Ozzie Newsome Award

Brock Bowers, Georgia (2023)

Fantasy Points: 171 (17.1 FPPG)

2. Dallin Holker, Colorado State

3. Harold Fannin, Jr., Bowling Green

Every year, College Fantasy Football quarterbacks rely on tight ends to block, chip, roll out into the flat, run the seam, and just about every other task that helps a team succeed. However, a lot of those jobs don’t translate to CFF success. The top point-getter in CFF this season was Dallin Holker with 146.8 FPs (12.23 FPPG), followed closely by Brock Bowers with 136.3 FPs (15.14 FPPG). Our distinguished voters decided that Bowers was the best tight end in CFF for 2023.

Many CFF enthusiasts were investing first-round picks in Bowers and Oronde Gadsden II, trying to gain an advantage in a position lacking upper-tier talent. Regrettably, Gadsden went down with an injury after two games, and fantasy owners were left scrambling to fill the void left by one of the most athletic weapons at the position. Bowers would have been the clear choice as College Football’s premier fantasy tight end if he hadn’t missed multiple games due to injury. Our panel still declared Bowers our Dennis Pitta Award winner with 16 points. This category was the closest vote of any of the CFF awards and for good reason, as Holker and Harold Fannin both came close to supplanting the Georgia TE.

With multiple tight ends not living up to expectations (J.T. Sanders and Julian Conyers) and numerous others having significant injuries (Brant Kuithe, Luke Lachey, and Gadsden), the position saw less-heralded players move into the elite. Players like Jared Wiley, Jack Velling and Fannin became quality fantasy starters even though they weren’t even drafted until the 28th round or later. Despite many players providing some value at various points of the campaign, Bowers remained supreme. With three games missed due to injury, Bowers posted 51 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns, only two touchdowns less than Velling’s leading eight and 107 yards off Dallin Holker’s leading 767.

It appears that the voters prioritized the per-game statistics over the sum of the statistics in naming Bowers as the Dennis Pitta Award. In finishing second, Holker made 64 receptions for 767 yards and six touchdowns while boasting a 12.23 FPPG. And, with 39 receptions for 573 yards and six touchdowns, Fannin made a solid case to be the top fantasy tight end, only to finish in third place while averaging 11.62 FPPG.

by Joe Goodwin

Michael Mayer, Notre Dame (2022)

Fantasy Points: 202 (16.8 FPPG)

2. Dalton Kincaid, Utah 

3. Brock Bowers, Georgia

The fickle position of tight end entered the 2022 College Fantasy Football campaign even more capricious than normal. The offseason brimmed with debate and discourse about what a fantasy football tight end even was! Tales of Arik Gilbert’s practice domination echoed through message boards and caused consternation about league rules and settings. It would be an unfair advantage to be able to start him at TE, right? Well, CJ Donaldson said, “Gilbert’s not a TE, I AM A TIGHT END!” More about CJ in a moment.

As the season drew closer, Gilbert’s eligibility changed to WR, and the draft tiers solidified. Michael Mayer, Baby Gronk, of the Fighting Irish and Brock Bowers of the National Champion Bulldogs with the “Talented” Michael Trigg not far behind. Draft strategy was set. Invest early-round picks on Mayer or Bowers. Wait just a bit for Trigg, or punt the position.

The first month of the season saw Bowers getting the ball in a number of creative ways but the true star of the first four games was the aforementioned CJ Donaldson of West Virginia, rushing for 100-plus yards in three of four games for the Mountaineers. Also, dual-positioned Griffin Hebert of Louisiana Tech finished as a Top 3 CFF TE in the first month of the season. Mayer came in at CFF TE6 and two tight ends for Utah finished among the Top 7. Both Dalton Kincaid and Brant Kuithe started strong.

As summer turned to fall, the outrage of Donaldson being categorized as a TE, while really being a running back, came and went as injuries sadly stopped the big man. October would be owned by two players. Kincaid outscored Mayer 82.7 to 77.7. Kincaid took advantage of Kuithe going down and those 82.7 FPs were spearheaded by a 16-catch, 234-yards and a score performance versus USC. Down the stretch they came, Bowers faded in November, tallying a mere 98 yards and two scores for the month. Kincaid bolstered his chances at the Dennis Pitta Fantasy Tight End of the Year award by going for 16 receptions for 200 yards and a score in the final two games, but it was Michael Mayer and his 60.9 FPs in November that captured the crown.

Michael Mayer finished with 67 grabs for 809 yards and nine scores. Each month Mayer finished in the Top six and that consistency helped his owners throughout the year. Dalton Kincaid nearly mirrored the stats of Baby Gronk. Kincaid and his 65 catches for 833 yards and 8 touchdowns led to his second-place finish in our season awards. Finally, Brock Bowers ended his campaign with 46 catches for 645 yards and 5 scores as the Dawgs just did not target him as much as our top two finishers.

Honorable mentions go to David Martin-Robinson of Temple and Jalin Conyers of Arizona State. Martin-Robinson finished the final month of the season as the CFF TE No. 1, finishing three points ahead of Mayer in November. From October 29 to the season’s end, Conyers was the top-scoring tight end averaging nearly 19 FPs a game. Congrats to Michael Mayer for earning the 2022 Dennis Pitta College Fantasy Football award for being the best fantasy tight end.

by Mitch Hardt

Trey McBride, Colorado State (2021)

Fantasy Points: 220 (18.2 FPPG)

2. Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina (12 points)

3. Cole Turner, Nevada (12 points)

As the position that is often treated as an afterthought in the CFF community, it was quite the change in pace when, going into the 2021 campaign, many analysts were declaring this to be the best crop of tight ends in years. Prospects like Cole Turner, Nevada were being drafted as high as the seventh round. Other highly-valued prospects included Greg Dulcich, UCLA, Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M, and Charlie Kolar, Iowa St, who could all be seen taken in the tenth round. With all the hype for tight ends, the top performers each have their own interesting story to tell at the conclusion of the crusade.

The undeniable No. 1 CFF tight end is Trey McBride. Not only was McBride unanimously voted No. 1 by all the voters, but he also had the most points at the position. McBride was considered by many to be in the second tier of TEs in the preseason, being drafted on average as the No. 11. However, one thing all analysts could agree on was that McBride’s target volume would be his most valuable asset, and what an asset it was. The Colorado State competitor finished the season as the No. 1 tight end in terms of receptions with 90. The second closest was Zack Kuntz, Old Dominion, who got 70 receptions. That massive volume translated to McBride being the only FBS tight end to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.

An even crazier stat for McBride is that this insane volume carried him to the top tight end finish, despite the fact that he only scored two touchdowns (one of which was a 69-yard rush on a fake punt). Had McBride scored a touchdown for every 100 yards he gained on the season, he’d have logged 230 points, good for 19.16 FPs per game, which would’ve been a league winner. Undoubtedly, McBride is the clear No. 1 choice this year for the Dennis Pitta Award.

While McBride is the clear winner, the runner-ups for the award are every bit as interesting. Isaiah Likely was a favorite weapon of Coast Carolina and their quarterback, Grayson McCall, as they feasted on an incredibly weak schedule. Likely saw 52 receptions go his way, good for 816 yards (second in the country at the position), and was targeted consistently in the end zone, good for 10 scores. His touchdown production was almost enough to surpass McBride as tight end No. 1. 

The other runner-up was a pre-season favorite at the position, Cole Turner. The Nevada game-breaker was highly valued, going three rounds earlier in redraft league drafts than any other player. However, the emergence of multiple weapons on Nevada’s offense didn’t let him live up to that lofty price tag. He still ended the season as the TE No. 3, with 62 receptions for 677 yards and 10 TDs, plenty for CFF owners to be happy about.

One last honorable mention needs to be Freshman phenom, Brock Bowers. It’s not often that Georgia produces CFF-valuable players, let alone tight ends. Nonetheless, Bowers has been one of the most explosive playmakers for the Bulldogs. Recording 652 yards and 10 touchdowns on only 37 receptions (as well as three carries for 55 yards and a touchdown), what Bowers has done as a freshman has many CFF analysts excited about his future success.

by Jared Palmgrem

Kyle Pitts, Florida (2020)

Fantasy Points: 192 (24.0 FPPG)

2. Hunter Long, Boston College

3. Sean Dykes, Memphis

In 2020, I had two regrets that were college fantasy football related: First, I did not name a Top Fantasy Tight End six years ago, and second, I did not draft Kyle Pitts on any of my season-long CFF teams. I rectified the former by adding the Dennis Pita Award and played the Florida star in my DFS lineups throughout the season. 

Pitts averaged a whopping 23.7 FPPG on 36 receptions for 641 yards and 11 touchdowns. Incredibly, he played in only seven games and still scored the most points at the position with 166.1 for the campaign. It was a clean sweep among the voters for the Top Fantasy Tight End: Kyle Pitts received first-place votes on all of the ballots. After dominating the SEC, Pitts rose up NFL Draft rankings. He is in the CFF record books as the first-ever recipient of the Dennis Pitta Award. 

by John Laub