Who doesn’t love a good sleeper? Earlier in the week, I outlined five rookie sleepers who you should target late in your fantasy drafts. Today, let’s turn our attention to a position you may hate to deal with: tight ends. It’s no secret that beyond the top three-to-four tight ends, there aren’t many consistently good options at the position. These five tight ends have strong chances to give your fantasy team a real bang for your buck at their current prices.

Cole Kmet

FantasyPros Consensus ADP: TE18

Spoiler alert: Opportunity is key in fantasy. Luckily, Kmet should have plenty of it. Outside of wide receiver Darnell Mooney – who’s a sleeper in his own right – the Bears have no inspiring pass-catchers. Newcomers Equanimeous St. Brown and Byron Pringle are unproven, and rookie Velus Jones Jr. is, well, also unproven. Of course, Kmet isn’t exactly an established tight end either, but tight ends typically take longer to develop. Mark Andrews, Travis Kelce and Darren Waller all had their breakouts in their fourth seasons. Kmet’s only entering his third season, though that doesn’t mean he still won’t see a massive target share. If quarterback Justin Fields takes a big leap, Kmet would be the biggest benefactor. Kmet’s upside isn’t as great as others on this list, but his floor is high enough that you should consider drafting him as a strong ‘TE2’.

David Njoku

FantasyPros Consensus ADP: TE21

Entering his sixth season, Njoku seems like a perfect post-hype sleeper. After five seasons of struggling to make an impact, 2022 could be the year Njoku finally lives up to his first-round potential. Why? The Browns’ new-look roster serves to benefit Njoku in a big way. The addition of Deshaun Watson suggests a shift in offensive philosophy for Cleveland. They’ve typically been among the league’s most run-heavy offenses under Kevin Stefanski. But that was without a quarterback of Watson’s caliber. The Browns also traded for Amari Cooper, though they didn’t add any other notable pass-catchers to pair with him. Donovan Peoples-Jones and rookie David Bell are two promising young receivers, but we don’t know if they’re capable of handling ‘WR2’ duties yet. Njoku is built more like a bigger wide receiver than a typical tight end, so it’s certainly possible Njoku becomes Watson’s second-favorite target behind Cooper. That possibility alone boosts Njoku’s ceiling up enough to make him a fantastic option as your ‘TE2’.

Albert Okwuegbunam

FantasyPros Consensus ADP: TE23

Okwuegbunam was a hot commodity following the Russell Wilson trade to Denver and it’s easy to see why. The Broncos shipped off tight end Noah Fant in return, thus paving the way for Okwuegbunam to finally earn the starting job. Okwuegbunam only saw 40 targets across 14 games last season, so he still has plenty of untapped potential ahead of his third season. Of course, the main reason why Okwuegbunam earns the sleeper label this season is because of Wilson. Who knew he’d be such an upgrade over Drew Lock? All kidding aside, Okwuegbunam will have to compete for targets in an offense that features wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. That’s why Okwuegbunam isn’t my favorite sleeper on this list, but if Denver’s offense starts clicking, Okwuegbunam could easily become a ‘TE1’ for your fantasy team.

Austin Hooper

FantasyPros Consensus ADP: TE26

Like Njoku, Hooper is a sleeper whose hype died down a few seasons ago. Following a pair of breakout campaigns in Atlanta, Hooper failed to replicate his success in two seasons in Cleveland before getting cut in March. Honestly, I think Hooper will be a much better fit in Tennessee than he was in Cleveland. Hooper mostly split work with David Njoku, which limited his fantasy impact. In Tennessee, the Titans can revert back to utilizing one tight end in the passing game as opposed to splitting the work between tight ends like Geoff Swaim and Anthony Firkser – the latter of which is in Atlanta now. Simply put, Hooper will have less competition for playing time and targets, and the Titans’ offense more closely resembles the Falcons’ offense that Hooper thrived in two seasons ago. Hooper seems like a solid bet to become quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s third-favorite target behind wide receivers Treylon Burks and Robert Woods. He even has a chance to become the team’s de facto ‘WR2’. At this price, Hooper is worth the gamble at the end of your drafts.

Brevin Jordan

FantasyPros Consensus ADP: TE35

Jordan is so much of a sleeper that he’s not even being drafted in most standard-size leagues. That’s understandable since Jordan only finished as ‘TE44’. However, Jordan didn’t play for the first seven weeks of the season. He finished as a ‘TE1’ in four of the nine games he played. And get this: Jordan was also tied for the third-highest percentage of snaps with a target among all tight ends – behind Mark Andrews and Darren Waller. As for his situation, Houston doesn’t boast the best-looking offense, but it doesn’t need to. Even if quarterback Davis Mills doesn’t build on a promising finish to last season, the Texans lack proven pass-catchers outside of wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Wide receivers Nico Collins and John Metchie III are fine, young talents, but Jordan has the chance to be more impactful than them. As the final cherry on top, expect Houston to be above league average in pass attempts due to negative game scripts. Translation: bad teams throw the ball a lot. It all blends together to make Jordan the ultimate backup plan as your backup tight end. It may take a couple of seasons for Jordan to reach his full potential, though he can still soar past his ADP for your fantasy team this season.