Fantasy Football 2021: Late Round Fliers at TE

We are getting closer to the start of the NFL 2021 season. It’s officially crunch time in a lot of fantasy football leagues.

We all know the big three when it comes to TEs; Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, and George Kittle. You then have players like T.J. Hockenson, Mark Andrews, and rookie Kyle Pitts. Now, what to do if you miss out on these players? Don’t panic – there are enough late round options to help your fantasy football team compete for a championship.

Tyler Higbee

Tyler Higbee is atop my list of late-round TEs. With Matthew Stafford as is his QB and Gerald Everett gone, it is time for Higbee to shine. Last season, Higbee had 60 targets, 44 receptions, 521 receiving yards and five TDs. This was with a very inconsistent QB in Jared Goff. Now, let’s take at the numbers Hockenson put in Detroit with Stafford as his QB, which were 101 targets, 67 receptions, 723 receiving yards and sixTDs.

Higbee is not the player Hockenson Hockenson is a well polished route runner, whereas Higbee is still a bit rough around the edges. However, Higbee could potentially have similar production with Stafford now at QB. Keep in mind, Hockenson saw a 13.2 percent in targets per snap with Stafford last season This bodes well for Higbee amidst all the receiving talent on the Rams. With Everett gone, there will be 62 vacant targets, and I expect Higbee to receive a lot of them.

Cole Kmet

Cole Kmet‘s numbers dont stand out to you when looking at the stats. Last season Kmet converted 44 targets into 23 receptions for 243 receiving yards and two TDs. Those numbers won’t blow your mind by any means. However, let’s do a bit of a deeper look into the numbers. Until Week 11, Kmet only had 11 targets for eight receptions and 94 yards. Yes, just 94 yards over the course of 11 weeks. However, from Week 12 to 17, Kmet had 30 targets, 20 receptions and 149 receiving yards.

Look at the difference between how Kmet started the season, to how it ended. It was a night and day difference. Although Jimmy Graham is still on the roster to vulture targets every now and then, this is Kmet’s job to lose and I don’t see that happening. He has built quite a nice rapport with Andy Dalton and Justin fields throughout training camp. I expect that to carry over into the regular season.

Anthony Firkser

Anthony Firkser isn’t a name popping up on many fantasy football draft boards. The Titans acquired Julio Jones in the offseason and he is a target monster. This offense still revolves around Derrick “King” Henry. So, why do I have Firkser listed as a late-round target? The answer is not quite as simple as it seems. Let’s look Firkser’ stats from last season first. He had 53 targets, 39 receptions, 387 receiving yards and only one touchdown. Very ho-hum stats.

Now, let’s take a look as to why I’m taking a gamble on Firkser late in fantasy football drafts. Jones’ addition to the Titans lineup will open more holes in the middle of the field for Firkser. If Jonnu Smith can go for 41/448/8 on 65 targets, so can Firkser.

Second, and most importantly, is the promotion of Todd Downing as OC. He was Firker’s TE coach for the past two years and will create game plans to utilize his talents. Downing was also the offensive coordinator for the Raiders in 2017. Despite having guys like Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, Jared Cook was found himself targeted 86 times for a stat line of 54/688/2. Firkser can come close to those numbers, especially when he won’t have to deal with tight coverage in this offense.

Conclusion

As we are now steamrolling into September, remember that fantasy football drafts are not just about one player. Just like the NFL, it takes a collective unit of players and adequate depth to survive the season. There will be luck and injuries involved throughout, thus making waiver moves are so important. However, a bad draft will ruin your season before it begins. These players should help provide solid depth or potential spot-starts for you this season in fantasy football.