Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews was far from elite in a 2023 season that was cut short due to injury. Always a top-five tight end, but only once dominating the position, should fantasy football managers be fading Andrews in 2024 Best Ball drafts?
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Mark Andrews 2024 Fantasy Outlook
There are two schools of thought when it comes to Andrews. Those supporting him as an elite tight end can point to his overall TE1 2021 season where he averaged 17.7 fantasy points per game. Those are WR1 numbers, which made Andrews a legitimate advantage at the position. Andrews’ struggles in 2022 can be attributed to Lamar Jackson’s injury, and his 2023 issues can be attributed to his own injury.
Detractors would point to Andrews’ 2021 season and ask why that should be viewed as the rule instead of the exception. After all, Andrews averaged between 12.2 and 13.8 fantasy points per game every year from 2019-2023…except for 2021. He’s been a top-five tight end every year of his career since his sophomore season, but whether he’s a difference-maker at the position depends on how much of an advantage he provides fantasy managers.
What made Andrews’ 2021 season so elite was his complete and utter dominance of the Ravens’ passing game. He saw a 26.6% target share, which led all tight ends, and was targeted on 30% of his routes run, second at the position. He saw the most downfield targets and most red-zone targets. Andrews was essentially a WR1 eligible at tight end.
Last season, Andrews saw a 22.2% target share and was targeted on 22.6% of his routes run. Those are still strong numbers for a tight end, but nowhere near 2021 levels. He was still quite efficient, averaging 2.01 yards per route run, third in the league, and 8.9 yards per target, fourth in the league. However, the lack of passing volume, plus the injuries, prevented Andrews from coming close to repeating his epic 2021 season.
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Should You Draft Andrews in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
As with 99% of players, it all comes down to cost. Andrews was not someone I was particularly interested in drafting last season because he came with a top 24-ish price tag. Between the consecutive non-elite years, the injuries, and Zay Flowers’ emergence, Andrews has now fallen outside the top four rounds of Best Ball drafts.
I suspect Andrews’ price may rise throughout the offseason, but right now, he looks quite appealing in an area of the draft where the running backs are unexciting and the wide receivers are very flat.
The key to Andrews’ value is the fact that we know he can be a difference-maker, but at cost, he doesn’t need to be. Even if we get what he’s provided most of his career, Andrews will be a fine pick. However, if we get something that resembles his 2021 season, Andrews would end up being one of the best values in fantasy drafts. Best Ball managers should be very interested as long as the price doesn’t increase.