The legal tampering period always announces the beginning of the new NFL league year, and then as the clock strikes 2:00 pm on March 15, free agency opens in a flurry. Teams rush to sign their new players and announce them to the world. In the ensuing chaos, both interested fans of the NFL and excitable partakers of the great game of fantasy football speculate as to how those new players will impact their favorite teams and their fantasy rosters. So let's dive into the tight-end group that signed deals so far in free agency and see what kind of impact they'll have!
Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers
I'm not sure where people expected Hurst's market to be following a year that he only put up 439 yards and 2 touchdowns in one of the best passing offenses in the league, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people probably didn't have him receiving the top contract in this tight end class from a guaranteed dollar standpoint. Hurst signed a three-year, $21.75 million contract with $13 million guaranteed to be the starting tight end for the Panthers, who right now have Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, and Terrace Marshall Jr as their top three receiving options, so it is fair to say that Hurst could see more receiving work than he did with either the Bengals or the Ravens.
2023 Fantasy Football Prediction: Middling TE2, with some streaming value dependent on the matchup. Waiver wire pick up only.
Josh Oliver, Minnesota Vikings
Tally this up as another contract that absolutely nobody saw coming! Oliver signed a three-year, $21 million deal with $10.7 million guaranteed to back up T.J. Hockenson. Still, it is clear that Minnesota has a designed role for Oliver blocking in the running and passing game for the Vikings. This deal is much more about his proficiency with that part of the game rather than his pass-catching ability since, after Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Hockenson, there won't be many passes left over for Oliver to catch.
2023 Fantasy Football Prediction: TE3 at best. Not a player you want in fantasy, don't bother picking him up unless something happens to Hockenson.
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Ah, there it is. The best tight end for fantasy football in this free agency class finally found a new home (for this season) with the Texans on a one-year, $9 million contract. People did think that he was going to get a better deal than that, but maybe the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were willing to let Schultz leave the building so easily after paying him on the franchise tag last season was a clear sign that Schultz isn't as special as some people think.
Regardless, a new rookie quarterback is coming to town for the Texans, and he will need a safety blanket. Schultz naturally fits that role. He has solid hands with at least 57 catches in each of the last three seasons and handles zone coverage very well.
2023 Fantasy Football Prediction: Back-end TE1 in a shallow position. Likely available in Round 10 or later in your drafts, he can produce reliable numbers weekly, a rarity in today's tight end position.
Mike Gesicki, New England Patriots
It's really hard to be psyched about this move from a fantasy football standpoint for Gesicki, who signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Patriots to be their new tight end alongside incumbent Hunter Henry. Despite being one of the most athletic tight ends in the league and having arguably the best Griddy move (just kidding), Gesicki was a complete non-factor for fantasy last season, but he did score five touchdowns and could be relied upon as an endzone weapon for Mac Jones.
2023 Fantasy Football Prediction: TE2 with SOME TE1 upside but probably isn't reliable on a weekly basis. Most likely will not be drafted in drafts and is best used as a streaming option.
Other Tight Ends
In this section, we'll list the notable fantasy backups that have gotten a deal so far in free agency and their value for fantasy football on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.
- Austin Hooper - Las Vegas: 3.5
- Donald Parham Jr - Los Angeles Chargers: 2.5
- Robert Tonyan Jr - Chicago: 2.5
- O.J. Howard - Las Vegas: 2
- Chris Manhertz - Denver: 1.5
- Jordan Akins - Cleveland: 1.5
- Eric Saubert - Miami: 1