Dynasty Fantasy Football: 2024 Rookie TE Class Review

With the dynasty offseason finally here, it’s time for fantasy managers to do an audit of the previous rookie class to see what to make of the most recent group of players that entered the league and how they should be valued going forward. Unfortunately for TEs, there wasn’t a massive amount of production from the class as a whole, so fantasy managers will have some decisions to make based on the limited information they got from the majority of the 2024 TE class.

The main thought exercise for me revolved around two things:

• What did this player accomplish as a rookie?
• What questions emerge about their dynasty value moving forward?

Brock Bowers | Round 1 Overall 13 | LV

Current Age: 22 || Rookie Drafts: TE1 || Redraft: TE11

The crown jewel of this draft class at the TE position is easily Brock Bowers. Bowers was heavily involved in the Raiders offense from the start of the season and became the main focus of the passing game once Davante Adams was traded after Week 6. Overall, what Bowers was able to do as a rookie TE was pretty epic, becoming just the third rookie TE ever to surpass 1,000 receiving yards and the only rookie TE to record a season with 100+ receptions. It’s even more impressive when you consider Bowers broke the rookie reception record, regardless of position. To put Bowers’ rookie season into more historical context, he became just the 11th TE in NFL history to record 100+ receptions and 1,000+ receiving yards. Here’s the other TEs to hit that mark:

Moving forward, fantasy managers who have Bowers on their roster should feel confident about having one of the elite pieces at a onesie position for many years to come. What should be encouraging about what Bowers was able to do on a struggling Raiders offense this season is there should be somewhat of an improvement at the QB position coming soon which should allow Bowers to continue being productive for both fantasy and the NFL.

Ben Sinnott | Round 2 Overall 53 | WASH

Current Age: 22 || Rookie Drafts: TE2 || Redraft: TE25

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2024 Season	Receptions	Receiving Yards	TD
	5	28	1

There was plenty of pre-season hype and excitement around Ben Sinnott’s selection in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but unfortunately fantasy managers never really got a chance to see The Senator on the field enough to get a feel for what he could be at this level. Sinnott only played 27% of snaps on the season for the Commanders, despite being active for all 18 games, but even with that limited time his production is pretty meager to be encouraging going forward. It may be easy to blame Zach Ertz’s presence in the Washington offense on Sinnott not getting used, but the major lack of usage for the rookie should be concerning. Since 2000, there have been 68 TEs drafted in the 1st or 2nd Round of the NFL draft, and all but seven of them caught more passes than Sinnott.

The name of the game at TE in dynasty is usually “hold and see”, and that should probably still be the case with Sinnott. Being connected to Jayden Daniels should keep fantasy managers interested for at least another year, and Sinnott brought in a strong enough athletic and receiving profile from college that there could be more of a role carved out for him in year two.

Ja’Tavion Sanders | Round 4 Overall 101 | CAR

Current Age: 21 || Rookie Drafts: TE3 || Redraft: TE30

The final trio of TEs we’ll look at each present interesting rookie seasons with someone encouraging upsides going forward. Ja’Tavion Sanders had a four week stretch in the middle of the season where he finished inside the top-12 TEs three times. During that span he was on pace for nearly 60 targets and almost 700 yards, so the potential is definitely there for him to be a productive piece in an offense when given the chance. When we look at 4th-Round TEs drafted since 2000, there have only been 10 to finish with at least 30 receptions and 300 receiving yards. Some of those names include Aaron Hernandez, Cade Otton, Isaiah Likely and Chig Okonkwo. While Hernandez is clearly the outlier here, the other three players have been solid fantasy producers when given the right chance in their careers, so there should be hope for fantasy managers that Sanders could do the same, especially with the opportunity that’s available in Carolina’s passing game.

Theo Johnson | Round 4 Overall 107 | NYG

Current Age: 23 || Rookie Drafts: TE4 || Redraft:TE32

Athletically, there weren’t many TEs in this class that turned heads for NFL scouts like Theo Johnson did. In the 12 games Johnson appeared in this season, he was on the field a ton for the Giants, playing 84% of snaps and was the main TE involved in the receiving game for New York. It’s tough to tell Johnson could really produce as a receiving threat in the NFL, since the Giants offense struggled so much this season and threw the third-fewest passes in the league this season. Johnson falls just outside of the 30 reception and 300+ receiving yards club, but it’s safe to say had he played more than 12 games he would have gotten over that threshold. With a new QB certainly heading to New York this offseason, Johnson should be an interesting player to watch in the Giants passing game that will be looking for a consistent second receiving option behind Malik Nabers.

AJ Barner | Round 4  Overall 121 | SEA

Current Age: 22 || Rookie Drafts: Undrafted || Redraft: Undrafted

Maybe the most unknown name on this list is AJ Barner. While Barner didn’t have a great collegiate profile as a pass catcher, he had a really nice rookie season in Seattle and nearly surpassed his collegiate TD total in his first season, pushing him to finish inside the top-12 TEs three different weeks. While TDs aren’t an overly sticky stat, Barner’s rookie statline puts him in pretty unique territory. Since 2000, there have been 21 rookie TEs to finish with at least 30 receptions and 4 TDs, including names like Jimmy Graham, Dallas Goedert and David Njoku who all finished with similar seasons to Barner’s. Barner only played 46% of snaps this season, but with an impending change at Offensive Coordinator there could be a pathway to see more relevance in season two.

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