TE Premium: Which Emerging Tight Ends Could Dominate Your Fantasy League in 2025?

The tight end position in fantasy football is constantly evolving, and in TE premium leagues, finding the next breakout star can be the key to dominating your competition. With the 2025 season on the horizon, let’s dive into some emerging tight ends who could become fantasy football difference-makers. Last season, George Kittle led the position in points per game in full-PPR formats (15.8 per game).

The TE Premium Landscape

In TE premium formats, tight ends receive extra points per reception, making the position significantly more valuable than in standard leagues. This scoring system elevates the importance of finding tight ends who are heavily involved in their team’s passing game. Elite tight ends like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride can provide a massive weekly advantage. In full 2.0 points/reception TE premium leagues, Bowers outscored every receiver and running back not named Ja’Marr Chase last season.

Top Tier Targets

Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders): Bowers entered the league with massive hype and lived up to it in his first season. He is a mega talent. This is the only two-time Mackey Award Winner in college who just caught 112 passes in his first NFL season. Bowers is a player who can provide tangible position leverage compared to the field of tight ends.
Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals): McBride has steadily upped his target totals from 34, to 106, to 147 in his three NFL seasons with the Cardinals. Kyler Murray seemed to rely on his tight end consistently throughout the campaign. McBride is the only other tight end, besides Bowers, to reach the 100-reception plateau last season and finished 0.1 points/game ahead of the Raiders rookie.

Emerging Stars to Watch

Tyler Warren (Indianapolis Colts): Warren led the Colts in targets (nine) and catches (seven) while finishing second in receiving yards (76) in week 1. He was the first read on 30 percent of passes, the second-highest such mark of all tight ends in Week 1.
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints): Johnson is a league winner in the tight end position. The Saints tight end is over the 90% route participation threshold, is averaging 15.8 fantasy points per game, and averages 10 targets per game (eighth-most in the NFL). In Week 2, Johnson accounted for a 26.5% target share and had a route participation rate of 93%—elite metrics at the tight end position.
Tucker Kraft (Green Bay Packers): With Jayden Reed sidelined for 6-8 weeks, Kraft becomes one of the most valuable tight ends in the NFL. He was the top tight end across the league in Week 2 after tallying six receptions for 124 yards and finding pay dirt in Green Bay’s Week 2 victory over the Commanders. He’s now scored a touchdown in each of his first two contests of the 2025 campaign and is the TE1 after two weeks of the season.
Elijah Arroyo (Miami Dolphins): Arroyo battled a knee injury for the better part of his collegiate tenure but had a breakout year in 2024, leading the FBS in yards per catch among tight ends (16.9). He lined up mostly in the slot as an F tight end in Miami’s RPO-based system. Arroyo effortlessly moves in-and-out of breaks to create separation and 34.3 percent of his catches went for 20 or more yards in 2024. He paces routes with fluidity and became a YAC-weapon for the Hurricanes, leading the FBS in 2024 with 9.1 yards after catch per reception. With long-strided speed for posts and fades, Arroyo presents an impressive resumé to offensive coordinators.

Rookie Risers

Colston Loveland (Chicago Bears): Loveland primarily lined up in the slot and inline while at Michigan and quickly established himself as the Wolverines’ prized possession with elite speed and ball skills. Loveland works down the seam with ease and explodes off the line. Whether a slant over the middle or a vertical route downfield, Loveland can win versus corners with effective breaks and crisp angles. With a large catch radius and the ability to run a full route tree at every level of the field, Loveland has focal-point potential in a pro offense.
Mason Taylor (LSU Tigers): In his junior season, the hulking 6’5″ specimen pulled down 55 catches on 83 targets for 546 yards and two scores. In conjunction with his route-running ability, Taylor is one of the most sought-after tight ends in this year’s draft class. Taylor has a Hall of Fame pedigree, with his dad, Jason Taylor, enshrined in Canton. Mason is a long way from following in those footsteps, but he has all the makings of a productive NFL career.
Harold Fannin Jr. (Cleveland Browns): Fannin is a strong receiving tight end with great value after the catch. His blocking reps are good enough to keep him inline as a TE2 or as a wingback on occasion, but his bread and butter in the NFL will be as a tight end who you can quickly get the ball to for after-the-catch production in a tight end-centric passing attack.

Veteran Value

Zach Ertz (Washington Commanders): Ertz continues to silence the doubters, as the 13th-year pro has hit paydirt in each of the Commanders’ first two games. The three-time Pro Bowler doubled his catch total from Week 1 to Week 2, pulling down six passes for a team-high 64 yards during this past Thursday’s loss at Green Bay.

Draft Strategy for TE Premium Leagues

Prioritize Elite Options: If you think your only shot to draft an elite-tier tight end is to take one with a second-round pick, then you’re probably going to force your way into selecting one of Brock Bowers or Trey McBride, with George Kittle as your backup plan in Round 3.
Target High-Volume Pass Catchers: When considering a tight end, look for the ones who are just like receivers. A TE who could average at least six targets per game (seven-plus would be a premium); A TE who could earn the most or second-most targets on his team; A TE who has some speed and/or after-catch ability; A TE who you believe can give you 10-plus PPR/8-plus half-PPR/7-plus non-PPR points per game.
Consider Rookie Upside: Between 2000 and 2022 (the pre-stud rookie TE1 era we live in), there were 25 tight ends drafted in round one. Only three resulted in top-12 tight end PPR finishes — Kyle Pitts (2021), Evan Engram (2017) and Jeremy Shockey (2002).

By keeping a close eye on these emerging tight ends, you can gain a competitive edge in your TE premium fantasy league and position yourself for a successful 2025 season.