Brandon Ghabbour
Today we’re doing something I’ve never done before: a stand-alone love letter to the five rookie tight ends who just injected rocket fuel into the thinnest position in fantasy.
What’s good, Dynasty Rewind crew? It’s your boy Brandon Ghabbour. We’re back for a mid-season review of our 2025 rookie tight ends. These five dudes have flipped the script, taking the tight end spot from “fantasy wasteland” to “wait…I’m starting TEs in my flex now?”
***Stats included throughout this article include player stats through week 9 and do not include week 10.***
Tyler Warren – Indianapolis Colts
Tyler Warren is the do-it-all, most well-rounded rookie tight end and the safest bet to finish 2025 ranked as the overall TE3 in dynasty. He’s averaging 13.2 PPR points per game on a ridiculous 19% target share—the highest mark in the entire rookie class. That’s not noise; that’s Daniel Jones realizing the fastest way to 40 yards is lobbing it to the 6’6” freight train who runs like a power forward. The bull that runs through arm tackles and pushes people down in his tumble toward the endzone that started near the line of scrimmage. Warren’s 2.08 points per target and 1.95 yards per route run (7th in NFL) are both great numbers. Michael Pittman and Josh Downs are good, not great, and neither will ever be the clear target dominator for the Colts. Warren is already the 1A in Indy, and there is only room to grow there, as I do not see the Colts making any ground-breaking investments into the WR position. Plain and simple: if you need a set-it-and-forget-it TE1 for the next eight years, stop reading and get him now.
Colston Loveland – Chicago Bears
Colston Loveland is the most route-dominant rookie tight end alive, and that is one of the reasons I’m pounding the table for him at TE6 overall in dynasty. He’s at 11% target share right now because he has the toughest stable of competition, but he’s hit 2.10 points per target and 1.64 yards per route run. He is basically a WR. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are the long-term alpha wideouts, but DJ Moore may not be a Bear for long, as he strikes me as a prime trade candidate next year if Odunze and Burden are doing what I expect. Loveland is the vertical seam-erasing TE that Ben Johnson has dreams about. Give him an 18% target share next year, and he’s a top-5 TE lock by Week 1 of 2026.
Oronde Gadsden – Los Angeles Chargers
Oronde Gadsden is the efficiency god who makes every target feel like cheating. He’s at 14% target share, 12.5 PPR points per game, 2.32 yards per route run (best in the rookie class), and a quite ridiculous 2.3 points per target (leads TEs). Yes, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston exist, and Keenan Allen is still cashing checks, but Allen is gone after this season, and Johnston’s breakout will keep pressure away from Gadsden. Justin Herbert has already locked onto Gadsden on third-and-long and in the red zone. If his share climbs to 18+% in 2026 (extremely doable), Gadsden is a top-5 TE with top-3 spike weeks becoming his normal, and finds himself as my TE8 in dynasty- with an argument for TE5.
Harold Fannin Jr. – Cleveland Browns
Harold Fannin Jr. is playing alongside David Njoku and still averaging 10.7 PPR points per game on a 17% team-leading target share and 6.4 targets per game. That’s more looks than Loveland and Gadsden while sharing a locker room with a top-12 tight end. His 1.66 yards per route run and 9.4 yards per target are both awesome for a rookie, and the quarterback play has been charity-case bad. Njoku has a void year after 2025, and he will be 30 years old (not bad for TE, just adding context). Fannin Jr. could inherit a 22–25% share in 2026 and immediately become a top-8 TE. If Cleveland can do something they have never done before- figure out QB- his ceiling gets much higher. I’m smashing accept on any trade that lets me pay a second for him. Fannin Jr. is my dynasty TE11.
Mason Taylor – New York Jets
Mason Taylor is the maybe-that-works wildcard who’s currently the clear #2 target behind Garrett Wilson in a run-first offense. He’s at 5.8 yards per target and 0.95 yards per route run—numbers that scream “situational role player.” Adonai Mitchell is still budding with undeveloped talent, and the Jets may draft another wideout in 2026, so Taylor may fall by the wayside. The opposite is also true; The Jets may not develop Mitchell and may opt to build from the trenches in the next draft, leaving Taylor as the #2 in an offense that may suddenly pass more than 29 times a game once they move on from Fields. Taylor won’t wow you with efficiency, but he’ll give you 8–10 PPR points every week as a floor and the occasional 15+ burger when he finds the end zone. He’s a top-15 TE stash you can have for a third-round pick.
The Bottom Line
This rookie TE class didn’t just give us depth; it gave us four future top-12 studs and one lottery ticket. Tyler Warren is the safe, do-it-all. Colston Loveland is the route-running cheat code. Oronde Gadsden is the efficiency monster. Harold Fannin Jr. is the post-Njoku jackpot. And Mason Taylor is the free square you roster just in case the Jets ever throw 40 times. Go offer that 1st+ for Warren and Loveland, 1st Gadsden, and that 2nd+ for Fannin Jr. before the rest of your league wakes up.
The tight end apocalypse is officially over
Drop a review on Deep Dive Fantasy Football! Peace!
About the Author: Brandon Ghabbour
