Fantasy Football TE Draft Rankings
Last update .
Sep 05 .
06:50 PM EDT
# | Player | TM | BYE | FF Pts | ADP12 | ADP10 | ↑↓ | GC | DIF | Rec | RecYdsReceiving | RecTD | Rec1D | RuAtt | RuYdsRushing | RuTD | Ru1D | Fum |
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1 | Sam LaPorta
Draft Note
Sam LaPorta finished as the fantasy TE1 as a rookie, which is an incredible accomplishment given the history of rookies at the position. It’s unusual for rookie tight ends to find immediate success, but LaPorta posted 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those were the most catches, the second-most yards (to Kyle Pitts), and the most touchdowns (tied with Rob Gronkowski) among rookie tight ends since 2003. LaPorta’s position-leading 196.3 half-PPR fantasy points were just the 19th-most by a tight end since 2010. He’s a good bet to repeat as the TE1 since he should only get better in his second season, and his excellent environment in the Detroit offense is unchanged.
| DET | 5 | 181 | 3.06 | 3.10 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 862 | 9.2 | 46.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
2 | Travis Kelce
Draft Note
Travis Kelce finished TE2, but it was a down year by his standards. His 984 yards were his fewest since 2015, and well off his 2016-2022 average of 1,230 yards per season. His 11.5 per-game average (half-PPR) was a pretty significant drop from 2022 (15.9) and 2021 (13.7). Both his yards per reception (10.6) and his yards per target (8.1) were career-lows. I think it’s safe to say that the soon-to-be 35-year-old’s elite production days are behind him, though he still offers high-end TE1 production in the Chiefs’ potent offense.
| KC | 6 | 170 | 3.01 | 3.05 | 2 | 0 | 86 | 952 | 5.5 | 50.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
3 | Mark Andrews
Draft Note
Mark Andrews was the TE4 on a per-game basis and the TE3, T.J. Hockenson, may miss the start of the season as he recovers from an ACL tear. Entering his age-29 season, Andrews should be fully healthy after missing a big chunk of time late last season with a nasty ankle injury. Since his rookie season, he has never averaged less than 50 yards per game and has averaged 0.48 touchdowns per game in his last three seasons. If he can play 16 games at those rates, he’s looking at 800 yards and 7.7 touchdowns.
| BAL | 14 | 159 | 4.09 | 5.05 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 751 | 8.4 | 40.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
4 | Trey McBride
Draft Note
Trey McBride saw a bump in playing time in Week 8 and was the fantasy TE4 the rest of the way. He had the fourth-highest yards per route run (2.08) among tight ends in that span, and garnered the third-most targets (8.5 per game). The third-year tight end should serve as the No. 2 option behind rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., but Harrison’s arrival might put a dent in McBride’s heavy late-season usage.
| ARI | 11 | 149 | 4.07 | 5.03 | 4 | 0 | 73 | 904 | 3.9 | 46.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
5 | George Kittle
Draft Note
Last season, George Kittle averaged 5.1 targets per game in 14 games with Deebo Samuel, and saw 18 targets in the two games Samuel missed. In the six games that Samuel has missed over the last two seasons, Kittle has averaged 5.2 receptions for 84 yards and 1.0 touchdown. He’s basically THE fantasy TE1 when Samuel is out and just another TE1 when Samuel is active. Keep in mind that Kittle is entering his age-31 season, though his advanced metrics are still elite.
| SF | 9 | 146 | 5.07 | 6.05 | 7 | 2 | 57 | 877 | 5.2 | 42.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | Dalton Kincaid
Draft Note
Dalton Kincaid was the fantasy TE15 as a rookie, though he flashed TE1-type production when Dawson Knox was out of the lineup. In five games without Knox, Kincaid averaged 6.2 catches for 56 yards and 0.40 touchdowns on 7.4 targets per game. (He averaged 3.8-36-0.0 on 4.9 targets in 11 games with Knox, which is a bit worrisome since Knox is returning.) Yes, Stefon Diggs (160 targets) and Gabe Davis (81) are gone, so there are a ton of targets up for grabs. Kincaid should easily see 7-8 targets per game, but there’s no guarantee that will happen with Knox soaking up tight end snaps. Kincaid was 14th in yards per route run, though he was 10th from Week 8 to Week 13, while Knox was out. It would be coaching malpractice for the Bills to take Kincaid off the field consistently given the loss of Diggs and Davis, so I'm betting on a consistent uptick in usage. Also, while Kincaid has already broken out, tight ends tend to make their biggest leap from year one to year two.
| BUF | 12 | 144 | 5.02 | 5.10 | 5 | -1 | 77 | 738 | 5.5 | 40.9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
7 | Kyle Pitts
Draft Note
Flashback to the 2021 season: Kyle Pitts is a rookie and has a competent quarterback (Matt Ryan) and offensive coordinator (Dave Ragone) willing to feature him. He catches 68-of-110 targets for 1,026 yards and one score. (He should have caught 4.1 touchdowns, according to 4for4’s expected touchdowns per our data scientist Kevin Zatloukal.) That year, he finished as the TE5 and had the third-best fantasy season by a rookie tight end since the 2000 season. He posted the fourth-highest yards per route run at his position. The last two seasons have been major disappointments, but Pitts has been dealing with subpar quarterback play and a play-caller in Arthur Smith who often refused to feature his best players. Now he has Kirk Cousins throwing the ball and Zac Robinson (of Sean McVay’s coaching tree) calling the plays. I think he has a great chance to see 100+ targets and pick up where he left off as a rookie.
| ATL | 12 | 140 | 5.12 | 6.10 | 6 | -1 | 73 | 753 | 4.9 | 40.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
8 | Evan Engram
Draft Note
Evan Engram led all tight ends in targets (143), catching 114 passes for 963 yards and four scores. Calvin Ridley was replaced by rookie Brian Thomas and Gabe Davis, so Engram’s role should be relatively unchanged. In other words, he might lead his position in targets again. He turns 30 in September, so a drop in production is possible, but far from certain.
| JAX | 12 | 133 | 6.03 | 7.03 | 8 | 0 | 88 | 696 | 3.5 | 41.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | |
9 | Jake Ferguson
Draft Note
Jake Ferguson was one of my favorite late-round tight ends last year and he didn’t disappoint, finishing TE8 versus a TE23 positional ADP. Our own Matt Okada found that Ferguson should have scored an additional 3.6 touchdowns to meet his expected touchdown opportunity. We saw some regression immediately after the season as he caught three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the Packers. Had he scored an additional 3.8 touchdowns he would have finished TE6 instead of TE8. (He led his position with 12 targets inside the 10-yard line.) As the TE9 off the board, Ferguson is probably the last TE1-type that I’d feel comfortable rolling with as my only tight end.
| DAL | 7 | 130 | 7.07 | 8.09 | 9 | 0 | 61 | 653 | 5.8 | 34.9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | David Njoku
Draft Note
David Njoku finished the season as the TE5 in half-PPR scoring, setting career-highs in receptions (81), yards (882), and touchdowns (6). He is the TE9 off the board in early drafts, but I think he can be lumped in a tier that includes Jake Ferguson, Dallas Goedert, Brock Bowers, Cole Kmet, and perhaps Taysom Hill and Dalton Schultz as well. Njoku simply has not produced consistently with Deshaun Watson. In the 11 games that they’ve played together over the past two seasons, Njoku has averaged just 3.8-36-0.27 on 5.7 targets per game while posting 5.1-59-0.37 on 7.4 targets per game in the 19 games played with literally anyone else at quarterback. Unless those splits are an aberration, Njoku is unlikely to live up to his TE9 ADP.
| CLE | 10 | 125 | 8.01 | 9.05 | 10 | 0 | 66 | 623 | 5.1 | 34.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
What is a TE in Fantasy Football?
The tight end position has been changing in recent years. Historically, the position is a do-it-all type of spot where the player is not only asked to be well-versed in route running and catching the football, but also blocking. Nowadays, NFL teams are using more and more tight ends treated like wide receivers. Mike Gesicki, for example, lined up in the slot, as a receiver, then he did in-line (a position where often associated with blocking). Due to the dueling responsibilities, it often takes younger players more time to get used to the NFL speed because they're tasked with not only the duties of a receiver but also of a lineman – it can be a lot for young players to adjust to.
For fantasy football, tight ends can simply be considered bigger receivers. These are the kind of players we want to target. Unfortunately, there are no points awarded for being a great blocker, so fantasy managers will want to target the tight ends who are often treated exclusively as receivers.
Who is the best fantasy TE?
It doesn't matter what format you're playing in – standard, half-PPR, full-PPR – the best tight end entering the 2022 season is either Mark Andrews or Travis Kelce. Debates on who should be the first tight end off the board will center around these two and only these two. The consensus rankings in the fantasy community and here at 4for4 believe that Kelce is the best. With Tyreek Hill in Miami, Kelce will assume the mantle of being Mahomes' 1 No. 1 target. The lack of dependable pass-catchers behind him could result in Kelce being one of the most targeted players in the NFL. While Andrews is a phenomenal fantasy asset, there are some questions as to whether the Ravens will pass as much as they did in 2021. Looking at his four seasons in the NFL, last year was something of an outlier based on the increased passing volume for the Ravens. Fantasy managers should pay attention to training camp reports to determine what the Baltimore offense might look like this year.
How many TEs should I have?
Your roster size and more importantly, how many bench spots you have available, are at the root of this question's answer. It's more important than what kind of scoring format you're playing in. If you have only 4–5 bench spots and have one of the top-six tight ends, it's not necessary to roster a second one. If you're playing in a more typical roster format where you have 6–7 bench spots, unless you have one of the top three guys, it makes sense to roster a second tight end. Our bench is for improving our starting lineup and in that regard, it makes sense to take another dart throw at one of the most volatile positions in fantasy football.
How do different scoring formats affect TEs?
The different kinds of scoring formats can directly impact how fantasy managers value certain tight ends. This doesn't change anything for our top-six guys this year, but once you get out of that comfort zone, what scoring format you're playing under becomes very important.
In standard scoring leagues, you should prioritize touchdowns, red zone utilization, his team's offensive output, and their target volume. Guys like Robert Tonyan, Hunter Henry, and Dawson Knox are the kind of guys who work well in standard scoring because although they may not have a large target share like other tight ends, they're heavily used near the goal line and connected to good offenses. Knox did set career-highs in targets and receptions per game in 2021, but his low target share is a red flag. That often means more touchdowns. In PPR scoring, fantasy managers should be chasing volume. Guys like T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz, and Cole Kmet get a boost here because they should see ample volume on a weekly basis. While their number of touchdowns may be lower, they can make up the difference in PPR scoring.
In relation to other positions, standard scoring leagues can devalue the worth of pass-catchers. Since the majority of tight ends fail to eclipse 1,000 yards, standard scoring leagues end up putting a low premium on tight ends outside of the elite guys on top because they score so little.
How do I stream TEs?
Streaming tight ends is the practice of choosing a new starting tight end on an almost weekly basis. What you should be looking for when undergoing this type of strategy is looking at matchups with high expected point totals for each team. An over/under of 55 point implies we should be expecting a lot of touchdowns to be scored and that creates extra scoring opportunities for our tight ends who often need to make good on less volume – touchdowns can do that. We should also then be avoiding games with low implied point totals. Rob Gronkowski retiring opens the door for Cameron Brate to be one of the more interesting streamers this season. Another likely streamer is Tyler Higbee. Both these players lack consistent targets, but are attached to high-scoring offenses. These kinds of players tend to be touchdown-dependent.
Once bye weeks start – in Week 6 – we will have enough data where we can begin to identify which defenses struggle to stop tight ends and which defenses are very effective in slowing down the position. This information is also incredibly helpful when looking to stream the position. Targeting high implied point totals and teams that yield a high number of fantasy points per game to the position can make for an effective tight end streaming strategy.
Should I Pay up for a TE?
If you want a set it and forget it type of tight end, you'll need to pay up to get it. This includes Kelce, Andrews, Pitts, Waller, Schultz, and Kittle. After those six, the position begins to thin out fairly quickly. The best strategy when it comes to this position is either attacking one of those first six or waiting and taking two tight ends further down the rankings. This includes a safe floor option, such as Hunter Henry (TE14) and one Albert Okwuegbunam (TE16) who offers more upside. Fantasy managers should be cautious with the tight ends in the 7–12 range as the cost of acquiring these players rarely outweigh the benefits.
What should I look for in Drafting TEs?
The short answer here is volume. Fantasy managers should be targeting tight ends who have a weekly average of 6+ targets and those who have a chance at that kind of volume should be higher on your draft rankings. To earn that kind of target share, they often need to be the primary or secondary option in their team's passing attack. This also can help identify value plays. Guys like Evan Engram and David Njoku have a pathway to being their team's second most targeted player and make for excellent late-round additions.
A more in-depth answer is that fantasy managers should be looking for tight ends who play on an up-tempo offense with high pass volume. We should be targeting players who are running a lot of routes and who are rarely asked to stay in and block. Every passing play where they are asked to block is a lost opportunity. Tight ends who are used as receivers should also be primary targets. Kyle Pitts and Mark Andrews are also split out wide, which increases their upside.
M/U = 4for4 matchup ranking (Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed). 1 = Worst Matchup, 32 = Best Matchup