Chris

Herndon

Herndon’s star has fallen since his 2018 rookie campaign when he went for 39-502-4 as a member of the Jets. He was traded to the Vikings ahead of the 2021 season but caught just four passes for 40 yards and one touchdown despite appearing in 16 games. Now with the Saints, Herndon will see if he can catch on in a tight end room that has Adam Trautman and Taysom Hill entrenched at the top of the depth chart.

Smith’s recovery timetable is four to five months, which puts his entire 2021 season in doubt. Behind Smith, backup Tyler Conklin has recovered from his hamstring injury and set to play in Week 1. Conklin has a career yards per route run of just 1.0, and is unlikely to deliver a strong fantasy season unless he monopolizes tight end snaps. Conklin’s chances of doing that took a big hit when the Vikings traded for Chris Herndon Tuesday. The former Jet looked like an emerging star as a rookie in 2018. He was then abysmal in his two seasons under Adam Gase, as is customary. If Herndon can recapture his early career form, the pass-catching tight end could be improbably fantasy relevant this season.

Tyler Kroft worked ahead of Herndon throughout camp, finishing second in target share (behind Corey Davis) from Zach Wilson in New York’s three preseason games, spelling the end of any hype Herndon had garnered in a post-Adam Gase world. The 25-year-old arrives in Minnesota with Tyler Conklin as his only competition, though the former offers little confidence with just 31/287/3 receiving last year, even failing to become an average blocker and seeming “disinterested” at times over the summer. He continues to survive as a last-round TE in fantasy circles exclusively from the rapport he flashed with Sam Darnold (27/380/4) in 13 games together as rookies.

The Jets split tight end snaps fairly evenly, so it’s not like Kroft is suddenly an amazing option. The real takeaway here is that he looks like a better late-round flier than Chris Herndon, who has reportedly been running with the second team at training camp too. None of the Jets’ tight ends project to be super fantasy-relevant, but Kroft has been superior so far.

Tyler Kroft, meanwhile, started camp as the team’s top tight end, working with the ones. Herndon’s demotion makes sense after a horrific 2020 season and continued cringeworthy struggles in the team’s springtime practices. Herndon last year was healthy for 16 games and posted a laughable 31/287/3 line in the league’s worst offense. The tight end could be prominent in Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s offense, giving Kroft some fantasy appeal if he hangs on to the No. 1 spot through camp and the preseason. Kroft’s career year came in 2017 with the Bengals, when he he caught 42 passes for 404 yards and seven touchdowns. It might be time for fantasy managers to stop trying to make Herndon a thing.

“Kroft has been one of the bigger surprises of the spring,” Costello writes. “He has seen a lot of time with the starting unit and...could beat out Chris Herndon for the job if Herndon does not shake out of the funk he was in last year.” The Jets and OC Mike LaFleur, a student of Kyle Shanahan’s, are clearly attempting to clone San Francisco’s offense in utilizing players with YAC ability, leaning on both Keelan Cole and Kroft over Denzel Mims and Herndon in first-team reps throughout the spring. Kroft spiked 42/404/7 as a full-time player with the Bengals in 2017 but has since been healthy for only 26 of a possible 48 games. Fantasy managers’ best bet is to ignore New York’s tight end position completely while it shakes out.

A late-round darling over the summer for his proven rapport with Sam Darnold, Herndon failed every test imaginable in only his third year in the league in finishing with 31/287/3 despite staying healthy for all 16 games. Like most players who have flashed historically then failed to develop under Adam Gase, Herndon, 25 in February, will definitely be discussed in fantasy circles again if only because both Darnold and Gase are expected to land elsewhere in 2021. Expect Herndon to gather steam as a hot TE flier after New York’s offseason shakeups.

This was his second touchdown of the season, one that was a massive disappointment relative to the training camp buzz he received in August. Herndon will close the season as a TE3 against the Patriots.

Herndon came to life with 29 pass routes against LA, the tenth most of Week 15 among tight ends. He’s still not a reliable fantasy option but it’s good to see the promising young tight end -- who has struggled with confidence issues this season -- capitalize on rare opportunities. Herndon is 20th in tight end routes this season while playing two-thirds of the Jets’ offensive snaps.

Ryan Griffin caught 2-of-3 targets for 17 yards. Herndon has been a colossal 2020 bust after again being hyped all summer. He’s not on the fantasy radar at the moment.