With the NFL combine now behind us and the draft less than two months away, it seems like a good time to look at the fantasy impact of incoming rookies for the 2018 season.
We don't yet know which teams these first-year players will take snaps for, so we can't lump them in with the veterans for ranking purposes right now. However, to help you begin to scout the top incoming talent, I've ranked the prospects based on my observations from their college careers and the combine.
Here's a look at the best fantasy-relevant tight end talent in the 2018 NFL draft pool.
Note: Each player's overall rank among rookies appears before his name.
Top fantasy rookie tight ends
23. Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Goedert is the most well-rounded tight end in this year's class, combining terrific receiving ability with solid blocking skills. The FCS standout is an athletic 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, with 34-inch arms, solid speed and good ball skills. He didn't do much at the combine as the result of a minor hamstring injury, but he did pace the position with 23 bench reps. He has the potential to be an every-down player, and his receiving chops supply him with TE1 upside in fantasy.
26. Mark Andrews, Oklahoma Sooners
Andrews is a converted wide receiver with terrific pass-catching skills. He caught 62 passes for 958 yards last season and scored seven-plus touchdowns during each of his three seasons at Oklahoma. Andrews has pretty good hands and will make plays after the catch. He's a nonfactor as a blocker and figures to spend most of his snaps running routes from the slot.
Andrews' 12.6-yard average depth of target last season was third highest among tight ends who attended the combine, and he averaged 15.5 yards per reception (fourth). He didn't show very well athletically at the combine, but he did exhibit his speed with a 4.67-second 40-yard dash.
27. Mike Gesicki, Penn State Nittany Lions
Gesicki is 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds with 34 1/8-inch arms, and he absolutely dominated at the 2018 combine. He was best at the position in nearly every drill, posting the top mark in the 40-yard dash, vertical, broad, three cone, short shuttle and 60-yard shuttle. Only Goedert bested his 22 reps in the bench press. Gesicki is obviously a good athlete and has solid hands (one drop over the past two seasons), but he is a nonfactor as a blocker.
If the landing spot is right, Gesicki is one of the top candidates to be this season's Evan Engram. However, the more likely outcome is that he's a situational target in the short term. There's some big upside here for Gesicki as a receiver down the road.
28. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina Gamecocks
Hurst created quite a bit of buzz at the combine, and he has a shot to be the first tight end off the board in April's draft. He is a former baseball player who will turn 25 years old this year and is thus one of the oldest players in this year's rookie class. He is strong and athletic at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, and he has a good pair of hands.
Hurst has two solid receiving seasons under his belt and is a decent blocker. He is unlikely to make an immediate fantasy impact, but he could develop into a three-down player.
48. Ian Thomas, Indiana Hoosiers
Thomas missed some of his senior season due to injury, which limited him to 36 targets in 10 games. He showed well when called upon, however, averaging 9.0 yards after catch (best among all tight ends who attended the combine). Thomas is one of the youngest tight ends in the class (he will turn 22 in June) and only caught 28 passes in 14 games of work at Indiana. He is obviously a raw prospect, but he is big (6-foot-4, 259 pounds), athletic and a solid blocker with decent wheels and big receiving upside.
49. Dalton Schultz, Stanford Cardinal
Schultz projects as an in-line tight end in the pros, but he showed up at the combine on the small side (244 pounds) with short arms (31.25 inches) and a weak performance on the bench (15 reps). He's a good blocker and short-area target, but he only caught 55 passes for 555 yards and five touchdowns while at Stanford.
61. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin Badgers
Fumagalli might be missing a finger, but he still sports some of the best hands in the class (six drops on 213 career targets). He has decent size (6-foot-5, 247 pounds) with long arms (34 1/8 inches), and he's a decent receiver and blocker. However, he finished last at the position with 14 bench press reps at the combine.
62. Christopher Herndon IV, Miami Hurricanes
Herndon is a good athlete and a converted wide receiver who will look to make his mark as a receiving specialist in the NFL. His usage at Miami was a bit odd for a tight end, as he posted an extremely low 3.7 yards of average depth of target on 54 targets last season. Herndon is only 22 years old and likely has a ways to go before he makes an impact in the pros.
68. Jordan Akins, UCF Knights
Akins offers very little as a blocker and is shorter than his counterparts at 6-foot-3, but he's a quality receiver, and he helped his stock with a strong Senior Bowl week. He didn't run at the combine, but he plays fast and makes big plays with the ball in his hands on tape. Akins is a very "old" prospect (he will turn 26 this year), as he's converting from a stint as a baseball player.
69. Jaylen Samuels, NC State Wolfpack
Samuels worked with the tight ends at the combine, but he's really more of an H-back. Extremely undersized as a traditional tight end (5-foot-11, 225 pounds), Samuels figures to settle in as a versatile offensive weapon if he makes a roster. He showed well at the combine, which included a 4.54 40-yard dash. Used primarily as a short-area target last season (3.2 aDOT), he caught 77 percent of his 99 targets but only averaged 7.9 YPC.
78. Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan Chippewas
Conklin is 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds, and he showed well athletically at the combine. He has two-way potential but will need to improve his receiving efficiency. He posted 500-plus-yard seasons in 2016 and 2017 but failed to exceed a 55 percent catch rate in either campaign. On the plus side, he dropped zero of his 143 targets during the span.