Dynasty Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings: Oronde Gadsen II is rising but, outlook remains uncertain

There were no big risers at the tight end position this month in my Dynasty rankings. The only player in my top 40 at the position who moved up more than two spots was rookie Oronde Gadsden II, who earned all kinds of buzz at Chargers' OTAs. Gadsden flashed upside at Syracuse, catching 73 passes for 934 yards and seven touchdowns in his final year there, but he is also a fifth-round pick who will likely open camp behind both Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin. If you have a roster spot, he's a good add, particularly in tight-end premium leagues, but he's not a needle mover. Not yet anyway.

As for where Gadsden ranks amongst the rookies, I still have him behind Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren (obviously), as well as Harold Fannin, Mason Taylor, Terrance Ferguson, and Elijah Arroyo. I also still prefer a trio of second-year tight ends who did very little last year in Ja'Tavion Sanders, Ben Sinnott, and Theo Johnson. Truth be told, I am not confident any of the guys in this paragraph, other than Fannin, have the ability to become true difference makers at the position, though they could all turn into low-end starters.

That brings into focus a reality in both redraft and Dynasty. There is a lot of talk about how shallow this position is, often in my writing. That is 100% true if you are talking about guys who could provide you a big advantage at the position in 2025 and beyond. But the bar is so low to finish top-12 that there may be 30 guys in a given year who have that potential. That is why I am willing to pay up for young guys like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, who are young, established, and could double the Fantasy output of TE12 in a given year. I am less interested in investing in tight ends who I don't expect to ever score more than 11 FPPG, because that is only two more points per game than what you can generally find on the waiver wire. Even in TEP last year, the difference between TE8 Sam LaPorta and TE14 Pat Freiermuth was only 0.8 FPPG. It isn't nothing, but it isn't enough to invest heavily in. Hopefully, that was just a down year for LaPorta, but we'll probably see regression from at least two of the guys that finished higher than him last year, maybe half of them.

Recently, I had Dustin Ludke on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty to talk about players I love at cost, including two tight ends who are currently outside of the top 12 in consensus Dynasty rankings. One could be a league winner in 2025, the other in 2026 and beyond. Check it out here:

Here are my updated Dynasty Tight End Rankings: