Dynasty League Fantasy Football Rookie Tight End Outlook: Does Sam LaPorta Have Best Long-Term Outlook? What About Dalton Kincaid, Michael Mayer and Luke Musgrave?

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve written up dynasty fantasy football stories on quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. It’s time to cover the tight end position.

Detroit Lions’ Sam LaPorta has been the best rookie TE to this point of the season, but Buffalo Bills’ Dalton Kincaid has come on strong as the season has progressed. Green Bay Packers’ Luke Musgrave and Las Vegas Raiders’ Michael Mayer have shown some flashes. Which rookie tight end is the best dynasty asset? Let’s dive in.

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Sam LaPorta Fantasy Outlook

LaPorta started the season strong but has faded a bit as the season has progressed. He still leads rookie TEs in most statistics.

LaPorta has caught 55 of his 77 targets so far this season. He’s tallied 539 yards and five touchdowns and caught 6-of-9 red zone looks.

The Lions’ rookie has topped 35 yards in all but one game, and has five games over 50 yards. He’s gotten at least four targets in every contest and caught at least three passes.

While his numbers aren’t quite as good as the start of the season, LaPorta has remained a big part of the Lions’ offense, and figures to be one of their best offensive weapons going forward.

A tight end is only as good as his quarterback, and Jared Goff is signed through 2024. While he’s not a top-end quarterback, he’s proved to be an above-average QB most weeks and I’d expect the Lions to re-sign him as they seek more success.

There’s plenty of pieces for the Lions’ offense to build around, with the biggest names being Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Of course, Gibbs is a rookie and will be in Detroit for the foreseeable future. Montgomery is signed through 2025, as is St. Brown. At some point, the Lions will need to re-sign St. Brown, at which point they might move on from Montgomery, but I see the core of Gibbs, St. Brown and LaPorta being in Detroit for a long, long time.

The nice thing about being a tight end is that LaPorta isn’t fighting for snaps with any teammates. Sure, he will have to split touches with guys like Gibbs and St. Brown, but there’s enough touches to go around.

Dalton Kincaid Fantasy Outlook

Kincaid started the year slowly but took off after the injury to Dawson Knox. He’s been the Bills’ top pass catcher a couple times since the Knox injury.

For the season, Kincaid has caught 56-of-64 passes for 474 yards and two touchdowns. He’s caught four of his six red zone attempts.

Kincaid has six or more targets in the past six contests and has topped 35 yards in all but four games. He hasn’t been a big play pass catcher to this point, but he’s been a great PPR fantasy option.

Buffalo’s offense has worked through some problems this year, with Kincaid helping the team out quite a bit. He figures to remain a big part of the passing attack, even if Knox works back into the mix.

Kincaid’s outlook looks great with quarterback Josh Allen locked into a long-term deal. Unfortunately, Knox was re-signed and has a couple years remaining on his deal. Considering how good Kincaid has looked, I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo shops Knox.

Other offensive playmakers are James Cook and Khalil Shakir (both signed through 2025) and Stefon Diggs (signed through 2027). Gabe Davis is a free agent after this season, and unless Buffalo ships Knox out, it seems unlikely that Davis could be brought back.

Much like in Detroit, Buffalo has plenty of offensive playmakers, but the team’s rookie tight end shouldn’t have a problem carving out a pretty solid role moving forward. He’s already made a difference as a rookie, and should only improve as time passes.

Luke Musgrave Fantasy Outlook

Musgrave appeared to be turning the corner a couple weeks back, but an injury halted his progress and placed him on injured reserve. There’s concern he could miss the remainder of the season with an abdomen injury.

Before his injury, Musgrave hauled in 33 of his 45 targets for 341 yards and a touchdown. He caught half of his six red zone targets.

It’s always unfortunate when a rookie misses a significant chunk of his first season. It not only takes away precious playing time, but casts plenty of doubt on their future in the league. 

With the Packers’ pass catchers all being pretty young, it would have been great for Musgrave to continue developing a connection with first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love. Now Musgrave can only watch, and everyone else gets the chance to connect instead.

The big question with the Packers’ offense moving forward is whether Love will be the quarterback or not. He’s had ups and downs this season, but has played much better of late. I’d say he’s trending toward getting a long-term contract.

With all its young players, the Packers’ offense probably won’t look too much different over the years to come. Running back Aaron Jones could leave in free agency after 2024, and AJ Dillon could be gone after this season. Receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are second-year players, while wideouts Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks and tight end Tucker Kraft are all rookies, so unless a trade is made, the core looks pretty set for the foreseeable future.

Not only are injuries now a concern for Musgrave, but Kraft now has the chance to prove his value to the team, and he could make Musgrave expendable if he plays well down the stretch. Kraft scored a touchdown in his week 12 start.

Michael Mayer Fantasy Outlook

Mayer has been the third-most targeted pass catcher in the Raiders’ offense this season, behind receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. Mayer looked like a potential breakout player after a 75-yard performance in mid-October, but hasn’t reached 50 receiving yards in a game since, finishing under 20 yards four times.

Overall, Mayer had caught 22 of his 33 targets this season. He’s turned his 22 catches into 251 yards and a touchdown. He’s caught 3-of-4 red zone targets. 

Some of Mayer’s inconsistent play can be chalked up to being a rookie, while some of it has to do with playing with several quarterbacks this season. That’s something the Raiders need to address, and I’m not sure Aidan O’Connell is the answer - I’m also not sure the long-term quarterback is on the roster right now.

Las Vegas’ offense could look a lot different moving forward than it currently does. Running back Josh Jacobs is a free agent this offseason. There’s some outs in his contract, but Meyers should be locked in for at least a couple more seasons. Adams is also signed for multiple years, but his name has been in trade talks, and he could be out of town as early as this coming offseason.

With all the uncertainty in Las Vegas, Mayer could actually become the focal point that the offense is built around going forward. He hasn’t proven to be an elite pass catcher yet, but he might get the opportunity in the next year or two.

Which TE is the Best Dynasty Option?

These are my favorite four rookie tight ends this season, and I see pretty promising futures for all of them.

LaPorta has been the best of the bunch so far, but Kincaid is closing quickly. I look at them as 1A and 1B dynasty options, but would give the slight edge to LaPorta because he doesn’t have another tight end on his team to steal snaps and targets at the moment. Kincaid is definitely a great option because of his quarterback.

Musgrave and Mayer are pretty close in my book right now too. I think I’d side with Mayer because he has the potential to be the guy in his offense, while Musgrave will have to deal with several other options in the long run.

If you own any of these four, I’d hold on to them unless you absolutely get blown away by an offer (especially for LaPorta and Kincaid). That also means if you want to trade for a rookie tight end, that the price tag isn’t going to be cheap. 

If you can’t come up with an offer to entice one of the rookies away, I wouldn’t mortgage the future for one of them. The 2024 tight end class looks to be a pretty strong one, especially at the top, and maybe you can get your future tight end that way.