10 Rookies That Will Win Fantasy Football Leagues in 2022

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It is no secret that Tom Brady loves a reliable check down option. His longtime teammate, Rob Gronkowski, elected to ride off into the sunset this offseason. This leaves Cameron Brate as the only Buccaneers tight end with a catch in the NFL. Cade Otton, an all-around tight end out of Washington, is poised to not only fill the TE2 role on the offense, but to challenge Brate for starter reps.

Otton was unable to workout leading up to the NFL Draft. It hurt his draft stock, and led to a slide down the board. The Buccaneers wisely bet on Otton’s upside in the fourth round. It’s true that he never put together an elite season in college, but if you watched the quarterback play in Washington, you understand why. Remember, the aforementioned Gronkowski slipped out of the first round in 2010 due to injury, so the blueprint is there.

Mike Evans will continue to get his fair share of targets, but until Chris Godwin is back to 100%, targets are up for grabs. Gronkowski himself vacates 89 targets. Otton can more than hold his own as a blocker, which should allow him to see the field a decent amount as a rookie. I can see Tom Brady unlocking Otton’s pass catching potential, making the former Husky a player worth targeting late in fantasy football drafts. He’s currently coming off the board at TE33.

Charlie Kolar/Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

I am going to combine two of my selections together for this one. I genuinely believe that both guys could find themselves as starting caliber players most weeks. The Baltimore Ravens target the tight end position 40% of the time in the passing game, albeit almost all of those were to Mark Andrews in 2021. I expect Andrews to remain as “the man” of the offense, but after trading away Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, there are so many targets available.

Rashod Bateman showed flashes as a rookie, and he should be able to handle WR1 duties, but everything else behind him is shaky. Rather than counting on guys like Devin Duvernay and James Proche to transform into productive players, it’s safer to assume that the Ravens run multi-tight end sets more often than not. It will benefit the run game to have such big bodies out there. When Lamar does drop back, offensive coordinator Greg Roman can scheme up some fun plays with Kolar/Likely/Andrews.

Kolar stands at six-foot-six, weighs 260 pounds, and is a complete package at tight end. He blocks well, separates well, and possesses vice grip hands. Likely is leaner, checking in at 240 pounds, and also stands a couple inches shorter than Kolar, but Likely is so dynamic with the ball in his hands. Kolar is more in the Mark Andrews mold, while Likely is closer to a more explosive Mike Gesicki-type. Some may view this as a headache, but with their current ADP, taking both guys as late round fliers is possible. If you’re throwing darts at the end of your draft, throw one their way.