like best at their ADPs. If you’re looking for a new, free place to host your fantasy leagues, Sleeper delivers unbeatable league customization and top-notch group chat features.

Training Camp Headlines 

In case you missed it, see what else is happening around the league as NFL Training Camp gets into full swing:

Note: This breakdown originally appeared in the Sleeper Newsletter. Sign up below to get timely updates, fantasy insights and exclusive analysis using Sleeper proprietary data.