Going through each position group and how you should attack drafting them in your fantasy draft Tight Ends are the shallowest group. Making fantasy football TE rankings by tier very important. There is a group of 3 at the top, then a group of 4 before a big drop off. It’s also not a position where players have breakout seasons on the regular. Apart from Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders, I can’t think of a single Tight End that has come out of relative obscurity. A big reason why players don’t pop up out of nowhere is because of the nuance the position comes with. It’s not good enough to simply catch the ball- you have to be a top level blocker as well. Fantasy football TE rankings by tier.
Top Performing Tight Ends in 2021
Last season Mark Andrews finished almost 40 points ahead of Travis Kelce as the top performing Tight End. Dalton Schultz finished almost 60 points behind Kelce, and he was the only other TE to eclipse the 200 point mark. Rob Gronkowski’s retirement make a thin position even thinner. In fact, Gronk was the 3rd highest scorer in points per game, and finished 7th in points in only 12 games played. Don’t expect a rookie to come out of obscurity this season either. Kyle Pitts in 2021 was the exception as a rookie Tight End the way that he burst on to the scene. Pat Freiermuth was solid rookie, and should be improved in 2022, but both of those names were 1st round picks. The highest drafted rookie this season was 55 and by the Cardinals who have Zach Ertz.
Durability
Another problem with Tight Ends is durability. The position is so demanding on the body that only 5 of the top 15 scoring Tight Ends played all 17 games in 2021. This presents a difficult conundrum for fantasy owners. It’s not good enough to just have a stud at the position. You need to have a solid backup because it’s likely that you’ll need that backup for at least a few weeks. Here are your Fantasy Football TE Rankings by tier.
Tier 1
1. Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens)
2. Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs)
3. Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons)These are your elite Tight Ends, and you should target Andrews and Kelce in the middle to end of the 2nd round with Pitts going in the first half of the 3rd.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Tier 2
Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
4. Darren Waller (Las Vegas Raiders)
5. George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers)Either one, or both of these guys could push their way into the top tier by the middle of the season. Waller figures to be more utilized than Kittle, but we’ve seen Kyle Shanahan go to the Kittle-well over and over in games where he likes the matchup. I’d target these names in the end of the 4th/beginning of the 5th round.
Tier 3
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
6. Dalton Schultz (Dallas Cowboys)
7. T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions)You know what you’re getting with these guys. Schultz is interesting because the Cowboys lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson from last year, James Washington has a foot injury, and there are plenty of targets to be had for Dalton.
Tier 4
Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
8. Pat Freiermuth (Pittsburgh Steelers)
9. Zach Ertz (Arizona Cardinals)
10. Dallas Goedert (Philadelphia Eagles)These are your low-end starters, but guys you can leave in your lineup as long as they remain healthy.
Tier 5
Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
11. Cole Kmet (Chicago Bears)
12. Irv Smith Jr. (Minnesota Vikings)
13. Dawson Knox (Buffalo Bills)
14. Mike Gesicki (Miami Dolphins)
15. Robert Tonyan (Green Bay Packers)These are your elite backups. If you’re in a 12-person league then you should target 2 of these names and play the matchups each week.
Tier 6
Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
16. Noah Fant (Seattle Seahawks)
17. David Njoku (Cleveland Browns)
18. Cameron Brate (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
19. Albert Okwuegbunam (Denver Broncos)These are your backups with some upside potential. Target them late in your draft to provide some depth.
Tier 7
Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
20. Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Chargers)
21. Austin Hooper (Tennessee Titans)
22. Hayden Hurst (Cincinnati Bengals)
23. Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars)
24. Hunter henry (New England Patriots)I wouldn’t target any of these names in your draft, but they are names to keep an eye on in the early weeks of the season. If one of them start showing some promise then they would be worth a waiver depending on how your starter looks.
